Hirsi Ali has been under police protection since a film she wrote criticizing the treatment of women under Islam provoked the murder of its director, Theo van Gogh, by an Islamic radical.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali、the Somali-born Dutch legislator

She said she decided May 15 to resign from her post after Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk told her "she would strip me of my Dutch citizenship."

The decision to revoke her citizenship appeared driven by Dutch politics -- and drew criticism from Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende who said he was "surprised by the speed" with which Verdonk had reached her decision and asked her for an explanation.

He said Verdonk bore "individual responsibility" for her decisions in immigration cases.

Hirsi Ali falsified her name and date of birth on her asylum application when she arrived in 1992, fearing reprisals from her family after she fled an arranged marriage.

She was granted a passport in 1997 and acknowledged the falsification in 2002 during vetting as a candidate for Parliament. There were no objections then.

But after a May 11 television program rebroadcast the matter, Verdonk reviewed her case and found naturalization had been improperly granted: A ruling by the Dutch Supreme Court in 2005 found that passports issued to people with false names are automatically invalid.

"I understand my colleagues' emotions, but we're living in a country that prides itself on respecting the law," Verdonk said. "Rules and laws apply to everyone, and I'm not making any exceptions."

Verdonk has built her reputation as a tough enforcer of immigration rules, especially in high-profile cases.

Hirsi Ali became internationally known after the murder of van Gogh in November 2004. She wrote the script for his film Submission, which criticized the treatment of women under fundamentalist Islam, and offended many Muslims.

She said May 16 that she would continue to voice criticism of fundamentalist Islam and that she plans to make a sequel to the movie.

Van Gogh's murderer left a note threatening Hirsi Ali and she has been under continuous police protection since then.

Hirsi Ali said that she had been left with little choice but to resign while she resolves her citizenship problems.

The Japan Times Weekly: May 20, 2006
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