There is much talk these days of "forcing" democracy on those in Iran or Afghanistan. Talk of leaving other countries alone to sort out their problems.

In Holland, a country where freedom of expression is revered, Theo van Gogh was murdered 4 years ago by a muslim extremist for making a short film with muslim author Ayaan Hirsi Ali. The film is called "Submission, Part 1". He never got to make "Submission, Part 2" because he was shot, his throat was cut, but not before Theo made the pacifistic request of his killer, "Can't we talk about this?" With a knife, his killer stabbed a five-page letter onto Theo's chest.

The letter was addressed to Ms. Ali.

The film is about Muslim women who shift from total submission to God to a dialogue with their deity. There is a woman flogged for commiting adultery; another who is given in marriage to a man she loathes; another who is beaten by her husband on a regular basis; and another who is shunned by her father when he learns that his brother raped her. Each abuse is justified by the perpetrators in the name of God, citing the Quran verses which are now written on the women's bodies.

Western women like to insinuate that women make the choice to wear burqa's and veils. That's like espousing that slaves made the choice to pick cotton. Muslim women are killed on a daily basis for being raped, or walking with a man who is not their father or brother. Do you really think they decide whether or not they can go outside without being covered?

When asked why she risks her life to speak the truth about the lives of Muslim women, Ali says, "Some things must be said, and there are times when silence becomes an accomplice to injustice." We know that. In Germany under Hitler they were called Good Germans. Their silence deafening.

Muslim women are supposed to be "baarri".

Ali describes it this way: "It is like being a pious slave. She honors her husband's family and feeds them without question or complaint. She never whines or makes demands of any kind. She is strong in service but her head is bowed. If her husband is cruel, if he rapes her and then taunts her about it, if he decides to take another wife, or beats her, she lowers her gaze and hides her tears. And she works hard, faultlessly. She is a devoted, welcoming, well-trained work animal. this is baarri." If in the process of being baarri you feel grief, humiliation, fatigue or a sense of everlasting exploitation, you hide it."

When American women who have their own bank accounts, college educations, cars, drivers licenses and the right to divorce languidly offer the excuse that "women should be able to choose" when it comes to wearing a burqa or not, they reveal their laziness and superficial knowledge of how women are treated who are not protected under an American constitution.

The silence of the Womens Movement when it comes to defending the basic human rights of muslim women is deafening. Women who would never utter the words, "that slave wants to defer to his master, it shows modesty" have absolutely no dilemma in justifying women's subjugation under Islam. It's proof once again that the women's movement is a political tool only: they have no incentive to support women who actually need support. Only women of a particular political affiliation in a particular western country.

Ali challenges free women to stop tolerating misogyny under the flimsy guise of "multi-culturalism."

Unlike Christianity and Judaism, Islam has gone through no reformation. And because women are considered second class citizens, they have no voice or influence in their religion. There is no choice.

Ayaan and her two sisters had their genitals cut out when she was 5 years old. While her grandmother and two other women held her down, a local man took his scissors and cut off her inner labia and clitoris. Then the man sewed with a long, blunt needle, sewed her closed with only a small opening to urinate. Only great force can tear the scar tissue wider for sex. When the sewing was finished, the man cut the thread off with his teeth.

Ali's life work is to eliminate the arguments by moral relativists who claim that all cultures are equal. The excuse that "nobody knew" needs to be removed. She makes the case that every society that is still in the rigid grip of Islam oppresses women and also lags behind in development. Societies that respect the rights of women and their freedom, like her beloved Holland, are wealthy and peaceful.

Thanks to "Infidel" by Ayaan Hirsi Ali .