Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Restoring Responsible Citizenship by God's Grace

A video of the speech by Ayaan Hirsi Ali at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship conference in London on February 18, 2025 –with transcript and comments.

If you want to save the West, you need Christianity — says ex-Muslim and ex-atheist Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Transcript of ARC Speech by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. It’s wonderful to be back with you — those of you who were here last year, 1,500 strong, and welcome to those of you who are attending this conference for the first time. This year, it’s 4,150. Congratulations to Philippa and to Jordan and to everyone else who made this happen.

The Nation State and the Meaning of Citizenship

I want to begin with a simple point. This event has been organized by an Alliance for Responsible Citizenship, but citizenship implies a distinct political entity. For most of the modern era, that entity was called the nation state. Modern liberals trashed the nation state and nationalism, invoking Hitler and Mussolini and arguing that nationalism had caused World War II, not to mention the Holocaust. They failed to make a distinction between bad nationalism and good nationalism. They also underplayed the role of socialism, collectivism, as well as racial theories of fascism. The old liberals of the 19th century had passionately believed in the nation state and saw it as indispensable for responsible citizenship. The modern liberals disagreed.

How Modern Liberals Redefined Citizenship

Who are these modern liberals I’m referring to? Many were not liberals at all in the sense that John Stuart Mill would have understood them. Some were really social democrats, well to the left of true liberalism. Some were tenured intellectuals who transformed the modern university into a place for brainwashing young minds into hating their national identity and history. Some were the editors in charge of legacy media, whose focus in the past 50 years seems to have been to undermine the national institutions. Some worked as activists within the web of think tanks and NGOs, and finally, some ran the administrative state — the bloated bureaucracy that has come to see itself as the benign guardian against fascism while routinely suppressing liberty.

Dreams of a Borderless World: A Delusional Disaster

What was it that they wanted to replace the nation state with? The radical pursuit of heterogeneity in the name of multiculturalism and diversity. International and supranational entities designed to transcend or sidestep the nation states, such as the United Nations or the European Union. Some even dreamt of world government—the globalists. There were other alternatives to the nation states too. For example, Islamists argued, and continue to do so, that the caliphate should be restored and Sharia law imposed. But these visions of a post-national world are delusional. The international and supranational bodies turned out to be dysfunctional—tyrannical rule of bureaucracy and wasteful, chronically prone to fraud and abuse. The experiment based on the vaunted theory of multiculturalism to bring about heterogeneous societies in Europe has, in large measure, failed. As for the Islamist states, as we’ve seen, all the territories snatched and governed by jihadi insurgents are ghastly hellscapes. The only habitat worse than a Hobbesian state was the Islamic State, where life was even nastier, more brutal, and shorter.

So part of my message to you today is simple: stop the post-national experiment. It has already gone too far. From 1945 to, say, 2014, it had a good run — roughly 70 years. But let’s face it, most of that period was the Cold War, from around 1948 until 1989. But the post-Cold War period — or shall we call it Interbellum 2.0 — is over. Maybe it came to an end on the 20th of January 2025, or maybe it ended long before that — when the Syrian dictator used chemical weapons in 2013, or when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. But it’s over, which means we can bid farewell to two or three decades of uncertainty — uncertainty of identity, uncertainty of morality, and uncertainty of purpose. Decades of delusion. Now we can see clearly: there is no better model than the nation state.

The Fall of the Globalist Dream: Good News for Responsible Citizenship

The good news is that the proponents of a post-national global order are cast out into the political wilderness. In America, the Democratic Party today cannot adopt the “let’s sit this one out until 2028 and everything will be okay” posture of 2016. They have: number one, no clear leadership to help the party navigate its way out of the mess they have put themselves in — all the clever Democrats are now serving in or supporting the Trump administration; number two, they have no funding — the big donors have moved on, especially after Kamala Harris’s profligate campaign; number three, they have no media monopoly, and it’s not only X (formerly Twitter) — there is a forest of new media, and most of that is right of center and beyond; number four, they have no control of government, especially through the bureaucracy and intelligence communities — in fact, all DEI hires are being actively purged from various agencies. Most important of all, the globalist message was rejected in favor of the “America First” agenda. In short, they have no power. And that is good news. It means Americans have a better chance of achieving the mission of this conference, which is to restore responsible citizenship.

For me, responsible citizenship means the restoration of a healthy nationalism — that’s the preeminence of national sovereignty, loyalty to a shared national identity, and citizenship defined as allegiance to the nation state. It’s fidelity to the Constitution or to the foundational principles and methods of the nation — to the idea that all citizens are equal before the law, that we all have the same rights and obligations, that justice is blind, that we are all innocent of any crime until proven guilty, that the government is limited and constrained by law, and it’s there to protect these things.

The Moral Compass: Why Christianity Still Matters

But I have one more point to add, and it’s the most important point of all: the nation state also needs Christian morality — or, in the case of Israel, the morality of the Torah. In Europe, Christianity remains, despite decades of secularization, the crucial operating system of society. Without it, the apps don’t work. When I came to Europe in 1992, fleeing a failed marriage that was part of a failed clan system, this was the type of nation state that I found: wealthy, peaceful, stable, and optimistic, but still rooted in the Calvinist and Catholic traditions. I had left the chaos of Somalia and other African nations where I had lived, where tribal, ethnic, and religious conflicts had made it impossible to develop a healthy nationalism. What I found in Holland was truly inspiring to me. I found the same inspiration when I first went to the United States. But in the past 16 or so years, I have seen on both sides of the Atlantic a sustained effort to drive Christianity to the margins of our society. I believe this gamble on secularism will go terribly wrong — it already has.

Love Your Neighbor, Made In God’s Image: The Roots of Human Rights

Every successful nation has to be based on more than a constitution and a body of law. There must be transcendental stories that unite citizens to an ethical as well as legal code. For the West, that was the Judeo-Christian story of the Bible. The biblical understanding of human sinfulness inspired the concept of limited state power or rule of law, emphasizing checks and balances to prevent tyranny (Isaiah 33:22). Governments are seen as instruments to maintain order and justice but not as ultimate authorities. The belief that all humans are created in God’s image (Genesis 1:27) underpins ideas of equal worth, human rights, and dignity for all individuals, including the poor and the neglected. Biblical teachings such as “love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18) emphasize care for others and fairness in governance. The Bible’s distinction between God’s sovereignty and earthly authority (Matthew 22:21) influenced the Western principle that the state should not overreach into matters of faith and conscience. Biblical ethics stress that rulers and citizens are accountable to a higher moral law, ensuring that government acts justly and protects the vulnerable (Romans 13:3-4). These principles collectively shaped Western values like democracy, human rights, and constitutional government.

That is why my message to you today, and the message of Courage Media, is to stress that responsible citizenship in the West is inseparable from Christian morality. Please, let’s aspire to build or restore the nation states on which our security depends, and let’s ensure that they run, as they used to, on that Christian operating system — without which we can have no moral compass. Thank you.

What follows is additional commentary on the speech by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, highlighting some important ideas.

What Happened to Christianity in Europe? (Ayaan Hirsi Ali Explains)

David Wood provides additional context and commentary on the speech Ayaan Hirsi Ali gave at the ARC conference.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s Journey From Islam to Atheism to Christianity

Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s journey has been legendary. I’ve been following her story for about two decades now. I read her book Infidel when it came out. Then I read The Caged Virgin. I was already familiar with the short film she made with Theo van Gogh, Submission. That film cost van Gogh his life. It would have been very easy for Ayaan to back off of Islam after losing her friend, but she didn’t. She started rolling with the New Atheists and went after Islam even harder.

Then, after being one of the main figures in the New Atheist movement for many years, in 2023 she announced that she’d become a Christian. So she went from Muslim to atheist to Christian. That’s a pattern we’re going to be seeing again and again in the near future. And now Ayaan has become the prophet of common sense to a Western world that has lost all touch with common sense.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Good Nations vs. Global Monsters

In the speech she just gave at the ARC conference in London, Ayaan spent most of her time talking about the importance of nation-states and of having a healthy sense of nationalism, especially when other forces are at work trying to destroy nations and build some global monstrosity. But towards the end of her speech, she went in a completely different direction. Let’s have a look.

Ayaan’s Analogy: Apps Don’t Work if the Operating System is Hacked

“But I have one more point to add, and it’s the most important point of all. The nation-state also needs Christian morality. The nation-state needs Christian morality.” She didn’t get that from her time with the New Atheists. I wonder if she can come up with a powerful analogy to help clarify her point. “In Europe, Christianity remains, despite decades of secularization, is the crucial operating system of society. Without it, the apps don’t work. Christianity is the operating system of Europe. Without the operating system, the apps don’t work. Europe declared war on its own operating system, and now the leaders can’t figure out why everything else stopped working. When I came to Europe in 1992, fleeing a forced marriage that was part of a failed clan system, this was the type of nation-state that I found: wealthy, peaceful, stable, and optimistic, but still rooted in the Calvinist and Catholic traditions.”

She sought political asylum in the Netherlands in 1992, and she describes the nation back then as wealthy, peaceful, stable, and optimistic. Does that sound anything like Europe today? “I had left the chaos of Somalia and other African nations where I had lived, where tribal, ethnic, and religious conflict had made it impossible to develop a healthy nationalism. What I found in Holland was truly inspiring to me. I found the same inspiration when I first went to the United States. The Netherlands and the United States were completely different from Somalia. For some reason, what could be taken for granted in the Netherlands and the United States was impossible in Somalia.” Ayaan was inspired by Western nations. That’s when the New Atheists informed her that Western nations were great in spite of Christianity, not because of it. In fact, if they could just get rid of Christianity, the West would become even greater.

Secularism’s Misguided Gamble and Damage Done by Atheism

“But in the past 16 or so years, I have seen on both sides of the Atlantic a sustained effort to drive Christianity to the margins of our society. I believe this gamble on secularism will go terribly wrong. It already has.” Yeah, turns out the New Atheists had absolutely no clue what they were talking about. They were completely out of touch with reality. Instead of improving the West, they did massive damage by attacking the framework of Western civilization. Every successful nation has to be based on more than a constitution and a body of law. There must be transcendental stories that unite citizens to an ethical as well as legal code. For the West, that was the Judeo-Christian story of the Bible.

Biblical Foundations for Good Government

Now, let’s have a quick Bible study with former Muslim, former atheist Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

“The biblical understanding of human sinfulness inspired the concept of limited state power or rule of law, emphasizing checks and balances to prevent tyranny. Isaiah 33:22: governments are seen as instruments to maintain order and justice, but not as ultimate authorities.” Ayaan cites Isaiah 33:22 as she talks about the biblical concept of human sinfulness and how it led to a system of checks and balances. Let’s read the verse: “For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us.” What does this have to do with human sinfulness and checks and balances? Interesting story: James Madison, Founding Father, noticed the three different roles in governing here — judge, lawgiver, king — or, modified for the United States, the judicial, the legislative, and the executive. God can do all three, but human beings are fallible and corruptible and power-hungry. So if human beings are going to take on these roles, the roles need to be divided up into different branches of government, and there has to be a system of checks on the power of these branches. So Ayaan is noting the belief that all humans are created in God’s image, Genesis 1:27, underpins ideas of equal worth, human rights, and dignity for all individuals, including the poor and the neglected. Genesis 1:27: “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

Biblical teachings such as “love your neighbor as yourself,” Leviticus 19:18, emphasize care for others and fairness in governance. Leviticus 19:18: “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.” If you think this means you only have to love people in your own group and not people outside your group, think again. Same chapter, verses 33 to 34: “When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.” But David, does this mean we have to be nice to jihadis? No, this isn’t saying you need to be nice to criminals and people who are trying to subjugate you. This is saying don’t mistreat a foreigner just for being a foreigner. This is about people like Ayaan Hirsi Ali, not about people screaming “Allahu Akbar.”

Jesus Outwits the Pharisees’ Trap – God’s Kingdom vs. Caesar’s Realm

The Bible’s distinction between God’s sovereignty and earthly authority, Matthew 22:21, influenced the Western principle that the state should not overreach into matters of faith and conscience. Let’s read the passage, Matthew 22, starting at verse 15: “Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. And they sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians, saying, ‘Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?'” This was meant as a trap for Jesus. The Jews were under the control of the Roman Empire. Many Jews did not like paying taxes to their oppressors. So the Pharisees asked Jesus if it’s lawful for a Jew to pay taxes to Caesar. If Jesus says yes, he’s going to be in trouble with some Jews—they’re going to call him a traitor. If he says no, he’s going to be in trouble with some Roman soldiers—they’re going to teach him a lesson. So how does Jesus respond? “But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, ‘Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax.’ And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, ‘Whose likeness and inscription is this?’ They said, ‘Caesar’s.’ Then he said to them, ‘Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ When they heard it, they marveled, and they left him and went away.”

“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” So you’re allowed to have dual obligations. You can have obligations to human rulers and obligations to God. But if you pay attention to what Jesus is saying, this actually ties in with Genesis 1:27, where we saw that human beings are created in the image of God. Jesus says, “Show me the coin for the tax.” The coin is a denarius. This is a denarius—it’s got an image of Tiberius Caesar on it. Jesus says, “Whose image is this?” “Caesar’s.” “Render to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.” What belongs to Caesar? That which bears his image, namely the denarius. “Render to God what belongs to God.” What belongs to God? That which bears His image, namely you. You bear God’s image. So give the government the coin and give yourself to God.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali: From Islam To Atheism to Christian Revival

Biblical ethics stress that rulers and citizens are accountable to a higher moral law, ensuring that government acts justly and protects the vulnerable. Romans 13:3-4: “For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. Rulers are supposed to be servants of God for the good of the people. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.” These principles collectively shaped Western values like democracy, human rights, and constitutional government. “That is why my message to you today, and the message of Courage Media, is to stress that responsible citizenship in the West is inseparable from Christian morality.” Whoa, did you catch that last part? Responsible citizenship in the West is inseparable from Christian morality.

Don’t be sad, atheists. Some of you still don’t realize that you’ve already absorbed quite a bit of Christian morality. You just bought the lie that the values you absorbed are somehow normal for human beings when they’re not. “Please, let’s aspire to build or restore the nation-states on which our security depends, and let’s ensure that they run, as they used to, on that Christian operating system, without which we can have no moral compass. Thank you.” Let’s make sure our nation-states run on the Christian operating system, without which we can have no moral compass. This lady used to roll with Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris.

If you’ve been depressed about the direction things have been heading, you should be encouraged that people like Ayaan Hirsi Ali are breaking the spell. She was held captive by Islam, and she got out of it. Then she was held captive by the New Atheism, and she got out of it. If this woman, empowered by the spirit of the Almighty, can break those kinds of psychological and spiritual chains, what business do you have looking at your city or your country and saying it’s too late for us? Moaning and wailing time is over. It’s revival time now.

Background on the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship

The Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) was founded by a group of individuals including Jordan Peterson, a Canadian psychologist and political commentator, Baroness Philippa Stroud, who serves as the CEO, and John Anderson, a former Australian Deputy Prime Minister. The organization’s founding was announced in June 2023, with its inaugural conference held in London in October of that year.

For Further Study: Point and Counterpoint

Published on March 11, 2025; updated on April 3, 2025

Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Restoring Responsible Citizenship