2006年VOA标准英语-US Muslims Say They Face Prejudice, Growing Acc

By Mike O'Sullivan
Los Angeles
08 September 2006

US Muslims at news conference in Los Angeles

American Muslims say they have faced increased suspicion since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. But some say the dialogues that began after those events opened new lines of communication. Mike O'Sullivan has more from Los Angeles, where local Muslim leaders spoke¹ with reporters.

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Every American Muslim has faced questions since the attacks, some of the questions innocent, others rude or even hostile. Edina Lekovic of the Muslim Public Affairs Council is a European Muslim whose parents came from Montenegro in the former Yugoslavia. Her features are Western, but she is visible as a Muslim because of her headscarf. She says that since 2001, explaining her faith has become a full-time² job. "The questions that I hear on a daily basis, regardless of the setting, are anything from 'Why do you wear that thing on your head?' to 'Why don't you go back to your country?' to 'Why are your people killing³ our people?," she said.

She says most of the questions are based on misconceptions about Islam and its adherents⁴.

Lekovic appeared with other Muslim leaders at a news conference Thursday, joined by leaders from the Christian⁵, Jewish and Sikh faiths, and representatives of law enforcement agencies.

All spoke against the prejudice, and the occasional hate crimes, that have been directed toward Muslims since the 9-11 attacks. They cited a recent survey showing that four in 10 Americans admit to harboring anti-Muslim feelings.

Hussam Ayloush of the Council on American-Islamic Relations has seen that prejudice, but believes it is superficial and temporary. He says history suggests that Islam is being integrated into American life.

"We look at the experiences of previous immigrant communities, religious or ethnic⁶, whether it's the Jewish community, the Catholic community, or Irish, Italians and others, and Latinos today. All of them had to go through a phase of rejection⁷, mistrust, acceptance, and integration⁸. Everybody went through the same phases. And I think we are between the phase of some kind of mistrust and acceptance," he said.

He says even people who admit to anti-Muslim prejudice are willing to talk and listen. He adds that since 2001, American Muslims are also reaching out in dialogue, and says like other Americans, they have strong feelings. "But at the end of the day, we go back and say, OK, give me your case, make your case, convince me otherwise," he said.

He says honest debate creates bonds of trust, despite disagreements.

Edina Lekovic says that as non-Muslim Americans get to know their Muslim neighbors, both sides become more open. "Your neighbors, who happen to be named Khadija or Ali, they go to the grocery store, they go to the doctor, they go to the library, they vote, they participate in educational settings just like anybody else," he said.

The Los Angeles Muslim leaders say that Islam is a tolerant faith, concerned with building bridges. Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, they say getting that message out has become more important.

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 adherents   

n.支持者，拥护者( adherent的名词复数 )；党羽；徒子徒孙

参考例句：

• He is a leader with many adherents. 他是个有众多追随者的领袖。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The proposal is gaining more and more adherents. 该建议得到越来越多的支持者。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

6 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。

7 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

8 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。