VOA常速英语2008年-Egyptian Police Detain Scores From Muslim Broth

By Challiss McDonough
Cairo
20 February 2008

Egyptian police have arrested more than 70 members of the Muslim Brotherhood¹ early Thursday, the latest in a wave of arrests that the banned Islamist group says is connected to upcoming local elections. VOA Correspondent Challiss McDonough has more from Cairo.

Police raided the homes of Muslim Brotherhood members in five provinces at dawn. Accounts differ on the exact number of people detained.

The Muslim Brotherhood's deputy leader, Mohammed Habib, told VOA more than 500 of the group's members are now in detention², with nearly 180 of them arrested during the past week.

He said the arrests are linked to the upcoming municipal election. He said the ruling National Democratic Party is unable to compete with the Brotherhood in a fair poll, so members of the group are being detained to clear the way for the ruling party.

Habib said he expects more arrests before voting day.

The elections are scheduled for April 8.

Although the group is officially banned in Egypt, its members run for office as independents.

Analysts³ note that mass detentions⁴ of Muslim Brotherhood members have preceded most Egyptian elections in recent years, especially since the parliamentary election of 2005, when the group won 88 seats.

Mohamed Salah is the Cairo bureau chief for the pan-Arab newspaper Al-Hayat, and a noted⁵ expert on Islamist groups.

He said the municipal elections - originally scheduled for 2006 - were delayed nearly two years so the ruling party and the government could come up with a new plan for dealing⁶ with the Muslim Brotherhood after the group's success in the parliamentary poll.

Several controversial constitutional amendments⁷ were adopted last year that will raise even higher electoral barriers to the Muslim Brotherhood.

Salah said it will be even harder for the group to participate in future elections, so it is likely to participate in this one even if it means paying a high price in terms of arrests and detentions of Brotherhood members.

City councils in Egypt have traditionally been dominated by the ruling party, and have had little role in national politics. But there is more at stake in this local election than previous ones, because the new constitutional changes require any presidential candidate to have support from at least 140 members of local councils.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is 79 years old, and is widely believed to be grooming⁸ his son Gamal to succeed him, although both men deny that.

1 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

2 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

3 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。

4 detentions   

拘留( detention的名词复数 )； 扣押； 监禁； 放学后留校

参考例句：

• Teachers may assign detention tasks as they wish and some detentions have been actually dangerous. 老师可能随心所欲指派关禁闭的形式，有些禁闭事实上很危险。
• Intimidation, beatings and administrative detentions are often enough to prevent them from trying again. 恐吓，拷打和行政拘留足以阻止请愿者二次进京的脚步。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

7 amendments   

（法律、文件的）改动( amendment的名词复数 )； 修正案； 修改； （美国宪法的）修正案

参考例句：

• The committee does not adequately consult others when drafting amendments. 委员会在起草修正案时没有充分征求他人的意见。
• Please propose amendments and addenda to the first draft of the document. 请对这个文件的初稿提出修改和补充意见。

8 grooming   

n. 修饰, 美容，（动物）梳理毛发

参考例句：

• You should always pay attention to personal grooming. 你应随时注意个人仪容。
• We watched two apes grooming each other. 我们看两只猩猩在互相理毛。