2006年VOA标准英语-Islamic Group Controlling Somali Capital Faces

By Alisha Ryu
Nairobi
08 June 2006

After months of fighting against an alliance of secular¹ Somali factional leaders to seize Mogadishu, an organization called the Union of Islamic courts says it is now in control of the capital.  The union is already facing major challenges to its authority, and Somalis are once again bracing² for a new round of fighting.

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Somali supporters of the Islamic Courts Union hold an Islamic flag
  

It has been three days since the Islamic courts' militia³ pushed a self-styled, anti-terror coalition⁴ of factional leaders out of the city and declared victory.

But the African program director of the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, Suleiman Baldo, tells VOA that it would be premature⁵ to assume that the Union of Islamic courts is now fully⁶ in control. 

"Now, it is the test of governing Mogadishu, the test of surviving clan⁷ politics," he said.  "This is the reality of the place, and they have to show an ability to navigate⁸ the complexities⁹.  I think the issues of administration of Mogadishu and clan politics overlap¹⁰, because to have a stable administration that is acceptable to all, they need to associate with all of the major clans¹¹ and influential¹² players in Mogadishu, and not to impose an administration of their own exclusively."

The clan based Union of Islamic courts was established more than a decade ago to try to restore law and order in a country torn apart by warlords and factionalism.

But experts on Somalia say the Islamic group's efforts to promote a conservative religious agenda at the expense of clan allegiance have bred resentment¹³ among some clan elders.  Now, there are signs that the Union of Islamic courts is on a collision course with at least one of the country's powerful sub-clans.

On Tuesday, the influential Abgal sub-clan in northern Mogadishu held a large demonstration¹⁴, vowing¹⁵ never to accept the authority of the Islamic courts. 

Abgal leaders have appealed for clan unity¹⁶ in fighting the Islamic courts, and to defend the town of Jowhar, 90 kilometers north of the capital, where the defeated Mogadishu-based factional leaders are now said to be regrouping to launch a counter-attack.

Jowhar is a stronghold of Mohammed Dheere, one of the leaders of the 11-member, anti-terrorism alliance and an Abgal sub-clan member.   

Meanwhile, a top Islamic courts official, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, has announced that he is stepping down as chairman.  The cleric is an Abgal, prompting some in Mogadishu to speculate that pressure from clan elders may have played a role in Ahmed's decision to resign.

Ahmed was seen as a relative moderate in the courts' leadership, which includes Sheikh Hassen Dahir Aweys, a hard-line radical¹⁷ cleric accused of having ties to al-Qaida.

Suleiman Baldo at the International Crisis Group says he believes, if Aweys is chosen to replace Ahmed as expected, there is little chance that peace talks will ever be held with factional leaders, or with Somalia's transitional government in Baidoa.

The president of the transitional government, Abdullahi Yusuf, once spearheaded a successful campaign in the northern region of Puntland against al-Itihaad al-Islamiya, a radical Somali Islamist group headed by Aweys.

1 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。

2 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

3 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

4 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

5 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

7 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

8 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

9 complexities   

复杂性(complexity的名词复数)； 复杂的事物

参考例句：

• The complexities of life bothered him. 生活的复杂使他困惑。
• The complexities of life bothered me. 生活的杂乱事儿使我心烦。

10 overlap   

v.重叠，与…交叠；n.重叠

参考例句：

• The overlap between the jacket and the trousers is not good.夹克和裤子重叠的部分不好看。
• Tiles overlap each other.屋瓦相互叠盖。

11 clans   

宗族( clan的名词复数 )； 氏族； 庞大的家族； 宗派

参考例句：

• There are many clans in European countries. 欧洲国家有很多党派。
• The women were the great power among the clans [gentes], as everywhere else. 妇女在克兰〈氏族〉里，乃至一般在任何地方，都有很大的势力。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源

12 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

13 resentment   

n.怨愤，忿恨

参考例句：

• All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
• She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。

14 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

15 vowing   

起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild its collapsed bridge. 布什总统承诺将帮助明尼阿波利斯重建坍塌的大桥。
• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild this collapse bridge. 布什总统发誓要帮助明尼阿波利斯重建起这座坍塌的桥梁。

16 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

17 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。