VOA常速英语2020--蓬佩奥表示伊朗的宗教自由状况令人堪忧（在线收听）

Next, an editorial reflecting the views of the U.S. Government.Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has made clear that the United States’ defense of religious freedom around the world is “a moral imperative.”“Every human being has the right to believe in whatever it is they wish, to change their faith, or to hold no faith at all. Indeed, we must affirm and fight for that truth now more than ever. More than eight in ten people in the world today live where they cannot practice their faith freely.”One of those places is Iran. At the second Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom hosted by the State Department in July, 2019, Secretary Pompeo noted that “Iranians who dare stand up for their religious freedom, for their neighbors, face abuse.”Now the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom -- an independent, bipartisan federal body tasked with monitoring violations of religious freedom around the world–- reports that violations of the Iranian people’s religious liberty continue.USCIRF, as the Commission is called, writes in its most recent report that in 2019, “religious freedom conditions in Iran remained egregiously poor.”

接下来是一篇反映美国政府观点的社论。美国国务卿蓬佩奥明确表示，美国在全世界捍卫宗教自由是“道德需要”。“每个人都有权去信仰自己希望的一切，有权改变信仰，或者根本没有信仰。事实上，我们必须要比以往的任何时候都更加肯定并争取这一真理。今天，世界上超过十分之八的人生活在无法实现自由信仰的地方。”其中一个地方就是伊朗。2019年7月，在由国务院举办的第二届推进宗教自由部长级会议上，国务卿蓬佩奥指出，“伊朗人敢于为自己的宗教自由和邻国挺身而出，而他们自己在面临虐待。”现在，美国国际宗教自由委员会——一个独立的两党联邦机构，负责监督世界各地违反宗教自由的行为——报告称，侵犯伊朗人民宗教自由的行为仍在继续。美国国际宗教自由委员会在最近的一份报告中表示，2019年，“伊朗的宗教自由状况仍然非常糟糕。”

“Iran harasses, fines and arrests those who dissent” from the government’s interpretation of Shi’a Islam, USCIRF notes. The Iranian government blamed Baha’is, without evidence, for widespread popular protests.Adherents of Sufi orders, which emphasize Islamic mysticism, were also targeted. Christians, particularly converts from Islam, were persecuted and imprisoned for their faith.Last June, USCIRF reports, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif claimed that Iran’s execution of members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community was necessary “according to moral principles.” And women who peacefully protested the government’s mandatory religious head covering were summoned, interrogated and arrested.Secretary of State Pompeo has said that the freedom to believe or not believe according to one’s conscience is not a Western ideal, it is “the bedrock of societies.”The United States, he emphasized, will not waver in its commitment to encourage all countries, including Iran, to recognize the fundamental importance of religious freedom to human life and dignity.That was an editorial reflecting the views of the U.S. Government

美国国际宗教自由委员会指出，伊朗政府对什叶派伊斯兰教的解释为“伊朗会骚扰，罚款并逮捕那些持异议的人”伊朗政府在没有证据的情况下指责巴哈教徒，这一事件引发广泛的民众抗议。强调伊斯兰神秘主义的苏菲派信徒也成为攻击目标。基督教徒，特别是皈依伊斯兰教的人，因信仰而受到迫害和监禁。去年六月，据美国国际宗教自由委员会报道，伊朗外交部长贾威德·扎里夫声称，伊朗处决女同性恋、同性恋、变性人和双性恋群体的行为，是“根据道德原则”而势在必行的。并且伊朗政府还对一些对于伊朗政府强制宗教头巾的规定进行和平抗议的妇女，进行传唤、审讯和逮捕。国务卿蓬佩奥曾表示，拥有自由去根据自己的本心信仰或不信仰，这不是西方的理想，而是“社会的基石”。他强调，美国不会动摇其承诺，鼓励包括伊朗在内的所有国家承认宗教自由对人类生命和尊严的根本重要性。这是一篇反映美国政府观点的社论。