2006年VOA标准英语-First English Language American Muslim TV Netwo

By Mohamed Elshinnawi
Buffalo¹, NY
08 November 2006
 
watch Bridges TV report

 
Former boxer² Mohammad Ali appeared on a Bridges TV program
Bridges TV, the first English language American Muslim television network, is now reaching a wider audience of non-Muslims in the United States. It began in 2004 as a premium³ pay channel, but has now been picked up as a free service by several cable and satellite systems. The move will help advance the major purpose of this network -- to build bridges between American Muslims and their neighbors.

Citizens offers different perspectives of culture and media coverage:
Woman: "Because of the media, what you see on TV and what you see in newspapers, I think to a certain extent, again, it seems like an aggressive culture."
Man: "I heard some speakers on TV making the point that, in point of fact, at the core, some of the teachings of the Islamic faith are in fact violent and intolerant towards people from other religions."

 
Muzzammil Hassan
It's perceptions like this -- about Islam and Muslims among average Americans -- that led Muzzammil Hassan to launch Bridges TV two years ago.  "There were some comments being made," he said, "that were pretty negative about Arabs and Muslims. So my wife, being a mother, said: 'This is not a very good environment for children, or to raise children and there should be some kind of a media that lets American know who Muslims are, who Arabs are and that we are good people.' "

With generous contributions from American Muslims, Bridges TV was able to give that community a voice of its own, broadcasting nationwide from Buffalo, New York.

Two years later, the network is expanding, as major cable systems in the United States and Canada have agreed to include Bridges TV in their basic packages.

 
Ahmed Suleiman
Ahmed Suleiman, Bridges TV's news anchor, says the network is serving as a real bridge between the estimated eight million American Muslims and the rest of the country. He says he is contributing to that mission through his program "Building Bridges".

"Each episode, I have a different topic. It could be about abortion⁴, it could be about Jerusalem, it could be about violence in the name of religion, and we get the different perspectives and feedback of the Rabbi, the Priest and the Imam. What you realize is that while we differ in some opinions, we also have a lot in common."

One common thread is laughter.  Recognizing that Americans like comic relief, the network offers a comedy show with two stand-up comics -- an Arab and a Jew:

One comedian⁵, Rabbi Rob Alper says, "The original idea was to have a Jew, a Muslim and a Christian⁶, but we could not find any Christian comedians⁷."

Another comedian, Ahmed Ahmed remarks, "Both Jews and Muslims have a lot in common. Jews and Muslims do not eat pork, we do not celebrate Christmas, we both have "KHAH" in our pronunciation. We both are hairy creatures of God. The only difference between Muslims and Jews is that Jews do not like to spend any money and Muslims do not have any money to spend."

The newsroom staff reflects the network's inclusive philosophy.  It includes the first ---and only -- national news anchor to wear the hijab -- the Muslim head cloth.

 
Sana Beg
Sana Beg, who came to the United States from Kashmir, says Bridges TV brings a unique understanding to the day's headlines. "You have a lot of people that make it to the news, who claim to be Muslims. In actuality they use faith as a justification⁸, as a crutch⁹ to justify¹⁰ their actions and what we are trying to do here is that if ordinarily a TV station would call somebody an Islamic extremist, an Islamic militant¹¹, we try to stay away from that because they are not Islamic in the first place. Because what they are doing is not really with the tenets of Islam. We are not trying to use terms like 'waging a holy Jihad' too loosely because we actually come from the faith so we understand what it really means."

 
Nancy Sanders
Not all the staff is Muslim. News Director Nancy Sanders, a veteran journalist, is Catholic and is married to a Jew. She says she tries to present the many faces of American Muslims in Bridges TV's news programs. "We talk to a lot of different people living the American Muslim lifestyle and we present that as much as we can. For instance, Muslims celebrating the Fourth of July; Muslims who were affected¹² by the 9/11 tragedy; we profile people who are business owners; we talk to people who want to see peace initiatives."

Bridges TV Chairman, Muzzammil Hassan says that by using different program formats¹³ that portray¹⁴ Muslims in everyday life, he can correct some of the misperceptions he believes Americans hold about Islam and Muslims.

He also believes the programming needs to be as accessible as possible. "By being in English, and by being on basic cable, it becomes viewable by mainstream¹⁵ Americans and that is where a building-bridges opportunity comes."

Hassan says that over time,  he believes non-Muslim Americans will come to realize they and their Muslim neighbors share many of the same values -- raising families, pursuing careers, and finding peace.

1 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

2 boxer   

n.制箱者，拳击手

参考例句：

• The boxer gave his opponent a punch on the nose.这个拳击手朝他对手的鼻子上猛击一拳。
• He moved lightly on his toes like a boxer.他像拳击手一样踮着脚轻盈移动。

3 premium   

n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的

参考例句：

• You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
• Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。

4 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

5 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

6 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。

7 comedians   

n.喜剧演员，丑角( comedian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The voice was rich, lordly, Harvardish, like all the boring radio comedians'imitations. 声音浑厚、威严，俨然是哈佛出身的气派，就跟无线电里所有的滑稽演员叫人已经听腻的模仿完全一样。 来自辞典例句
• He distracted them by joking and imitating movie and radio comedians. 他用开玩笑的方法或者模仿电影及广播中的滑稽演员来对付他们。 来自辞典例句

8 justification   

n.正当的理由；辩解的理由

参考例句：

• There's no justification for dividing the company into smaller units. 没有理由把公司划分成小单位。
• In the young there is a justification for this feeling. 在年轻人中有这种感觉是有理由的。

9 crutch   

n.T字形拐杖；支持，依靠，精神支柱

参考例句：

• Her religion was a crutch to her when John died.约翰死后，她在精神上依靠宗教信仰支撑住自己。
• He uses his wife as a kind of crutch because of his lack of confidence.他缺乏自信心，总把妻子当作主心骨。

10 justify   

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？

11 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。

12 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

13 formats   

n.（出版物的）版式( format的名词复数 )；[电视]电视节目的总安排（或计划）

参考例句：

• They are producing books in all kinds of different formats. 他们出版各种不同开本的书籍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A true GUI includes standard formats for representing text and graphics. 真正的图形用户界面包括表示文字和图形的标准格式。 来自互联网

14 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？

15 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。