While the term dhimmitude, coined by historian Bat Ye'or, refers to the inferior status of Jews and Christians living under Islamic rule, she also points to disturbing signs of dhimmitude throughout the free West. These concerns range from the politically correct fear of giving offense, which curtails freedom of speech (think Fox punting Islam), to the fear of jihadist violence, which curtails freedom of movement, and even the free practice of religion (think armed guards at synagogues).
An unlikely moviemaker who refuses to accept dhimmi conditions is Ayaan Hirsi Ali. She is the amazingly courageous 35-year-old Somali-born ex-Muslim and Dutch parliamentarian whose first foray into screenwriting is a provocative 11-minute film called "Submission." Directed by Theo van Gogh -- who was ritualistically murdered on an Amsterdam street last fall, his head nearly severed from his body, a jihadist rant pinned to his chest with a knife -- "Submission" depicts the brutalized plight of all too many women at the hands of men under Islam, a political issue championed by Ali. For exercising her freedom of speech, Ali now lives under an Islamically imposed death sentence (fatwa). She also lives under lock and key, guarded 24 hours a day, and transported everywhere in an armored vehicle.
Such is the going price of freedom in Holland, just another ultra-liberal, Western country besieged by jihadists. "This fatwa isn't just directed against me," she explains, "but against Holland, against the entire Western world. We are all targets. In the eyes of radical Muslims, any country in which Muslims can be criticized openly is an enemy of Islam."
Like the creators of "24," who plan to produce at least two more seasons with Jack Bauer, brave Ali also has another project lined up: a sequel to "Submission" about Muslim men. "I don't want anyone else murdered," she told the British newspaper, The Guardian, recently. "But if I stop doing what I'm doing, it will be like another murder. That's the real trauma, perhaps, the thought of going through what happened to Theo van Gogh again. We told each other we would make part two, and the thing that keeps me going is the thought, 'I have to do it, I have to do it, I have to do it.'"
I wonder what keeps Jack Bauer going?