I just have to tell the world about this woman. There I was on the train this morning, flipping through The Independent, and I came across her column for the first time. There, in black and white, the newsprint staining my fingertips as they gripped the paper tightly, were the thoughts of an intelligent, spirited, finely honed and - most importantly - open mind.
The article that struck me was one on religion and the offhand, fashionable atheism of the likes of Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. Like me, Alibhai-Brown sees the flaws and faults in religion and agrees with Dawkins et al on a number of those points but, also like me, she has faith and cannot fathom the certainty with which these celebrity atheists express themselves. She states eloquently and simply all the things that I have struggled to say.
More than that; it turns out she's absolutely, resolutely wonderful. On her personal website, this is the description she uses of herself:
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown can be depended on to be disloyal to blind interest groups and patriotism. Don’t expect her to deliver any given line- she is a feminist who furiously criticises some forms of feminism, an anti-racist who will always expose black and Asian hypocrisies and oppression, a Muslim calling for reformation, a British citizen who battles for real equality for immigrants and their children... The list of people who have previously been offended by her words include Prince Charles, Cherie Blair, Bruce Anderson, Melanie Phillips Boris Johnson, Rod Liddle, David Blunkett and his erstwhile lover Kimberley Quinn, Keith Vaz, The Board of Jewish Deputies ( she believes Israel gives Jewish people a sense of place and security but she is a passionate defender of Palestinian rights) The Muslim Council of Britain, Ken Livingstone, Dianne Abbot, the National Black Alliance and many others.
While I certainly can't claim anything like her journalistic pedigree, there are a number of key points there that I've highlighted because they are encompassed within my world view. I am a feminist who cannot be dealing with self-destructive mutterings, an anti-racist who believes that people sometimes use racism as an excuse, damaging the lives of their fellows, and a Christian woman who that the desire of the existence of Israel was real and justified, but the reality of it is ill-conceived, damaged and in need of reconciliation and not further division; incidentally, my Jewish boyfriend's world view isn't far off that too.
This is the kind of journalist I would, of course, believe the world should champion. She is uncompromising, passionate, occasionally contradictory but above all heartwarmingly human. Her writing is simple and full of feeling and I'd encourage any independent woman with an opinion to engage with it; it's not about agreeing with her (no doubt I'll find an article that is completely at odds with my belief), but respecting the integrity of her journalism and self-assurance. As a woman, as a writer and as a person, this is the kind of role model I like to see.
