2007年VOA标准英语-Worldwide Poll Finds Most Reject Clash of Civil

By Tom Rivers
London
19 February 2007

mosque1, Istanbul, left, and National Cathedral, Washington, D.C. " hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070522/0835060.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

Suleymaniye mosque, Istanbul, left, and National Cathedral, Washington, D.C.

A large-scale survey commissioned by the BBC finds that, despite current global tensions, the majority of people around the world reject the notion of a clash of civilizations between the west and Islam. For VOA News, Tom Rivers reports from London.

A violent clash between the west and the Islamic world is not inevitable². That is the view of the majority of those surveyed for the BBC.

The research, carried out by pollsters from GlobeScan, examined the views of around 28,000 people in 27 countries around the world.

Those who felt that common ground could be found between the west and the Islamic world outnumbered those who felt that a clash was inevitable by a two-to-one margin³.

While 29 percent responded that religious and cultural differences lie at the heart of current tensions, many more, 52 percent, believe that political power and political interests stand as the most important root causes.

GlobeScan president Doug Miller⁴ says, that means most people want, and would back, their political leaders to find practical solutions, based upon the values shared by all communities.

"I think it is clear that more moderate leaders have the support, and on both sides, [and] that likely peacemakers are going to come to the fore," said Miller.

In Lebanon, for instance, nearly four-out-of-five questioned said east-west political motivations were to blame, however more than two-thirds said they believed that common ground could be found between the west and the Islamic world.

On a worldwide basis, 51 percent of those identified as Christians⁵ said that political conflict was creating tensions, while 55 percent of Muslims felt that way.

And as a whole, 58 percent of those questioned said intolerant minorities were to blame.

1 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。

2 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

3 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

4 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

5 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。