I couldn't say it better than this from author Michael Shermer:"Most of you will recall the brutal murder of Theo van Gogh (a descendent of the brother of the famous artist) in Amsterdam in 2004 at the hands of a Muslim thug who was offended by Van Gogh’s film about violence against women in the Muslim world (yes, that’s right, for accusing Muslims of being violent he was violently killed — shot eight times and nearly decapitated). The killer left a note proclaiming that the author of the script upon which the film was based, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, would be next. Since then, and especially since her book became a bestseller, Ali has lived in fear and under Dutch government security. The Dutch government has now removed its protection, leaving Ali to fend for herself, scrambling to find the means to hire private professional security.
I thank my friend Sam Harris for calling my attention to a new fund recently established in her name to raise money to pay for her security. I believe that this is a great moral cause that believers in civil liberties and freedom of speech can and should rally behind. Normally we call for general assistance in combatting irrationality in its generic form so pervasive in our world; here is a golden opportunity to give to a very specific cause in which irrationality threatens the life of a courageous free thinker and champion of liberty. I’ve made my donation. I hope you will as well. " —Michael Shermer
