英闻天下——281 Islamic Culture In Lanzhou

 　　Prayers resound¹ through Lanzhou every Friday afternoon as local Muslims gather for congregational prayer, or as Muslim people call it, Jumu'ah.

 

　　During Jumu'ah, Muslims from around the city often come to Xiguan Mosque², the largest mosque in Lanzhou and dating back to the 14th century. Ma Zhong has been the Imam of the mosque for more than five years.

 

　　"During Jumu'ah time, the mosque is packed inside and outside. There are about 4,000 to 5,000 people then. During regular prayers there are about 400 Muslims. I would say the mosque is the religious cultural center of Lanzhou. Moreover, it's also one of the top ten sights of Lanzhou, so it's a window for people from outside the city to get to know Lanzhou."

 

　　A tour in the courtyard of the mosque gives a visitor a brief idea of the religious culture in the city, but exploring further gets you in touch with what religious faith means to the local Muslims.

 

　　Walking into one of the buildings affliated the mosque, you find that the mosque is much more than a place of worship. It is also a school providing both higher and primary education for Muslim boys and girls.

 

　　"We have about 40 students in the boys' school. We try to train Muslim clerics and talents as well as provide another opportunity of education for dropouts. Their tuition, food, clothes and accommodations here are all free. There are more students at the girls' school, around 400, so we can't provide them with free food and accommodations. Students there are a combination of drop outs and unemployed³. We provide Chinese, English, Arabic language courses as well as vocational classes like sewing and computer skills so they can make a living on their own after graduation."

 

　　Yao Jingjing is a Lanzhou citizen who joined the girls' school after dropping out of public school.

 

　　"I studied at the Lanzhou Institute of Technology, but later I dropped out. After staying at home for some time, my mom sent me here to study. I was interested in learning about what I believe in. And after graduation, I can even become a teacher and am already teaching in the school now."

 

　　Zhang Xiumei, a teacher at the girls' school, says the school also works to dispel⁴ local stereotypes⁵ and ignorance of Muslims and Islamic faith as rural and uneducated.

 

　　"The educational level of the local Muslim people is rising and that of their children's education is also rising with them. A lot of students from our school have a bachelor's degree and most of their children are college graduates, too. Some of them even have PhDs. And we're providing education to people who can't afford higher education."

 

　　As a Muslim mother, Zhang Xiumei says Muslim parents are strict with their children at home. She says in educating children at home, morality comes first. She tells her children not to lie, steal or swear as they all violate basic Islamic doctrines⁶. She says children are required to greet elders with certain words when they come home to show respect. She says religious belief can help promote social harmony and give people mental strength.

 

　　"All people have difficulties in life, like troubles at work, or serious illness, and people feel depressed⁷. And in some extreme situations where there is nothing family and society can help you with so some feel so helpless that they choose commit suicide. However, Muslims always think that hardship is a test by Allah, and we should get over it and never give up. And that's what we've been telling our kids. It helps them to develop a strong will."

 

　　Other Islamic beliefs include not eating pork, not drinking alcohol and no gambling⁸ or fortune telling. They also pray five times a day. Imam Ma Zhong says the rules help Muslims to live a healthy and harmonious⁹ life.

 

　　"The regular daily prayers help Muslims keep good healthy hours. Not eating pork can helps avoid tapeworm infections, not drinking helps maintain a sober and rational mind. No doing fortune telling helps avoid superstition¹⁰ and makes Muslims healthy and reasonable at all times."

 

　　There are now more than 200,000 Muslims in Lanzhou, accounting¹¹ for about 8 percent of the city's total population.

 

　　For CRI, I'm Wang Wei.

1 resound   

v.回响

参考例句：

• A roar of approval resounded through the Ukrainian parliament.一片赞成声在乌克兰议会中回响。
• The soldiers' boots resounded in the street.士兵的军靴踏在地面上的声音在大街上回响。

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 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

4 dispel   

vt.驱走，驱散，消除

参考例句：

• I tried in vain to dispel her misgivings.我试图消除她的疑虑，但没有成功。
• We hope the programme will dispel certain misconceptions about the disease.我们希望这个节目能消除对这种疾病的一些误解。

5 stereotypes   

n.老套，模式化的见解，有老一套固定想法的人( stereotype的名词复数 )v.把…模式化，使成陈规( stereotype的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Such jokes tend to reinforce racial stereotypes. 这样的笑话容易渲染种族偏见。
• It makes me sick to read over such stereotypes devoid of content. 这种空洞无物的八股调，我看了就讨厌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 doctrines   

n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 )；教义；学说；（政府政策的）正式声明

参考例句：

• To modern eyes, such doctrines appear harsh, even cruel. 从现代的角度看，这样的教义显得苛刻，甚至残酷。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His doctrines have seduced many into error. 他的学说把许多人诱入歧途。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

8 gambling   

n.赌博；投机

参考例句：

• They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
• The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。

9 harmonious   

adj.和睦的，调和的，和谐的，协调的

参考例句：

• Their harmonious relationship resulted in part from their similar goals.他们关系融洽的部分原因是他们有着相似的目标。
• The room was painted in harmonious colors.房间油漆得色彩调和。

10 superstition   

n.迷信，迷信行为

参考例句：

• It's a common superstition that black cats are unlucky.认为黑猫不吉祥是一种很普遍的迷信。
• Superstition results from ignorance.迷信产生于无知。

11 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。