BERLIN - Dutch writer Ayaan Hirsi Ali is to receive a special award from German publishing house Axel Springer in recognition of her "courage and commitment to freedom as a women's rights campaigner and critic of Islam."
The publisher of Germany's biggest selling daily Bild said Hirsi Ali will be awarded the €25,000 ($32,375) prize Thursday in Berlin.
Somali-born Hirsi Ali is a former Dutch lawmaker and bestselling author of the autobiography "Infidel: My Life."
In the book, she gives a graphic account of how she rejected her faith and the violence she says was inflicted on her in the name of Islam.
Following death threats from Muslims offended by her work she moved to Washington, D.C., in 2006 where she lives under protection.
