Ayaan Hirsi Ali is an internationally known women\u2019s rights advocate and a best-selling author, but now she has some Silicon Valley muscle behind her in her battle to end two of radical Islam\u2019s most barbaric practices.<\/p>\n
Ali, a Somali-born activist who went on to become a member of the Dutch parliament and now lives in the U.S., won over Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, along with his personal pledge of $100,000, in her fight to put a stop to female genital mutilation and honor killings.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t see how anyone who believes in the rule of law and the rights of women could do anything other than support efforts to end female-genital mutilation, forced marriage and honor-killings — practices that have no place in the 21st century,\u201d Schmidt told Ali after the two met at a recent conference.<\/p>\n
Ali, whose courageous fight against radical Islam and the toll it takes on women has earned her a spot on Al Qaeda\u2019s hit list and gotten her disinvited to a Brandeis University ceremony in which she was to have received an honorary degree, said Schmidt\u2019s backing is a huge boost to her AHA Foundation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel massive gratitude,\u201d Ali told Fox News. \u201cI find him to be incredibly brave when so few people, especially in his league, make this choice. I think he has a very sound understanding of the creed of liberalism.\u201d<\/p>\n