Discredited Somali Quits Dutch Politics

"I have said many times that I am not proud that I lied when I sought asylum in the Netherlands," Hirsi Ali said in her statement Tuesday. "I did it because I felt I had no choice. I was frightened that if I simply said I was fleeing a forced marriage, I would be sent back to my family. And I was frightened that if I gave my real name, my clan would hunt me down and find me."

"The allegations that I willingly married my distant cousin, and was present at the wedding ceremony, are simply untrue," she said of the television documentary. "I refused to attend the formal ceremony, and I was married regardless."

Hirsi Ali said that last fall she informed senior members of her party that she would not seek reelection in 2007, and that recent events and renewed political attacks against her had accelerated long-standing plans to get out of Dutch politics and move abroad.

An official familiar with her case, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that a recent Dutch court ruling that lying on an asylum petition was grounds for expulsion had raised concern that Hirsi Ali's case would be used as a cause celebre for anti-immigration activists, and that it would be "hugely embarrassing" because "the same issue was being used to throw out Moroccans and Kurds."

The renewed controversy over Hirsi Ali's asylum erupted while she was in the United States promoting her new book, "The Caged Virgin: An Emancipation Proclamation for Women and Islam."

Andrew Pappas, spokesman for the American Enterprise Institute, confirmed that she has been offered an appointment as a resident fellow.

Special correspondent Bruce Mutsvairo in Amsterdam contributed to this report.