VOA慢速英语2014 中东冲突影响到基督徒

 

AS IT IS 2014-09-05 Conflicts Affecting Christians² in Middle East 中东冲突影响到基督徒

The study found an increase in conflicts based on religious disputes. It also found that Christians faced oppression in a growing number of countries in the Middle East.

Experts say nearly one million Christians have been forced to flee their homes in Iraq. Five hundred thousand others have left Syria. In Egypt, attackers set fire to a number of Coptic religious centers. 

Yvonne Haddad teaches the history of Islam and Christian¹-Muslim relations at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. She says the number of Christians in the city of Jerusalem has been falling for many years.

“At one time, there was an estimate that 25 percent of the citizens of what is now called East Jerusalem were Christians.  Now, they are less than two percent.”

Professor Haddad says political developments and discrimination have caused the drop in the Middle East’s Christian population. She says the formation of the state of Israel in 1947 resulted in displacement³ of Christians in the Galilee, which was mostly a Christian community. Then, the 1967 war pushed out more Christians who were living near Jerusalem.

She notes that the United States-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 resulted in setting religious groups against each other. Recently, when Islamic State forces took control of some areas in Iraq and Syria, Christians were told to either to accept Islam, leave their homes or die.

Some Christian leaders are appealing to the world not to remain uncaring.

Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako is president of the Assembly of the Catholic Bishops⁴ in Iraq. He wrote an open letter, which was made public last month.

He wrote that what has happened to Iraqi Christians and other minorities is terrible and horrible. He says urgent and effective international support from all good will people is needed to save the Christians and another group – the Yazidis -- from dying out.

The Reverend Refaat Bader is president of the Center for Catholic Studies and Information in Amman, Jordan. He says Christians are facing discrimination throughout the Middle East. He notes that every time a constitution states that Islam is the official religion of the state, Christian citizens are not treated equally.

Paul Salem is vice⁵ president for policy and research at the Middle East Institute in Washington. He says Christians have become targets for militant⁶ Muslims. He hopes that the decline of the Christian population could be stopped by ending civil wars, re-establishing law and order, and fixing mistakes in laws and constitutions.

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 displacement   

n.移置，取代，位移，排水量

参考例句：

• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。
• The displacement of all my energy into caring for the baby.我所有精力都放在了照顾宝宝上。

4 bishops   

（基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象

参考例句：

• Each player has two bishops at the start of the game. 棋赛开始时，每名棋手有两只象。
• "Only sheriffs and bishops and rich people and kings, and such like. “他劫富济贫，抢的都是郡长、主教、国王之类的富人。

5 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

6 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。