I don't have much in me left for Somalia, because the country is so broken, it's not realistic to daydream about it.

I am grateful to my father for sending me to school, and that we moved from Somalia to Kenya, where I learned English.

I grew up in Somalia, in Saudi Arabia, in Ethiopia, and in Kenya. I came to Europe in 1992, when I was 22, and became a member of Parliament in Holland.

I'd love to go and visit the Mosque in Mecca again, just for the sheer beauty of it, not for God - much the way a non-Catholic might go to Vatican City because of the beauty of the buildings and the artifacts.

The people who believe themselves to be on the left, and who defend the agents of Islam in the name of tolerance and culture, are being rightwing. Not just rightwing. Extreme rightwing. I don't understand how you can be so upset about the Christian right and just ignore the Islamic right. I'm talking about equality.

They decided to let immigrants in and I am an immigrant. They gave us a chance to participate in this country's life and I took it.