Ayaan Hirsi Ali deconverted from Islam after seeing the September 11 attacks being justified by Al Qaeda 's leader Osama bin Laden with verses from the Quran that she verified personally , and subsequently reading Herman Philipse 's '' Atheïstisch manifest '' ( " Atheist Manifesto " ) . She soon became a prominent critic of Islam amidst an increasing number of death threats from Islamists and thus a need for security . She was elected to Parliament in 2003 for the VVD , and co-producing Theo van Gogh 's short film '' Submission '' ( broadcast on 29 August 2004 ) , which criticised the treatment of women in Islamic society . This led to even more death threats , and Van Gogh was assassinated on 2 November 2004 by jihadist terrorist Hofstad Network leader Mohammed Bouyeri . He threatened Hirsi Ali and other nonbelievers by writing that her " apostasy had turned her away from the truth " , " only death can separate truth from lies " , and that she would " certainly perish " . Gone into hiding and heavily protected , she received a string of international awards , including one of '' Time '' s 100 most influential people of the world , for her efforts at highlighting Islam 's violation of human rights , especially women 's rights , before moving to the United States in 2006 following a Dutch political crisis over her citizenship
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Apostasy in Islam