穆斯林反对伊斯兰恐惧症

AS IT IS 2016-03-25 Muslims Push Back Against Islamophobia 穆斯林反对伊斯兰恐惧症

Some members of the Muslim community in the United States are speaking out against what they believe is an unfair fear of their religion.

They say the fear of Islam, what is often called Islamaphobia, is a growing problem. But, some members of the U.S. Muslim community also are taking action.

Saif Mazhar was born in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. He now works and prays on Chicago’s northwest side at the Muslim Community Center.

He told VOA that he does not always feel accepted in the community.

“I guess people look at me differently,” Mazhar said. Like if I was to go to like a store or restaurant, I kind of sometimes put my head down a little bit, so people don’t look at me in like, a terroristic way, or ‘he looks like a terrorist.’”

Two-hundred-seventy kilometers south of Chicago is the city of Peoria, Illinois. Muslims are in the minority in Peoria. Over 43 percent of the population of Peoria is Christian¹. However, over 10 percent of those in the Central Illinois city are Muslims. 

Imam Kamal Mufti is concerned about feelings against Muslims. He is a scholar and religious leader at the Islamic Foundation of Peoria.

Mufti said: “The comments [made to Muslims are] like ‘all Muslims are terrorists,’ or that Muslims celebrate 9/11,” which is September 11 – the day of a number of terrorist attacks in the United States - in 2001.

Mufti made a number of observations on religious relations to VOA. He said the hardest speech to listen to happens between Christian and Muslim children. He added that anti-Muslim speech reaches its highest point during election season.

Anti-Islamic rhetoric² began this political season when presidential candidate Donald Trump³ called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States. Trump also said he would consider closing some U.S. mosques⁵.

“I don’t think a lot of people understand what that [anti-Muslim] rhetoric does to children, does to grownups, to women who choose to wear the headscarf and dress in more apparent religious garb⁶,” Mufti said.

But Mufti says he wants to change people’s minds. Earlier this month, he opened the doors of his Islamic Center for an event including different religions.

The speakers’ messages dealt with tolerance⁷, peace and respect. The service produced a large crowd, which filled the center. Most attending were non-Muslims.

“Mosques are not unwelcome places; they are not closed places,” said Mufti. What essentially⁸ Muslims do in mosques is pray, play, socialize and have fun.”

Muslims are about one percent of the U.S. population. Throughout the world, however, the religion is growing. The Pew Research Center predicts that Muslims could equal the number of Christians⁹ worldwide by 2050.

Words in This Story

suburbs – n. towns or other areas where people live in houses near a larger city

minority – n. a group of people who are different from the larger group in a country or area

scholar – n. a person who has studied a subject for a long time and knows a lot about it

rhetoric – n. language or speech that is intended to influence people and that may not be honest or reasonable

mosque⁴ – n. a building that is used for Muslim religious services

headscarf – n. a piece of cloth worn over a woman's or girl's head

garb – n. clothing

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 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

3 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

4 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

5 mosques   

清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why make us believe that this tunnel runs underneath the mosques? 为什么要让我们相信这条隧洞是在清真寺下？
• The city's three biggest mosques, long fallen into disrepair, have been renovated. 城里最大的三座清真寺，过去年久失修，现在已经修复。

6 garb   

n.服装，装束

参考例句：

• He wore the garb of a general.他身着将军的制服。
• Certain political,social,and legal forms reappear in seemingly different garb.一些政治、社会和法律的形式在表面不同的外衣下重复出现。

7 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

8 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

9 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。