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40 year-old Ayaan Hirsi Ali lives and works in the United States where she has a position with an influential right-wing think tank.

It's a long way from Somalia, where she grew up, constantly on the move because of her father's activism against the then Somali president.

She says the one constant in her childhood was her mother's unbending attachment to Islam. She says she was beaten by a religious teacher until a rib broke and at the age of 6 she was subjected to genital mutilation.

In 1992 Ayaan went to the Netherlands to escape an arranged marriage. There she learned Dutch and worked as an interpreter in abortion clinics and shelters for battered women.

After earning her college degree she began working for the Labour Party. She denounced Islam after the September 11 terrorist attacks and later became a member of the Dutch Parliament.

As an MP she became an outspoken campaigner, particularly for Muslim women.

In 2004 Ayaan came to international attention when Dutch film-maker Theo van Gogh was murdered in the street. The two had worked togther on a film attacking Islam's treatment of women. A note pinned to van Gogh's chest stated that Ayaan would be next.

Ayaan was forced into hiding and she eventually moved to the United States. Lucy Ash talks to her about her experiences and adjusting to life in America, as well as the provocative ideas in her latest book "Nomad".