VOA标准英语2009年-Islam Still a Force in Indonesian Election

With the Indonesian presidential elections looming¹, some political analysts² are wondering what role Muslim organizations will play. In parliamentary elections earlier this year the Islamic parties lost a number of seats. Still, in the country with the world's largest Muslim population, all the major presidential candidates are courting the Muslim vote.

A campaign rally in Jakarta for the Democratic Party of Struggle, Indonesia's main opposition³ party, begins with a Muslim pray.

But the rock band that follows is what gets the thousands of supporters of former Indonesia President Megawati Sukarnoputri excited.
　
Indonesian presidential candidate Megawati Sukarnoputri delivers a speech during a campaign rally in Medan, Indonesia, 16 Jun 2009

While these supporters of Ms. Megawati are overwhelmingly Muslim, they are voting for a secular⁴ party in this upcoming election.

Although Indonesia is 80 percent Muslim and has the largest Muslim population in the world, the Islamic parties here all lost ground in April's parliamentary elections. The parties that gathered enough votes to compete for the presidency⁵ are all secular; the Democratic Party of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the Golkar Party of Vice⁶ President Jusuf Kalla, and Ms. Megawati's Democratic Party for Struggle.

These supporters of Ms. Megawati say the secular parties also represent Islamic values.

One supporter says all the parties are represented by good Muslims.

Another says in this party there are many Muslims and there is no dominance from the non-Muslims.

While the secular party candidates try to position themselves as good Muslims, they are stressing governance issues in this campaign. Mohammad Anwar with the International Center for Islam and Pluralism says the Islamic parties lost because they stressed Islamic values over good governance.

"And people, it seems to me that they are much more conscious with the issues such as how to solve economic problems, how to solve lack of law enforcement, how to create good governance, etc.," he said.

Anwar say the series of terrorist attacks by Islamic fundamentalists that began with the Bali bombing in 2002, did not reflect a growing radical⁷ Islamic movement is Indonesia. He says prosecution⁸ of those responsible for terrorist acts and increased security measures have restored Indonesia's image of political moderation.

But political moderation should not be seen as a rejection⁹ of Islam. After a prayer service at the Sunda Kelapa mosque¹⁰ in Jakarta, Muslim voters say Islamic values are still a very important election issue.

A man says if the candidate is a good Muslim, he will be a good leader.

Another says if somebody is Muslim he should vote for a Muslim candidate.

Sunny Tanuwidjaj with the Center for Strategic and International Studies says the secular parities¹¹ have shrewdly embraced some Islamic issues.

"They are moving to the right of the spectrum¹² of ideology¹³ trying to court the voters of Islamic parties, challenging the base of the traditional Islamic parties," said Sunny Tanuwidjaj.

He says while Islamic parties have lost this election year, they will still be a powerful force in Indonesian politics and formidable opponents in future elections.

1 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

2 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

3 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。

4 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。

5 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

6 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

7 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

8 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

9 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

10 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。

11 parities   

同等( parity的名词复数 )； 相等； 对等； 奇偶校验

参考例句：

• A system where no official parities for currencies are declared or maintained. 指一种官方不公开汇率目标的汇率制度。
• In 2000 developing countries accounted for 37% of world output (at purchasing power parities). 2000年时，发展中国家只占全世界经济产出的37%（以消费力平价计算）。

12 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

13 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。