2006年VOA标准英语-Prophet Mohammed Newspaper Cartoons Anger

By Lisa Bryant
Paris
02 February 2006

Fury is spreading, across the Muslim world, at the decision of a number of European newspapers to reprint cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. Meanwhile, the owner of the French newspaper "France-Soir" has fired one of the editors, for publishing the caricatures.

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Two armed Palestinian groups threatened Thursday to target French, Norwegians and Dutch in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, because of decisions by newspapers in these countries to reprint cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.

That is only one example of the angry reaction by Muslims in the Middle East and elsewhere at the decision of a number of European newspapers to reprint the cartoons. The caricatures were first published by a Danish newspaper in September and the outrage¹ has slowly grown in recent weeks.

The anger was apparently² shared by the French-Egyptian owner of France-Soir, who fired one of the newspapers editors late Wednesday. He said he regretted any offense³ the reprinting of the caricatures caused to the Muslim community.

The issue is being perceived as one pitting supporters of free speech against those arguing that religious beliefs must be respected. Some also consider it a clash within Europe between secular⁴ Europeans and the region's growing Muslim community. But Thursday, Robert Menard, head of the free press watchdog group Reporters Without Borders, called on both sides to calm down.

Mr. Menard warned the situation was radicalizing. He says the Arab world must weigh their words and those in the West must be careful not to make more inflammatory gestures. He called for dialogue between the two sides to resolve the situation.

Only yesterday, Menard said the international community should support newspapers' right to write freely. But, Thursday, he said that given the scope of the anger, he would not reprint the cartoons if he were a newspaper editor today.

So far, Denmark - the source of the cartoons - has been the hardest hit by the Muslim outrage. Several Arab countries have withdrawn⁵ their ambassadors from Denmark to protest the caricatures and Danish goods have been boycotted⁶ in Muslim countries. The Danish newspaper that first published the cartoons has apologized for offending Muslims, but not for its decision to publish the cartoons.

1 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

2 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

3 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

4 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

5 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

6 boycotted   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Athletes from several countries boycotted the Olympic Games. 有好几国的运动员抵制奥林匹克运动会。
• The opposition party earlier boycotted the Diet agenda, demanding Miyaji's resignation. 反对党曾杯葛国会议程，要宫路下台。