To think, there were a number of students who didn’t want her to show up at all. This is definitely a moment of triumph for freedom of expression.

Jennifer Kabbany at The College Fix has the story:

Ayaan Hirsi Ali Given Standing Ovation at Yale

Ayaan Hirsi Ali received a standing ovation at the end of her speech at Yale University on Monday night, the New Haven Register reports.

Global human rights activist Hirsi Ali is a controversial critic of Islamic extremists, after she endured forced genital mutilation and fled from an arranged marriage. Her visit had been protested by the Muslim student group at Yale in the weeks leading up to her arrival. But in the end, she bravely stood before her supporters and critics and said what she wanted to say about the religion’s violence against and oppression of women.

She drew a standing-room only crowd of 200 and “no boos nor signs of dissent” were spotted, the Register reports, adding:

Hirsi Ali began by thanking the Buckley group “for standing up for academic freedom” by inviting her to speak. … Alluding to the stance against her by Yale’s Muslim Students Association, Hirsi Ali said they had sought to “silence” her …

“My question to the Muslim students at Yale is: why do you try to silence a dissident?” Hirsi Ali asked.

And then she asked, in the wake of beheadings of other “dissidents” and suppression of women, “Why are Muslims silent? Where is the Muslim outrage?”

She added, “For Muslim women, their place is at home. They are to sacrifice everything, practice strict obedience to their fathers, grandfathers and husbands.” She said it comes down to complete control and “indoctrination.”

Hirsi Ali concluded her speech by asking: “Will you submit — or will you finally stand up to Allah?”