VOA标准英语2009年-Islamist Unity in Somalia Tested by New Preside

In Somalia, militant¹ Islamist factions³ are testing the resolve of the country's new interim⁴ president, who was sworn in Saturday pledging to restore governance in a society torn apart by nearly two decades of civil war. The parliamentary election of Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed is strengthening old alliances and creating new divisions within Somalia's Islamist movement.
　
Somalia's newly elected president Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed arrives at the UN compound in Addis Ababa for consultations⁵, 01 Feb 2009

After fighting a two-year-long anti-Ethiopian insurgency⁶ alongside other Islamist groups, the faction² representing the Islamic Courts Union says it supports Islamist leader Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed's new role as president of a Western-backed unity⁷ government being formed in neighboring Djibouti.

Speaking to the media, Islamic Courts Union spokesman Abdurahin Isse Adow, praised Sheik Sharif for helping⁸ end Ethiopia's military occupation in Somalia. Adow says he is the right person to form a responsible government based on Islam.

He says the courts welcome Sheik Sharif's election as president because he can be trusted to form a good government that will implement⁹ and uphold the Islamic Sharia law.

The Islamic Courts Union endorsement¹⁰ of Sheik Sharif is not unexpected. Its fighters are considered mostly nationalist and they have been supportive of Sheik Sharif, who was the ICU chief in 2006 during the Islamists' brief rule over much of southern and central Somalia.

Neighboring Ethiopia, with U.S. approval, ousted¹¹ the Islamists in late 2006 and replaced the courts with a secular¹² interim government.

Last June, Sheik Sharif enraged¹³ hard-line Islamist leaders by negotiating a peace deal with the Ethiopian-backed government during U.N.-sponsored talks in Djibouti. The move divided the Islamist opposition¹⁴, and many Somalis feared that Sheik Sharif would be on the losing side for reaching out to the West.

That is because few believed that Ethiopia, as part of the peace deal, would withdraw its troops from Somali soil and allow an Islamist-led unity government to be formed. The biggest threat to Sheik Sharif, the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab group, continued their fight against Ethiopia and the government, regaining¹⁵ control of most of southern and central Somalia.

But the departure of Ethiopian troops last month prompted clan¹⁶ elders and influential¹⁷ clerics to call for an end to the insurgency, which has killed more than 16,000 people and has left more than one million people displaced in Somalia. The leaders urged Somalis to support Sheik Sharif, who is now being seriously viewed as a peace-maker.

In addition to the Islamic Courts Union, Sheik Sharif also received an endorsement from Ahl-Sunna Wal-Jamea, a long-established Islamic organization which has recently taken up arms to fight al-Shabab extremists.

Al-Shabab and other hard-line Islamist leaders in Somalia have issued scathing¹⁸ criticism of the Djibouti accord and Sheik Sharif, denouncing him as "a sell-out" who has joined the enemy.

On Monday, one of the spiritual leaders of al-Shabab, Hussein Ali, reiterated¹⁹ the group's opposition to participating in Somalia's unity government.

Ali says all Somalis are being warned not to support the efforts in Djibouti to form a government by "God's enemies."

He did not say what would happen if Somalis defied the warning.

1 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

2 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

3 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

4 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

5 consultations   

n.磋商（会议）( consultation的名词复数 )；商讨会；协商会；查找

参考例句：

• Consultations can be arranged at other times by appointment. 磋商可以通过预约安排在其他时间。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Consultations are under way. 正在进行磋商。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

7 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

8 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

9 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

10 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

11 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

12 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。

13 enraged   

使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤

参考例句：

• I was enraged to find they had disobeyed my orders. 发现他们违抗了我的命令，我极为恼火。
• The judge was enraged and stroke the table for several times. 大法官被气得连连拍案。

14 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

15 regaining   

复得( regain的现在分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• She was regaining consciousness now, but the fear was coming with her. 现在她正在恢发她的知觉，但是恐怖也就伴随着来了。
• She said briefly, regaining her will with a click. 她干脆地答道，又马上重新振作起精神来。

16 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

17 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

18 scathing   

adj.（言词、文章）严厉的，尖刻的；不留情的adv.严厉地，尖刻地v.伤害，损害（尤指使之枯萎）( scathe的现在分词)

参考例句：

• a scathing attack on the new management 针对新的管理层的猛烈抨击
• Her speech was a scathing indictment of the government's record on crime. 她的演讲强烈指责了政府在犯罪问题上的表现。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。