diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index b1f3c4baa..0fd1da10e 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ AC_USE_SYSTEM_EXTENSIONS
 AC_CONFIG_SRCDIR(src/cairo.h)
 AC_CONFIG_HEADERS(config.h)
 
-AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE([1.11 -Wall no-define no-dist-gzip dist-xz])
+AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE([1.11 foreign -Wall no-define no-dist-gzip dist-xz])
 AM_SILENT_RULES([yes])
 
 # Initialize libtool