A term in the Somali language, baarri describes the pious, devoted daughter or wife who epitomizes the feminine virtues of submission, modesty, and selflessness. Women who are baarri guard their honor, work tirelessly in the home, and obey their husbands and fathers. For this devotion, the women are promised rewards in the afterlife. Hirsi Ali notes that the concept is used to manipulate women into enduring injustice.

Djinn or genies are creatures from West Asian and Islamic mythology who exist in a parallel dimension to humans. Created from fire, Djinn can change their form and be summoned across the dimensions. In the memoir, Djinn symbolize the religion of Ayaan’s grandmother, a blend of pre-Islamic and Islamic belief, since they are rooted in pre-Islamic Arabian folklore. However, it must be noted that the Quran recognizes Djinn as real, not mythic, beings.

Excision is another term for Female Genital Mutilation, the practice of the removal of a woman’s clitoris, and sometimes, the labia, as a “purification” ritual or to control her sexuality. Excision practices are common in Africa and Asia, with Africa accounting for most instances. In Somalia, almost 99% of women had undergone excision as recently as 2025.

Excision was once called “female circumcision,” creating false equivalence with male circumcision, when the two rituals are entirely different. While controversial, in male circumcision only the foreskin of the penis is removed, which does not impact pleasure or function if properly performed. Excision, however, reduces a woman’s capacity to feel pleasure—although it does not alter desire—and creates long-term health issues by impacting the flow of menstrual blood and urine, and making childbirth extra difficult, risky, and painful. Since excision is usually performed without anesthesia, it also causes considerable psychological trauma.

For Hirsi Ali, excision symbolizes the peak of injustice against women in Islam, although she acknowledges the practice predates Islam and does not have a basis in the Quran. In practice, though, imams allow the misguided belief that excision is Islamic, to control female sexuality.

In 1989, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for the death of the writer Salman Rushdie for his supposedly blasphemous novel The Satanic Verses, leading to the public misconception that a fatwa is always a draconian edict. However, a Fatwa—an Arabic word literally translated to “explanation”—is actually a legal opinion issued by an authority on any point that requires clarification. Fatwas are typically sought by a Muslim layperson and issued by clerics. Ayaan describes the letter pinned on Theo’s chest by Boureni as a fatwa, because it is precisely worded.

Hadiths are considered the second-most important source of Islamic law after the Quran, and are a record of the sayings, actions, and tacit approvals of Prophet Muhammad. Believers refer to the Hadith books to determine if an action is rightful or approved by the Prophet. Hirsi Ali notes that hadiths can be misused by extremists to justify their action: “Bin Laden quoted the hadith: ‘The Hour [of Judgment] will not come until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them’” (271). She contends that since the Hadith, like the Quran, were compiled many centuries ago, following them uncritically and closely is problematic, although her critical views have been disputed by other commentators and some religious scholars.

Hirsi Ali learns the word haram in Saudi Arabia, the Arabic term referring to that which is forbidden or sinful under Islamic law. The concept of haram is ubiquitous in Saudi Arabia, with Hirsi Ali noting that even men and women travelling in buses together is considered haram. The extreme application of the concept of haram in Saudi Arabia signifies the corruption of religious doctrine, since traditionally haram refers to actions such as theft, adultery, and eating forbidden foods.

Hidjab (Hijab) in the book refers to the full-body, concealing robe (usually black) and head covering worn by some Muslim women such as Sister Aziza. The burka and jilbab are similar, with Hirsi Ali describing the jilbab as “a thick cloth covering everything from the head to below the knees and another thick skirt underneath” (103). Hirsi Ali associates these full-body coverings with the growth of a radical form of Islam which subjugates women further. The thick full-body coverings replace the earlier, thinner robes and head coverings worn by Muslim women in Somalia and Kenya, signifying indigenous Islamic customs being overrun by a homogenous religion rooted in Saudi Arabia’s stricter practices. While Hirsi Ali describes hijab as a full veil, usually hijab refers to the hair covering worn by Muslim women. The concept of hijab (not the physical garment) itself refers to modesty.

One of the most controversial concepts associated with Islam, jihad in Arabic means “struggle” or “effort.” Muslim scholars argue that the broad term refers to striving against sin (Rashid, Qasim. “Jihad is Not a Dirty Word.” The Washington Post, Oct. 2017) though other commentators, often Westerners, say jihad can be a call for war against the enemies of Islam (Morrisey, Fitzroy. “The Many Meanings of Jihad.” Engelsberg Ideas, Oct. 2023). Hirsi Ali acknowledges that Jihad can have multiple meanings, but contends that it may also “mean violence; violent jihad is a historical constant in Islam” (108). Her views are informed by exposure to the Brotherhood, which openly called for war against the enemies of Islam, including Jewish people, the US, and the West.

Meaning “disbelief” or “ingratitude” in Arabic, kufr implies hiding something; in practice it refers to practices which deny or oppose Islamic belief, such as polytheism. In the book, kufr is often weaponized by people to discriminate against others, such as Hirsi Ali’s mother looking down on Ethiopia as a kufr country because Ethiopian women wear skirts to their knees and smoke openly. The Somali word “gaalo” is used in a similar context, specifically for foreigners and white infidels. Hirsi Ali notes Islamic extremists use the concept of kufr to make enemies out of other communities and nations.

Osman Mahamud is the clan name of Hirsi Ali, arising from their common ancestor. Identifying oneself as Osman Mahamud can summon help from any clan member, as it does repeatedly for Hirsi Ali and her family in the memoir. The name signifies both the power and perils of clan loyalties: It can be an anchor in difficult times, but also leads to parochialism. Magan, Hirsi Ali’s paternal grandfather, was a descendant of Osman Mahamud “from the Darod subclan that always claimed the right to conquer and rule over other peoples” (14).

The Somali term Qworegoys refers to a last-ditch self-defense tactic grandmothers and mothers teach young women. If a woman is threatened with rape by a man, she is first to invoke Allah to tell the man to leave her alone. If the invocation fails her, the woman can perform the Qworegoys and “run around behind a man, squat down, reach between his legs under his sarong, and yank his testicles hard […] He might hit or kick, but they were to tuck in their heads and […] hope to hang on long enough [for the] attacker to faint” (9). The fact that the move is taught so commonly as a survival tactic illustrates both the ubiquitous threat of sexual violence to women in the desert, as well as the hardiness and ingenuity of desert women. However, the tactic also presupposes that a woman threatened with sexual violence will not have a freeze response (a common response to trauma and threat), will have sufficient freedom of movement to perform the maneuver, and creates heavy expectations for women to defend themselves instead of putting the onus on men not to attack.

The Enlightenment or the Age of Enlightenment refers to an important philosophical movement in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. Revolving around the idea that reason—rather than faith—is the primary source of authority, the Enlightenment advanced liberal humanistic ideals such as the separation of church and state, religious tolerance, and democracy.

Hirsi Ali believes that “the Enlightenment cut European culture from its roots in old fixed ideas of magic, kingship, social hierarchy, and the domination of priests, and regrafted it onto a great strong trunk that supported the equality of each individual” (238-239). She argues that Islamic society needs a similar movement to truly enter the modern era. However, her uncritical view of the Enlightenment does not take into account the fact that it coincided with the rise of colonialism—the same men who proposed freedom for their countryfolk were exploiting others in distant lands.

The Holy Book of the Muslims, the Quran is believed to be a direct revelation from Allah through the archangel Gabriel to the Holy Prophet Muhammad. Since the Quran was revealed to Prophet Muhammad, the revelation proves his prophethood. The Quran is written in Arabic and consists of 114 chapters or sura. Some of the important figures in Judaism and Christianity are also revered in the Quran, such as Adam and Moses.

Hirsi Ali has a complex relationship with the Holy Book, acknowledging that its emphasis on charity and piety is commendable, but she is disturbed by the fact that many Muslims follow the verses of the Quran uncritically. In her opinion, the Quran is a historical record rather than divine speech, and rooted in its early medieval context. Obeying it means “it spreads a culture that is brutal, bigoted, fixated on controlling women, and harsh in war” (271). Expectedly, some believing Muslims, Islamic religious authorities, and other scholars disagree, as noted in the background entry on critical context.