2015年经济学人 伊拉克的基督徒 几近消失

Iraq's Christians²

Nearly all gone

The conquering jihadists are evicting³ or killing⁴ Mosul's last Christians

At least he's alive—among the Kurds

FEW of the Christian¹ women fleeing to safety in northern Iraq arrived wearing rings in their ears or on their fingers.

Fighters of the Islamic State, the self-proclaimed new name of the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS),

the jihadist group that captured Mosul last month, relieved them of just about everything valuable—except their lives.

A week ago the Christians in the city were told they had until July 18th to convert to Islam,

pay a special tax, leave, or, in the words of a statement by the jihadists, they would have “nothing but the sword.”

But then the jihadists changed their mind: paying the tax was no longer an option.

All Christians were told by loudspeaker on July 18th that they all had to leave by the next day—or be killed.

The Arabic letter for N for Nassarah, meaning Christian, was spray-painted on their houses, with stencils⁵ declaring them to be “Property of the Islamic State”.

Monks⁶ from the monastery⁷ of Mar⁸ Behnam, near Qaraqosh, south-east of Mosul, were allowed to take only the clothes they were wearing.

“You have no place here any more,” the jihadists are reported to have said.

Some reckon that a decade ago there were around 60,000 Christians in Mosul; by June this year that figure is said to have fallen by half.

Now, for the first time in over 1,600 years, the city will have been emptied of Christians. The Mar Behnam monastery dates from the 4th century.

Other sects⁹, including Shia Muslims and Yazidis, who follow an ancient religion linked to Zoroastrianism, are being equally harshly treated.

Most of Mosul's Christians have fled east and north to the nearby autonomous¹⁰ region of Kurdistan.

“Here is the last chance Christians have for survival,” says Kaldo Ramzi Oghanna of the Assyrian Democratic Movement,

a political party tied to one of the world's most ancient Christian denominations¹¹.

1 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

2 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

3 evicting   

v.（依法从房屋里或土地上）驱逐，赶出( evict的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Money spent on evicting sex offenders cannot be spent on treating them. 花在打击性侵犯者上的钱并不能花在治疗这一社会问题上。 来自互联网
• Money spent on evicting sex offenders cannot be spent on treating them. Does this matter? 钱被花费在驱逐性犯罪者而不是用做教育他们，这样做真的好么？ 来自互联网

4 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

5 stencils   

n.蜡纸( stencil的名词复数 )；（有图案或文字的）模板；刻蜡纸者；用模板印出的文字或图案v.用模板印（文字或图案）( stencil的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• My job is to cut stencils and sort up mails. 我的工作是刻蜡板和把来信分类。 来自辞典例句
• Stencils are available to aid in the construction of neat flow charts. 型板用于帮助构成简洁的程序框图。 来自辞典例句

6 monks   

n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The monks lived a very ascetic life. 僧侣过着很清苦的生活。
• He had been trained rigorously by the monks. 他接受过修道士的严格训练。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 monastery   

n.修道院，僧院，寺院

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• She was appointed the superior of the monastery two years ago.两年前她被任命为这个修道院的院长。

8 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

9 sects   

n.宗派，教派( sect的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had subdued the religious sects, cleaned up Saigon. 他压服了宗教派别，刷新了西贡的面貌。 来自辞典例句

10 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

11 denominations   

n.宗派( denomination的名词复数 )；教派；面额；名称

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• The service was attended by Christians of all denominations. 这次礼拜仪式各教派的基督徒都参加了。 来自《简明英汉词典》