所有美国及阿拉伯联合酋长国发起Sawab中心抵制伊斯兰国家的信息

US, UAE Launch Sawab Center to Counter IS Message

The United States and United Arab Emirates launched a joint¹ effort Wednesday to counter the Islamic State militants³ on social media.

The Sawab Center, based in Abu Dhabi, uses social media to confront the militants’ efforts to recruit members. It also presents “moderate and tolerant voices from across the region.”

The Arabic word “sawab,” means “right” or “correct” -- as in, “the right path.” The center has sent messages on Twitter and posted a YouTube video saying the Islamic State is changing the meaning of Islam to spread hate, fear, and intolerance.

Richard Stengel is the U.S. Under-Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy⁴ and Public Affairs. In an interview with Alhurra, Mr. Stengel says the Sawab Center aims to use information to prevent people from joining the Islamic State.

"One of the ideas of the Sawab Center and what we do in terms of messaging ourselves from Washington is to try to stem the flow of foreign fighters. To, if somebody is debating whether to go, tell them that the mythology⁵ of what Daesh [Islamic State] is creating is false, you know, the caliphate isn't a paradise -- there's no plumbing⁶, there's no electricity, there's no Internet access."

Mr. Stengel says the center hopes to “take offline” those who are using social media to recruit new members for IS.

The U.S.-led coalition⁷ has launched more than 5,000 airstrikes against the Islamic State in the past year. But the goals are to stop the flow of new foreign fighters and cutting off funding to the militant² group.

The under-secretary said the coalition of more than 60 nations is seeing some success. But he also said that the fight against IS and terrorism in general is a “generational struggle,” - one that will not be won quickly. He adds that,

"I think it's not realistic to say that any form of terrorism will go away, or that any manifestation⁸ of Daesh or ISIL will go away, but as an acute threat, as an existential threat, as an expanding threat, that will be reversed and it already is being reversed.”

Words in This Story

counter – v. to do something in defense⁹ or in response to something

tolerant – n. willing to accept feelings, habits, or beliefs that are different from your own

funding  - n. an amount of something that is available for use

1 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

2 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

3 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

4 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

5 mythology   

n.神话，神话学，神话集

参考例句：

• In Greek mythology,Zeus was the ruler of Gods and men.在希腊神话中，宙斯是众神和人类的统治者。
• He is the hero of Greek mythology.他是希腊民间传说中的英雄。

6 plumbing   

n.水管装置；水暖工的工作；管道工程v.用铅锤测量（plumb的现在分词）；探究

参考例句：

• She spent her life plumbing the mysteries of the human psyche. 她毕生探索人类心灵的奥秘。
• They're going to have to put in new plumbing. 他们将需要安装新的水管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 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。

8 manifestation   

n.表现形式；表明；现象

参考例句：

• Her smile is a manifestation of joy.她的微笑是她快乐的表现。
• What we call mass is only another manifestation of energy.我们称之为质量的东西只是能量的另一种表现形态。

9 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。