Hitchens' shameful exploitation of an abused girl's obsession

England's (and Burgundy's) shameful treatment of Jeanne d'Arc, the obsessed virgin of Orléans, who was burned alive in Rouen as a witch, still feeds the xenophobia of Jean-Marie Le Pen's antisemitic and fascistoid Front National movement (roughly 15 to 19% of the national vote) in France. .
The shameful treatment that some thirty praying Muslims underwent in the Mosk at the Cave of the Patriarchs at the hands of a trigger-happy Dr. Baruch, born and educated in the extremist Jewish circles that thrive in Brooklyn, will not be forgotten so soon in Palestine.
Not to speak of the shameful treatment that some 6 million Jews underwent by the hands of German and allied Nazis.

In 2006, Christopher Hitchens has discovered another shameful treatment, Holland's shameful treatment of Ajaan Hirsi Ali (Slate, May 8, 2006).
What happened? Ajaan Hirsi, not: Ali, but "Magan", her real name, lives in an apartment on top of a building, where she is guarded by police against attacks 24/7. Neighbours, not happy with this situation, typical "NIMBY's" ("not in my backyarders"), obtained from a judge, that she has to move elsewhere, so that their property may retain its value.
Although one may be sure, that most of those rich neighbours are voting for the (conservative) "Liberal" party "VVD", that she is representing as a deputy in Dutch Parliament, no hospitality, no "Dutch courage" is to be found among them. That is a scandal. A thing like this, would not happen in Brooklyn, or in Washington, in Paris or in London, isn't it? No, the scandal is, that nobody among the many adorers of the 21st century Virgin (Her last book appeared recently in the US: "The Caged Virgin") in Holland, nobody, offered her an asylum, as far as I know.

And she needs a place to hide, so badly! Particularly, since, on May 11, Dutch television revealed that she lied. She lies about

• her family, who are no islamist fundamentalists, but rather rich, enlightened people,
• her refugee story: she left Somalia at age 7, before civil wars broke out and lived under relatively easy conditions from age 12-22 as a refugee in Nairobi, Kenya, where she went to a good school, paid for by the UN refugee organisation,
• her marriage, which was apparently completely normal and happy,
• her family, who, although not happy with her decisions, gave in to them and remained in contact with her.

The second instance of shame is the behaviour of the Dutch "Liberal" (= Conservative) Party. Knowing about her lies, they made her (bought her) as a deputy, to win islamophobic votes in 2002, when Fortuyn showed, that there was a market. In reigning her in, the VVD party could keep "clean" hands as to xenophoby, while exploiting this enraged and seemingly unattackable virgin.

But the Americanized Brit, Christopher Hitchens, came up, just before the exposure of "Ali" as a fraud, as the latest shameless exploiter of this pitiful case of imposture. Everybody who uses the "Ali" myth, has his own agenda. The Hitchens agenda is, to ashame the European double standard, as compared to the US one. But that is another story. One should expect an apology from Hitchens to his readers. An apology to the Dutch may be waived.

Dutch daily NRC, on May 12, 2006: "Fokke and Sukke understand completely Hirsi "Ali"" - "You should see it in the framework of a culture ... characterised by a lack of shame and honour"