Ex-Lawmaker Can Keep Her Dutch Citizenship
Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somalian-born former lawmaker known for her criticism of fundamentalist Islam, can retain her Dutch citizenship after all.
The ruling by Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk reversed a decision of six weeks ago, when Verdonk announced that Hirsi Ali’s 1997 naturalization was invalid because she had lied on her asylum application.
Verdonk said Hirsi Ali did not lie when she created a new identity on her asylum application because she used a legitimate name -- her grandfather’s -- under the law of her homeland.
Hirsi Ali was fleeing an arranged marriage when she arrived as a refugee.
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