VOA标准英语2008年-Muslim Leaders Call for Australia to Recognize

Some senior leaders of the Islamic community in Sydney are calling on the Australian government to recognize polygamous marriage on cultural grounds. Bigamy and polygamy are illegal in Australia but clerics say some Muslims circumvent¹ the law by forming unions in religious ceremonies that are not state sanctioned. From Sydney, Phil Mercer reports.
　
Women leave Lakemba Mosque² in Sydney (file photo)

Several Muslim clerics say that polygamous marriages, although illegal, exist in Australia and that they often are asked to perform wedding ceremonies even though the groom³ already is married.

Few, however, will admit to conducting polygamous weddings.

Community leaders say that a small number of Muslim men, mainly from Egypt, Jordan or Sudan, had immigrated⁴ with two or more wives, although their multiple marriages are not recognized under Australian law.

The clerics now ask whether the laws should be changed to allow polygamist unions on religious or cultural grounds.

Keysar Trad, the president of the Islamic Friendship Association of Australia, believes the law should be changed.

"We, as a society, should say okay well if this woman has willfully chosen to enter into this relationship, make a lifelong commitment to this person, to be married, it shouldn't matter," Trad said. "If it was a business and the business had four partners, we'd recognize that. But why don't we recognize it when it comes to consensual relationships amongst adults?"

The Koran allows men to have up to four wives if all can be supported equally.

Researchers at Sydney University think there is little appetite, though, among the broader Islamic community in Australia for men to be allowed to have more than one wife.

The Australian government is firmly against the idea, too.

The Attorney-General's office says the government is not considering amending⁵ the laws, or in any way recognizing polygamous marriage.

Those pushing for new laws have pointed⁶ out that polygamy unofficially exists in traditional Aboriginal⁷ communities in Australia's Northern Territory - and that these relationships are recognized when the government grants welfare benefits.

Similar arrangements exist in the United Kingdom. Earlier this year the British government said it would grant welfare benefits to all spouses⁸ in a polygamous marriage, if the marriages had taken place in countries where the polygamy is legal.

 

1 circumvent   

vt.环绕，包围；对…用计取胜，智胜

参考例句：

• Military planners tried to circumvent the treaty.军事策略家们企图绕开这一条约。
• Any action I took to circumvent his scheme was justified.我为斗赢他的如意算盘而采取的任何行动都是正当的。

2 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。

3 groom   

vt.给（马、狗等）梳毛，照料，使...整洁

参考例句：

• His father was a groom.他父亲曾是个马夫。
• George was already being groomed for the top job.为承担这份高级工作，乔治已在接受专门的培训。

4 immigrated   

v.移入( immigrate的过去式和过去分词 )；移民

参考例句：

• He immigrated from Ulster in 1848. 他1848年从阿尔斯特移民到这里。 来自辞典例句
• Many Pakistanis have immigrated to Britain. 许多巴基斯坦人移居到了英国。 来自辞典例句

5 amending   

改良，修改，修订( amend的现在分词 )； 改良，修改，修订( amend的第三人称单数 )( amends的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Amending acts in 1933,1934, and 1935 attempted to help honest debtors rehabilitate themselves. 一九三三年，一九三四年和一九三五年通过的修正案是为了帮助诚实的债务人恢复自己的地位。
• Two ways were used about the error-amending of contour curve. 采用两种方法对凸轮轮廓曲线进行了修正。

6 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

7 aboriginal   

adj.（指动植物）土生的，原产地的，土著的

参考例句：

• They managed to wipe out the entire aboriginal population.他们终于把那些土著人全部消灭了。
• The lndians are the aboriginal Americans.印第安人是美国的土著人。

8 spouses   

n.配偶，夫或妻( spouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Jobs are available for spouses on campus and in the community. 校园里和社区里有配偶可做的工作。 来自辞典例句
• An astonishing number of spouses-most particularly in the upper-income brackets-have no close notion of their husbands'paychecks. 相当大一部分妇女——特别在高收入阶层——并不很了解他们丈夫的薪金。 来自辞典例句