马来西亚为照顾穆斯林 规避狗年狗符号

In Year of the Dog, Malaysia Avoids Dog Symbols

The Lunar New Year, also known as the Chinese New Year, begins on February 16. Twenty eighteen is the Year of the Dog. But in Malaysia, some businesses are avoiding dog symbols in their decorations. They do not want to insult the country’s Muslim majority.

Islamic tradition considers dogs “unclean.” Muslims are required to wash themselves if they touch the animal.

Malaysia is a nation of several religions and cultures. But, there has been a growing rejection¹ of activities considered insulting to Islam.

In recent years, this has become evident in demonstrations² against music shows and celebrations that involve alcohol.

Muslims make up about 61 percent of the 32 million Malaysians. About 20 percent of the population is Buddhist³, making Buddhism⁴ the second largest religion in Malaysia.

Pavilion Kuala Lumpur is a shopping center in the Bukit Bintang area of the capital. It is popular with foreign visitors. This year, the center has not included dog imagery in lunar new year decorations. Instead, the decorations honor the center’s tenth anniversary.

Kung Suan Ai is the director of marketing⁵ for Pavilion Kuala Lumpur. She said religious and cultural sensitivities influenced the decoration choices. The shopping center attracts three million people of many cultures each month, she said.

She said Pavilion Kuala Lumpur considered decorations that would make all people feel accepted.

Twelve animals make up the traditional Chinese zodiac. It includes dogs and pigs – another animal which Muslims consider unclean.

Malaysian Muslim leaders have spoken out about other events that involve dogs. At the 2014 Commonwealth⁶ Games opening ceremony in Glasgow, Scotland, athletes paraded with a Scottish terrier dog. After the event, Malaysian politicians expressed their disapproval⁷, calling the act “disrespectful.”

In 2016, Malaysian religious officials asked an international fast food restaurant to change the name of a food it sold in Malaysia. Auntie Anne’s sold an item called a “Pretzel Dog.” The religious officials wanted it to be renamed “Pretzel Sausage.” They said “Pretzel Dog” confused Muslims – who are not permitted to eat dog meat.

MyTOWN is another Kuala Lumpur shopping center where half the visitors are Muslim. This year, it has made its Lunar New Year decorations more moderate.

Christopher Koh is Head of Marketing for MyTOWN. He said the dogs are not the central object on display. He said they do not appear as objects of worship.

For this same reason, he said, many Malaysian businesses also no longer display a large pig to honor the Year of the Boar.

Alex Chow runs a company that makes packaging materials. He said that his large business clients have chosen very general imagery for their packaging designs this year.

But some Malaysians are not happy about these changes.

Wong Wei-Shen, an ethnic⁸ Chinese, has several dogs as pets. She said businesses were being “ridiculous.”

“It’s a shame because Malaysia is a multicultural⁹ country. To dismiss the fact that the Chinese have a dog as one of the zodiac animals is unfair,” said Wong.

She said that every zodiac animal has good qualities, and “the dog represents a guide, a best friend, a comforter and loyal friend.”

I’m Alice Bryant.

Words in This Story

decorations – n. something added to an object or place to make it look more attractive

zodiac – n. an imaginary area in the sky that the sun, moon, and planets appear to travel through

confused – adj. unable to understand or think clearly

packaging – n. material used to enclose or contain something

client – n. a person who pays a professional person or organization for services

pet – n. an animal that people keep mainly for pleasure

comforter – n. someone who helps you to feel less worried, upset or frightened

1 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。

2 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

3 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

4 Buddhism   

n.佛教（教义）

参考例句：

• Buddhism was introduced into China about 67 AD.佛教是在公元67年左右传入中国的。
• Many people willingly converted to Buddhism.很多人情愿皈依佛教。

5 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

6 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

7 disapproval   

n.反对，不赞成

参考例句：

• The teacher made an outward show of disapproval.老师表面上表示不同意。
• They shouted their disapproval.他们喊叫表示反对。

8 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。

9 multicultural   

adj.融合多种文化的，多种文化的

参考例句：

• Children growing up in a multicultural society.在多元文化社会中长大的孩子们。
• The school has been attempting to bring a multicultural perspective to its curriculum.这所学校已经在尝试将一种多元文化视角引入其课程。