2007年VOA标准英语-Deadly Suicide Attack in Iraq Shines Light on L

By Margaret Besheer
Washington
18 August 2007

On Tuesday, suicide truck bombers¹ killed at least 400 northern Iraqi villagers who belong to the Yazidi religious minority.  Before now, little has been said about this Kurdish-speaking community living mostly in the northern province of Mosul. VOA's Margaret Besheer as more on the Yazidis who are often viewed with suspicion because of their religious beliefs.

coordinated2 suicide attack in the town of Qahataniya, 15 Aug 2007" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070825/1123480.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

Iraqi soldier videotapes the ruins of a coordinated suicide attack in the town of Qahataniya, 15 Aug 2007

The origins of the Yazidi are obscure. Most scholars believe they are of Kurdish origin, but some think they are of mixed Kurdish-Arab origin. The sect³ has roots dating back to pre-Islamic times, but it is generally believed to have been founded in the 12th century by Sheikh Adi bin⁴ Musafer.

Edmund Ghareeb, author of The Historical Dictionary of Iraq, says Yazidi legend says an apparition⁵ of a peacock angel, known as Malak Ta'us, took Sheikh Adi to heaven and revealed the faith to him.

"For seven years he stayed there and was taught the truth of everything by God while his body slept. After seven years his soul was taken back to earth," he said.

Sheikh Adi then wrote the Book of Illuminations.  Louay Bahry is an adjunct scholar at Washington's Middle East Institute. "As he says it is the instructions of Malak Ta'us, the angel," he noted⁶.  "Sheikh Adi, he thinks he represents the spirit of Malak Ta'us and that this spirit is the same as his own. Perhaps he considers himself as a reincarnation of Malak Ta'us."

Yazidis believe in the existence of seven angels, with Malak Ta'us as the supreme⁷ one.

Their most important feast takes place in early October at the tomb of Sheikh Adi in the town of Lalish, near Mosul. During the seven-day long feast, a bronze icon⁸ of the peacock angel Malak Ta'us is presented to worshippers.

Ghareeb says the Yazidi faith also draws elements from other religions.

"They took prohibition⁹ of certain foods from Islam," he explained.  "There is an element of baptism, of drinking wine, of Eucharistic rites¹⁰ from Zoroastrianism and Christianity. There is fasting, sacrifice and pilgrimage from Islam."

But many Yazidi beliefs remain secret and little is known about them. In the past, their secrecy¹¹ drew the suspicion of Christians¹² and Muslims, and over the centuries some of their enemies have accused them of devil worship. Bahry says that is a misunderstanding.

"The misunderstanding comes really from the word Malak Ta'us," he said.  "They called Malak Ta'us 'Shaytan.' And in Arabic Shaytan means Satan. In the Koran, Shaytan is Satan. That is why the Muslims and the Christians associate them with the devil and the worship of the devil."

But in Yazidi tradition, the fallen angel Lucifer, also known as Satan, has been forgiven by God and is considered a force for good, not evil.

Suspicion about the Yazidis has often led to their persecution¹³. During Ottoman times many Yazidis who refused to convert to Islam were killed. Others fled to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Syria and the Caucuses¹⁴, where they still have small communities.  There is also a Yazidi community in Germany.

There is no reliable data on how many Yazidis there are today, but experts seem to agree they number less than one million, with their largest community being in Iraq.

In April, Iraq's Yazidis received unwanted attention when a 17-year-old Yazidi girl was stoned to death by her male relatives for her association with a Muslim boy. Cellular¹⁵ phone video of her murder circulated throughout Iraq drew outrage¹⁶. Bahry says Yazidis are a very closed community and do not accept outsiders.

"They do not accept new converts to their beliefs," he explained.  "They don't intermarry with other religions and they do not accept anyone to intermarry with other religions, so that is what started the whole problem with this young woman who was stoned to death."

The recent bombings of the Yazidi villages in northern Iraq have drawn¹⁷ strong condemnation¹⁸ from the country's political and religious leaders.

1 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

3 sect   

n.派别，宗教，学派，派系

参考例句：

• When he was sixteen he joined a religious sect.他16岁的时候加入了一个宗教教派。
• Each religious sect in the town had its own church.该城每一个宗教教派都有自己的教堂。

4 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

5 apparition   

n.幽灵，神奇的现象

参考例句：

• He saw the apparition of his dead wife.他看见了他亡妻的幽灵。
• But the terror of this new apparition brought me to a stand.这新出现的幽灵吓得我站在那里一动也不敢动。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

8 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

9 prohibition   

n.禁止；禁令，禁律

参考例句：

• The prohibition against drunken driving will save many lives.禁止酒后开车将会减少许多死亡事故。
• They voted in favour of the prohibition of smoking in public areas.他们投票赞成禁止在公共场所吸烟。

10 rites   

仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to administer the last rites to sb 给某人举行临终圣事
• He is interested in mystic rites and ceremonies. 他对神秘的仪式感兴趣。

11 secrecy   

n.秘密，保密，隐蔽

参考例句：

• All the researchers on the project are sworn to secrecy.该项目的所有研究人员都按要求起誓保守秘密。
• Complete secrecy surrounded the meeting.会议在绝对机密的环境中进行。

12 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。

13 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

14 caucuses   

n.（政党决定政策或推举竞选人的）核心成员( caucus的名词复数 )；决策干部；决策委员会；秘密会议

参考例句：

• Republican caucuses will happen in about 410 towns across Maine. 共和党团会议选举将在缅因州的约410个城镇进行。 来自互联网

15 cellular   

adj.移动的；细胞的，由细胞组成的

参考例句：

• She has a cellular telephone in her car.她的汽车里有一部无线通讯电话机。
• Many people use cellular materials as sensitive elements in hygrometers.很多人用蜂窝状的材料作为测量温度的传感元件。

16 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。

17 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

18 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。