VOA慢速英语2015 IS组织是真正的伊斯兰教吗?

AS IT IS 2015-03-20 Is the Islamic State Truly Islamic? IS组织是真正的伊斯兰教吗?

Destroying important cultural artifacts in the name of religion is not new. Protestants destroyed statues they considered idolatrous, or against their Christian¹ faith in the 16th century.

Now, a video is showing members of the Islamic State group destroying ancient treasures in Iraq. The group called the treasures “un-Islamic.”

Senators spoke² out against their actions at a recent hearing on Capitol Hill.

“This is not 1015 -- this is 2015. And as I speak people are being crucified, people are being burned alive, they’re being beheaded.”

Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator from South Carolina, led the hearing on the Islamic State group. Its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, claims to be the caliph of a re-established medieval Muslim empire that existed hundreds of years ago.

Conservative Christian activist³ Jay Sekulow believes the Islamic claim is authentic⁴, or real.

“That’s what they call themselves. They call themselves the caliphate. Khalif(a) Ibrahim believes he’s the leader of worldwide Islam. So whatever we wanna call them, in one sense is irrelevant⁵, because that’s who they are.”

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are struggling to find the best way to respond to the militant⁶ groups. Meanwhile, public figures are debating over whether the Islamic State group should be seen as part of Islam, or a deviation⁷ from the faith.

John Esposito is a professor of Islamic Studies at Georgetown University in Washington DC.

“From my point of view, what, what you’ve got is the hijacking⁸ of religion.”

Professor Esposito says the militants⁹ misunderstand the command in the Quran to kill unbelievers wherever they find them.

“When that scripture¹⁰ was uttered, it had nothing to do with Christians¹¹ and Jews at that point. It had to do with pagan Meccans who were at that point persecuting¹² Muslims. And God in the Quran was saying to them: If they’re fighting you, you have a right to fight back.”

Some observers say that Islam needs a Reformation, like when the Protestants separated from the Catholic Church. They say that such a reformation would reject the traditional understanding of scripture.

But John Esposito warns that these observers should be careful what they wish for. After all, European history has had many conflicts over religious ideas and values.

“They’ll say: ‘Islam needs a Reformation.’ I sometimes say to some of my Muslim friends, what they’re really saying then is, genocide ought to take place, or close to it. Because we think of the Reformation as the Enlightenment and we forget the Hundred Years Wars.”

Mr. Esposito says throughout time, people have used religion to support political power and warfare¹³.

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 spoke   

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。

3 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

4 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。

5 irrelevant   

adj.不恰当的，无关系的，不相干的

参考例句：

• That is completely irrelevant to the subject under discussion.这跟讨论的主题完全不相关。
• A question about arithmetic is irrelevant in a music lesson.在音乐课上，一个数学的问题是风马牛不相及的。

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。

7 deviation   

n.背离，偏离；偏差，偏向；离题

参考例句：

• Deviation from this rule are very rare.很少有违反这条规则的。
• Any deviation from the party's faith is seen as betrayal.任何对党的信仰的偏离被视作背叛。

8 hijacking   

n. 劫持, 抢劫 动词hijack的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• I have been told about the hijacking . 我已听说了那次劫机事件。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语
• They are taking measures to guarantee against the occurrence of hijacking. 他们正采取措施防止劫机事件的发生。

9 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

10 scripture   

n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段

参考例句：

• The scripture states that God did not want us to be alone.圣经指出上帝并不是想让我们独身一人生活。
• They invoked Hindu scripture to justify their position.他们援引印度教的经文为他们的立场辩护。

11 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。

12 persecuting   

（尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的现在分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人

参考例句：

• This endurance made old Earnshaw furious, when he discovered his son persecuting the poor, fatherless child, as he called him. 当老恩萧发现他的儿子这样虐待他所谓的可怜的孤儿时，这种逆来顺受使老恩萧冒火了。
• He is possessed with the idea that someone is persecuting him. 他老是觉得有人要害他。

13 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。