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2007年VOA标准英语-Writer, Former Dutch Politician Ayaan Hirsi Ali

时间:2007-05-18 03:03:35

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(单词翻译)

By Carolyn Weaver1
New York, NY
30 January 2007
 
watch Ayaan Hirsi Ali part 2 report

In 1992, Somali-born feminist2 Ayaan Hirsi Ali was forced by her family into an unwanted marriage. On her way to live with her new husband in Canada, she claimed political asylum3 in the Netherlands, and settled there, working as a cleaning lady, and later as an interpreter for asylum claimants and battered4 immigrant women. She also earned a master's degree in political science.

Following the 9/11 terror attacks, she wrote and spoke5 out against Islamic radicalism7, and was elected to the Dutch parliament. Her screenplay for the film Submission8 portrayed9 the domestic abuse of women sanctioned by holy verses from the Koran. After the film was broadcast on Netherlands television in 2004, an Islamic radical6 assassinated10 the movie's director Theo Van Gogh, leaving a note behind that said Ayaan Hirsi Ali was next.

(This is part two of an exclusive interview with Ayaan Hirsi Ali.  See part one of the VOA interview)

 
Ayaan Hirsi Ali

At a press conference last February, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, then still a member of the Dutch parliament, spoke out to defend the publication of the Danish cartoons that depicted11 the prophet Mohammed. "I am here to defend the right to offend,” she said. “Shame on those papers and TV channels who lacked the courage to show their readers the caricatures from the cartoon affair. These intellectuals live off free speech, but they accept censorship.”  She went on to attack the European politicians, including the prime minister of her own government, who did not resist what she said were the demands of tyrannical regimes that the cartoons be suppressed.

It was a characteristic statement from a woman who calls herself an “Enlightenment fundamentalist,” whose greatest devotion is to free thought and free speech, and for whom death threats seem only a spur to speak out again. She sat down for an interview with VOA on a recent trip to New York:

Reporter: Do you think a progressive Islam is the formative stages now?

Ayaan Hirsi Ali: “Islam, like any other faith, will go through a process of evolution. Right now I think it is in the middle of that evolution. There’s a lot of havoc12 and a lot of change and violence going on within the house of Islam. The problem is that, unlike [in] Christianity, there is no authority and no hierarchy13 that will say now we have evolved to the next stage. So, I don’t know how we are going to solve the problem of organization.

But what makes me optimistic is, for example, since 9/11, the number of books that have been published on Islam, either by Muslims or non-Muslims, exceeds in number published on Islam ever since the year 900. With that kind of intellectual agitation14, I am optimistic that Islam will evolve into something more humane15.

If every Muslim who feels as you do spoke out, wouldn't it be instant civil war? I mean, there's no way that every government in the world could provide protection to every moderate progressive Muslim who spoke out.

You are to a degree right. Social change, when it's sudden and revolutionary, comes with a lot of violence. But the change can also be gradual. And I am speaking, operating, in a context where there is the rule of law, and where people do not necessarily have to face immediate16 violence. I know if I were saying what I say in Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Pakistan, Somalia -- that's a completely different reality. I understand that.

But I'm saying we have to start somewhere. And in this global world where we live with the Internet and information technology, and what we say now reaches millions of people, I still think there are many fellow Muslims who live here, who think like me, who can and should speak out, who will not face as much danger as their brothers and sisters in the countries where there is no freedom of expression. 

You've said you wish that Bush and Blair, rather than talking about spreading democracy, would think in terms of spreading freedom of expression and Enlightenment values, rationality. Can you explain what you mean by that?

I think that democracy is a product of a recognition that the human individual is free, and I mean free not only physically17 unchained, but also mentally unchained. And if you protect the freedom of expression, then I can come to you and convince you, persuade you, without using violence, what I think is important. And then we can form a movement, form a party, and the other group can form an opposition18, and that way, democracy comes about.

It seems that you came to your change of mind and heart really because of what is happening to women, and how you see women's situation under Islam -- and also sexual mores19. I know you are also a supporter of gay rights.

Yes, I am a supporter of individual rights, and that includes gay rights. It's not only Muslim women. I know about the treatment of women in China, where they have a one-child policy, and that de facto has led to getting rid of little girls. I know that in India women who belong to a lower caste are treated terribly, and that's justified20 in the name of their own culture and their own faith. I've seen and listened to Africans who are not Muslims who practice genital mutilation, for example. So it's not only Islam. But what you see is that, except for Western culture, that all these other cultures seem to celebrate the mistreatment and the abuse of women, and justify21 it in the name of their culture, or take it for granted. And that needs to change.

Do you feel hopeful that radical Islam can be stemmed or do you see it as kind of inexorable, and that we will be living with terror, and that you will spend the rest of your life under a fatwah?

I am spending the rest of my life under a fatwah. Unfortunately, I will not see the fruits of my labor22 and activism. I think it's going to be something for the next generation. But look at people like Martin Luther King. It's the generation after him that's enjoying the fruits of his struggle. And I today enjoy, in a different way, the fruits of other people in the past who had struggled for the rights of women, for racial equality, and for the rights of individuals in general. And I think we just need to pass that on.

You think that Islam should get rid of the idea of Hell. Why is that so important?

Because I think the most important barrier, when it comes to a conflict of conscience between the believing Muslim and the Scriptures23, is always hell. It's the threat of hell. I've spoken to thousands of Muslims who are compassionate24 people who do not want to kill. They do not want to become the enemies of unbelievers, or see unbelievers as enemies, non-Muslims as enemies. But there is always the barrier, the threat of hell.  If you disobey God, then you go to Hell. So what do you choose, the convenience of having an unbeliever as your friend today on Earth, or suffering eternal hell? So I think we have to address the dogma of hell, the dogma of the hereafter.

Do you regret at all that you've turned your life into something that you really can't control entirely25? Do you wish that you could lead a private life again, and not be in danger?

I wish that, but I also knew when I got involved in this that -- it's like the woman who decided26 to sit down in the bus [Rosa Parks, during he Civil Rights movement in the 1960s United States]. You have to live with the consequences of remaining seated. And I have to remain -- I have to live with the consequences of standing27 up." 

Last year, Ayaan Hirsi Ali left the Dutch parliament, and moved to the United States, where she is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Still under 24-hour police protection, she is now working on the second part of Submission, which will focus on Islam and the issue of homosexual rights. Her autobiography28, Infidel: The Story of My Enlightenment, is published in the United States by the Free Press.


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 weaver LgWwd     
n.织布工;编织者
参考例句:
  • She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快,而且布的质量很好。
  • The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。
2 feminist mliyh     
adj.主张男女平等的,女权主义的
参考例句:
  • She followed the feminist movement.她支持女权运动。
  • From then on,feminist studies on literature boomed.从那时起,男女平等受教育的现象开始迅速兴起。
3 asylum DobyD     
n.避难所,庇护所,避难
参考例句:
  • The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
  • Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。
4 battered NyezEM     
adj.磨损的;v.连续猛击;磨损
参考例句:
  • He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
  • The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。
5 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
6 radical hA8zu     
n.激进份子,原子团,根号;adj.根本的,激进的,彻底的
参考例句:
  • The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
  • She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。
7 radicalism MAUzu     
n. 急进主义, 根本的改革主义
参考例句:
  • His radicalism and refusal to compromise isolated him. 他的激进主义与拒绝妥协使他受到孤立。
  • Education produced intellectual ferment and the temptations of radicalism. 教育带来知识界的骚动,促使激进主义具有了吸引力。
8 submission lUVzr     
n.服从,投降;温顺,谦虚;提出
参考例句:
  • The defeated general showed his submission by giving up his sword.战败将军缴剑表示投降。
  • No enemy can frighten us into submission.任何敌人的恐吓都不能使我们屈服。
9 portrayed a75f5b1487928c9f7f165b2773c13036     
v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 );描述;描绘;描画
参考例句:
  • Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中,他始终把自己说成是受害者。
  • The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
10 assassinated 0c3415de7f33014bd40a19b41ce568df     
v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 );中伤;诋毁;破坏
参考例句:
  • The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
  • Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后,肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句
11 depicted f657dbe7a96d326c889c083bf5fcaf24     
描绘,描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 ); 描述
参考例句:
  • Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
  • They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。
12 havoc 9eyxY     
n.大破坏,浩劫,大混乱,大杂乱
参考例句:
  • The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
  • This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。
13 hierarchy 7d7xN     
n.等级制度;统治集团,领导层
参考例句:
  • There is a rigid hierarchy of power in that country.那个国家有一套严密的权力等级制度。
  • She's high up in the management hierarchy.她在管理阶层中地位很高。
14 agitation TN0zi     
n.搅动;搅拌;鼓动,煽动
参考例句:
  • Small shopkeepers carried on a long agitation against the big department stores.小店主们长期以来一直在煽动人们反对大型百货商店。
  • These materials require constant agitation to keep them in suspension.这些药剂要经常搅动以保持悬浮状态。
15 humane Uymy0     
adj.人道的,富有同情心的
参考例句:
  • Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗?
  • Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。
16 immediate aapxh     
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的
参考例句:
  • His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
  • We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。
17 physically iNix5     
adj.物质上,体格上,身体上,按自然规律
参考例句:
  • He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服,心绪也很乱。
  • Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。
18 opposition eIUxU     
n.反对,敌对
参考例句:
  • The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
  • The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。
19 mores HnyzlC     
n.风俗,习惯,民德,道德观念
参考例句:
  • The mores of that village are hard to believe.那村子的习俗让人难以置信。
  • We advocate a harmonious society where corruption is swept away,and social mores are cleared.我们提倡弊绝风清,建设一个和谐社会。
20 justified 7pSzrk     
a.正当的,有理的
参考例句:
  • She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
  • The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。
21 justify j3DxR     
vt.证明…正当(或有理),为…辩护
参考例句:
  • He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
  • Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗?
22 labor P9Tzs     
n.劳动,努力,工作,劳工;分娩;vi.劳动,努力,苦干;vt.详细分析;麻烦
参考例句:
  • We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
  • He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后,他已经疲惫不堪了。
23 scriptures 720536f64aa43a43453b1181a16638ad     
经文,圣典( scripture的名词复数 ); 经典
参考例句:
  • Here the apostle Peter affirms his belief that the Scriptures are 'inspired'. 使徒彼得在此表达了他相信《圣经》是通过默感写成的。
  • You won't find this moral precept in the scriptures. 你在《圣经》中找不到这种道德规范。
24 compassionate PXPyc     
adj.有同情心的,表示同情的
参考例句:
  • She is a compassionate person.她是一个有同情心的人。
  • The compassionate judge gave the young offender a light sentence.慈悲的法官从轻判处了那个年轻罪犯。
25 entirely entirely     
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
  • His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
26 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
27 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
28 autobiography ZOOyX     
n.自传
参考例句:
  • He published his autobiography last autumn.他去年秋天出版了自己的自传。
  • His life story is recounted in two fascinating volumes of autobiography.这两卷引人入胜的自传小说详述了他的生平。

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