2007年VOA标准英语-Pakistani Women Rally Against Radical Mosque in

By Benjamin Sand
Islamabad
05 April 2007

More than 100 women led a protest rally against a radical¹ mosque² in central Islamabad. VOA Correspondent Benjamin Sand reports from Islamabad the Lal Masjid mosque is at the center of a growing controversy³, after trying to enforce Taleban-style law in the Pakistani capital.

Chanting anti-extremist slogans, the women demanded government action against the hard-line Islamic mosque.

The women marched down a broad avenue several blocks away from the Lal Masjid mosque. Several waved banners reading 'down with religious fascists⁵' and 'no to extremism, yes to music and to life'.

Protester Nosheen Saeed says Pakistani women are fed up with Islamic hardliners who want to impose a Taleban-style Islamic law on the country.

"For a very long time we have been the silent majority watching all this happen and now we are going to come out on the streets and we will not allow them to hijack⁶ our religion like this," she said. "We will not allow them to poison our youth like this."

Lal Masjid and two of its religious seminaries are at the center of a growing stand-off with government authorities.

The mosque's leaders say they are preparing a so-called Islamic revolution for Pakistan that will begin this Friday.

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Veiled female students Islamic seminary hold bamboo sticks as they chant slogans during protest, 28 Mar 2007

Thousands of students from the mosque's religious seminaries already swept through one of Islamabad's main market areas last week, warning shop owners against selling music or movies. Days earlier, the students kidnapped three women from the same neighborhood after accusing them of running a brothel.

Hundreds more have been occupying a nearby children's library since January 21 to protest government efforts to demolish⁷ several mosques⁸ illegally built on government property.

Farzani Barbi, who helped organize the rally, says the government has to enforce the rule of law or cede⁹ control to Islamic extremists.

"It is getting worse because the government has not done anything to stop them," she said.  "As a result of that they are encouraged and now they are going into people's homes."

She says the mosque has become a state within a state and a breeding ground for religious militants¹⁰ right in the heart of Pakistan's capital.

More than 11,000 students and worshippers attend the mosque and its madrasas (schools).

The religious complex remains¹¹ off limits to government forces and baton-wielding students guard the entire block around the mosque. Eyewitnesses¹² say scores of machine guns have been stockpiled inside.

The government says that, at least for now, it will avoid using force against the mosque and is seeking a negotiated settlement to help end the crisis.

But observers say Lal Masjid's supporters show no signs of backing down and seem intent on further escalating¹³ the political stand-off.

1 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。

2 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

3 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

4 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

5 fascists   

n.法西斯主义的支持者( fascist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists. 老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Zoya heroically bore the torture that the Fascists inflicted upon her. 卓娅英勇地承受法西斯匪徒加在她身上的酷刑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 hijack   

v.劫持，劫机，拦路抢劫

参考例句：

• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。
• The hijack take place just after the plane take off.劫持是飞机刚起飞后发生的。

7 demolish   

v.拆毁(建筑物等)，推翻(计划、制度等)

参考例句：

• They're going to demolish that old building.他们将拆毁那座旧建筑物。
• He was helping to demolish an underground garage when part of the roof collapsed.他当时正在帮忙拆除一个地下汽车库，屋顶的一部份突然倒塌。

8 mosques   

清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why make us believe that this tunnel runs underneath the mosques? 为什么要让我们相信这条隧洞是在清真寺下？
• The city's three biggest mosques, long fallen into disrepair, have been renovated. 城里最大的三座清真寺，过去年久失修，现在已经修复。

9 cede   

v.割让，放弃

参考例句：

• The debater refused to cede the point to her opponent.辩论者拒绝向她的对手放弃其主张。
• Not because I'm proud.In fact,in front of you I cede all my pride.这不是因为骄傲，事实上我在你面前毫无骄傲可言。

10 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。

11 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

12 eyewitnesses   

目击者( eyewitness的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The examination of all the eyewitnesses took a week. 对所有证人的质询用了一周的时间。
• Several eyewitnesses testified that they saw the officers hit Miller in the face. 几位目击证人证明他们看见那几个警官打了米勒的脸。

13 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句