VOA常速英语2008年-Organization of the Islamic Conference Seeks In

By Uma Ramiah
Dakar
12 March 2008

Heads of state from Islamic countries have started arriving in Dakar for the meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference. Uma Ramiah reports from Dakar the 57-nation group aims to tackle issues such as reducing poverty and changing perceptions of Islam during its summit Thursday and Friday.

The West African metropolis¹ of Dakar was buzzing as leaders made their way from the international airport to the Meridien President Hotel.

Among the early arrivals were Chadian President Idriss Deby and Niger's President Mamadou Tandja. This is the first time Mr. Tandja has left his country since the start of an ethnic² Tuareg rebellion in northern Niger a year ago.

The secretary-general of the OIC is Turkey's Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu.

"This is the 11th summit of OIC, and I must say that I think this summit of Dakar will be remembered in the history of OIC as the turning point, because for the first time for almost 40 years, we only managed to change the charter today," he said.

The group's original 1972 charter calls for the organization to strengthen ties between member states, promote cooperation between Islamic and non-Muslim nations and protect Muslim holy places.

"The role of OIC as not only representative of these 57 countries, but as the spokesman of the Muslim world, the spokesman of the inspiration of the Islamic Ummah, has been increasing and expanding," said Ihsanoglu.

The OIC secretary-general has called for the organization to enter a more productive dialogue with the non-Muslim world. He says this year the conference will focus more on humanitarian³ aid.

Summit-host Senegal President Abdoulaye Wade⁴ says he wants the organization to contribute more to fighting poverty in Islamic nations, especially for African members.

His aides say he is also trying to push the OIC into a more diplomatic role, having organized an expected peace summit between the Chadian and Sudanese presidents this week.

Director Ousmane Sene, of the West African Research Center in Dakar, says the conference could also help transform the negative image of Islam.

"I think the conference is extremely important for the Islamic world to gather at this crucial time when perhaps Islam is not showing the best face to the world, or at least Islam is being misrepresented as a religion with the potential for violence, as a religion with the potential for intolerance, all of which are very gross misrepresentations," said Sene.

Sene says Africa is at a crossroads. He says the continent is trying to find economic and political alliances, and this gathering⁵ could strengthen relations with Islamic countries with the resources to develop African nations.

"It is not exclusively a meeting discussing religion," he said. "It is a highly political meeting. It is the Islamic leaders meeting who are meeting to discuss problems and issues confronting the Islamic world. So obviously political decisions will be made, economic decisions will be made, and I am hopeful that those decisions will certainly go a great length towards having an impact on the present situation in Africa from a political point of view and from and economic point of view."

Some participants, like Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari, say the OIC lacks focus.

"We had many discussions about the reforms, about the charter, about the name. It needs to be modernized⁶, to be honest with you. But I think there is good intentions, but it needs to have a more focused, more active machinery⁷ you see, to uphold its values and thoughts," he said.

Zebari says he feels the summit should be more active in tackling Islamophobia, and fighting extremism and poverty, rather than spending so much time reworking the language of the group's charter.

1 metropolis   

n.首府；大城市

参考例句：

• Shanghai is a metropolis in China.上海是中国的大都市。
• He was dazzled by the gaiety and splendour of the metropolis.大都市的花花世界使他感到眼花缭乱。

2 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

3 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

4 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

5 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

6 modernized   

使现代化，使适应现代需要( modernize的过去式和过去分词 )； 现代化，使用现代方法

参考例句：

• By 1985 the entire railway network will have been modernized. 等到1985年整个铁路网就实现现代化了。
• He set about rebuilding France, and made it into a brilliant-looking modernized imperialism. 他试图重建法国，使它成为一项表面华丽的现代化帝业。

7 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。