VOA标准英语2010年-Muslim-Americans Urged to Participate

Privacy, concerns over PATRIOT¹ Act worry some in first population count since 9/11

Mohamed Elshinnawi | Washington DC 19 March 2010

Muslims attend a panel discussion to learn more about the 2010 Census².

Muslim-American leaders are urging the community to participate in the 2010 Census - the once-a-decade count of the U.S. population called for in the U.S. Constitution - that is now under way.

Like leaders of other religious, ethnic³ and racial groups, they're working hard to inform their communities about why participating in the census is important to them and the country.

Easing concerns

Among the many groups helping⁴ the Census Bureau conduct its 2010 count is the American Muslim Interactive⁵ Network, or AMIN, a Washington-based organization that fosters activism, community service and civic⁶ engagement.

AMIN president Hazami Barmada recently invited members of the local Muslim community to a panel discussion about the census called Muslim Voices Matter. He said it's important to educate the community.

"Through events like this, bringing people who ordinarily would not be engaged with the census to this platform, where they can actually hear from a census person and also question that census person right back," said Barmada. He hopes the mutual⁷ exchange will create a deeper understanding of internal policy and procedures relating to the census while also highlighting the importance of activism in the community. 

Barmada said the audience had a lot of questions about why the census is important, what happens to the information that is collected and whether it would impact people's citizenship⁸ status. "These are all very legitimate⁹ questions especially in light of confidentiality¹⁰ because that is the big thing that keeps coming up," he said.

Confidentiality worries

Confidentiality is a sensitive issue for the American Muslim community, especially because this is the first census since the passage of the PATRIOT Act. The legislation, passed in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, increases the ability of law enforcement agencies to use telephone calls, e-mail, financial and medical records to identify, detain and deport¹¹ anyone suspected of terrorism-related activities. Arab- and Muslim-American groups say the law has unfairly targeted their communities. At the Muslim Voices Matter panel, Census Regional Director Philip Lutz assured his audience that census data is protected.

The Census Bureau's Philip Lutz says his agency relies on trusted members of the community to encourage their neighbors to participate in the census.

"Census is used only for statistical¹² purposes," said Lutz. "Individual information can't be shared with anyone including other federal agencies. It is exempted¹³ from the Freedom of Information Act. It is exempted from court orders and it is exempted from the PATRIOT Act. Congress has deemed an accurate count so important that it has iron-clad laws to make people feel secure and safe in filling out the form."

The data from those forms determine how the 435 seats in the House of Representatives will be divided. It guides funding decisions for how the federal government distributes more than $400 billion to state, local governments to finance community facilities such as schools, hospitals and child-care centers.

True count

The Census Bureau's Philip Lutz said his agency relies on trusted members of the community to encourage their neighbors to actively¹⁴ participate, so they can avoid the undercounting of some groups as occured in the 2000 Census.

"We are trying to outreach through you, through wonderful organizations that partnered with us to get the word out, to localize the message, to find the trusted messengers within the community so that no one is omitted in the 2010 Census," said Lutz. "It is unacceptable that anyone in this day and age should not get the fair share and respect that everyone deserves."

One of those community partners is the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Virginia. Its director of outreach, Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, said he's been encouraging Muslims to participate in the 2010 Census and stands ready to help them fill out the form.

Muslim-American leaders like, Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, are urging community members to participate in the 2010 Census.

"At Dar Al-Hijrah, one of the things that I think is very important was to partner with the census, to have workers in the census who will assist people in the community in Arabic language, in Urdu language and if they need any other additional languages," said Abdul-Malik. "We select individuals and if they pass the test and so on, then they will work for the census during this period to do the assistance for people to complete the census."

Abdul-Malik acknowledges that some American Muslims remain wary¹⁵ about why the government that treated them with such suspicion after 9/11 now wants to collect information about them. He says he points out that the census is asking for responders' name, race and ethnicity, not their religion. And he urges his congregation to recognize the benefits that participating in the census will bring to their communities in terms of education, health care and other services.

"American Muslims have an obligation to provide for, to see to it that their communities receive the resources that they should receive, not just for themselves but also for the benefit of their neighbors and their neighborhoods," said Abdul-Malik.

1 patriot   

n.爱国者，爱国主义者

参考例句：

• He avowed himself a patriot.他自称自己是爱国者。
• He is a patriot who has won the admiration of the French already.他是一个已经赢得法国人敬仰的爱国者。

2 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

3 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。

4 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。

5 interactive   

adj.相互作用的，互相影响的，（电脑）交互的

参考例句：

• The psychotherapy is carried out in small interactive groups.这种心理治疗是在互动的小组之间进行的。
• This will make videogames more interactive than ever.这将使电子游戏的互动性更胜以往。

6 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

7 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

8 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

9 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

10 confidentiality   

n.秘而不宣，保密

参考例句：

• They signed a confidentiality agreement. 他们签署了一份保守机密的协议。
• Cryptography is the foundation of supporting authentication, integrality and confidentiality. 而密码学是支持认证、完整性和机密性机制的基础。

11 deport   

vt.驱逐出境

参考例句：

• We deport aliens who slip across our borders.我们把偷渡入境的外国人驱逐出境。
• More than 240 England football fans are being deported from Italy following riots last night.昨晚的骚乱发生后有240多名英格兰球迷被驱逐出意大利。

12 statistical   

adj.统计的，统计学的

参考例句：

• He showed the price fluctuations in a statistical table.他用统计表显示价格的波动。
• They're making detailed statistical analysis.他们正在做具体的统计分析。

13 exempted   

使免除[豁免]( exempt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His bad eyesight exempted him from military service. 他因视力不好而免服兵役。
• Her illness exempted her from the examination. 她因病而免试。

14 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

15 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。