2007年VOA标准英语-Group Works at Grassroots Level on Countering I

By Kokab Farshori
Washington
28 March 2007
 
watch Countering Islamophobia

The United States is home to almost two million Muslims, yet since the September 11 terrorist attacks of 2001, many Muslims feel they have been subjected to increased discrimination and intolerance. In an effort to change that, the Muslim Public Affairs Council has launched a campaign to counter what it calls the "mischaracterization" of Muslims and to overcome a growing tide of Islamophobia in the United States. Urdu TV's Kokab Farshori reports, with VOA's Jim Bertel narrating¹.

 
A Muslim woman 
As time has passed since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, it has become clear to some Muslim leaders that many in the U.S. have misperceptions about Islam. To counter this, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, or MPAC, recently launched a campaign to educate Americans about Islam. 

Safiya Ghori is the group's Program Director in Washington, DC. "The MPAC organization has launched this campaign to work with the media, to work with the government, and to work with the community on educating them on Islam - the basic fundamentals of Islam," said Ghori, "as well as teaching the [Islamic] community how you engage with the government, [and] teaching the government how [to] talk to the [Islamic] community, how [to] deal with the cultural and religious sensitivity issues.”

 
Safiya Ghori

Ghori says her organization is also working to improve the perception of Muslims in the media.

"On the media level we are working with CNN, we're working with the major news networks to make sure they are aware that words like Islamic fascism, and words like Islamic  fundamentalism and things that, sort of, coin this phenomenon of fear towards Islam or anything perceived to be Muslim," says Ghori. "We counter that action."

In the United States, founded on religious freedom, it is against the law to discriminate² against people of any religious faith. The Bush Administration has specifically reached out to Muslim Americans and highlighted their important contributions to American society.

 
Howard Dean
Howard Dean, the Chairman of the opposition³ Democrats⁴' National Committee, also spoke⁵ directly to American Muslims in a message in December. "American Muslims embody⁶ the values that make our country strong: devotion to family, commitment to hard work, respect for education and most of all a deep and enduring patriotism," he said.

Ghori says MPAC's outreach program extends beyond the media and government to local Muslim communities where leaders can help Muslims, especially young Muslims, become responsible citizens.

"Part of the Islamophobia campaign, when we work with the [Islamic] community, is to teach: 'Yes, I am a Muslim, I'm an American, and I'm a patriot,'" explained Ghori.

"So, part of that campaign is to teach these, young, young Muslims activists⁷, how they can engage with the government, how do you get a job with the government. How, if you have a hate crime on your campus, who do you call? How do you file a report?" she continued. "And these are the ways we are teaching them to engage with the government, to engage with the media."

Working at the grassroots level, Muslim Americans are reaching across religious lines to help others better understand their religion and each other.  MPAC and other organizations hope by changing attitudes and stereotypes⁸, it will become easier for future generations of Muslims in this country to be seen as truly Americans.

1 narrating   

v.故事( narrate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She entertained them by narrating her adventures in Africa. 她讲述她在非洲的历险来使他们开心。
• [Mike Narrating] Worm and I fall into our old rhythm like Clyde Frazier and Pearl Monroe. [迈克叙述] 虫子和我配合得象以前一样默契我们两好象是克莱德。弗瑞泽和佩尔。门罗。 来自电影对白

2 discriminate   

v.区别，辨别，区分；有区别地对待

参考例句：

• You must learn to discriminate between facts and opinions.你必须学会把事实和看法区分出来。
• They can discriminate hundreds of colours.他们能分辨上百种颜色。

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。

6 embody   

vt.具体表达，使具体化；包含，收录

参考例句：

• The latest locomotives embody many new features. 这些最新的机车具有许多新的特色。
• Hemingway's characters plainly embody his own values and view of life.海明威笔下的角色明确反映出他自己的价值观与人生观。

7 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 stereotypes   

n.老套，模式化的见解，有老一套固定想法的人( stereotype的名词复数 )v.把…模式化，使成陈规( stereotype的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Such jokes tend to reinforce racial stereotypes. 这样的笑话容易渲染种族偏见。
• It makes me sick to read over such stereotypes devoid of content. 这种空洞无物的八股调，我看了就讨厌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》