VOA常速英语2008年-American Muslims Look for Signs of Progress in

By Mohamed Elshinnawi
Washington
14 April 2008
 

When Pope Benedict XVI visits Washington, DC next week, he will include American Muslims in a meeting of interfaith leaders. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops¹ acknowledges a troubled past in the relationship between Christians³ and Muslims, a past that includes the crusades and holy wars of the Middle Ages.  The U.S. Roman Catholic bishops point to recent efforts for reconciliation⁴ by the Church, including the visit to a Christian² and Muslim holy site in Syria in 2001 by Pope John Paul II. VOA's Mohamed Elshinnawi  looks at the status of Christian-Muslim relations in the U.S. on the eve of Benedict's visit.

Some Islamic militants⁵ liken the current conflicts to religious wars of the past.  Al Qaida's deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri, in a video two years ago, compared the current Catholic church leader to the 11th-century pope who launched the crusades.

One leading U.S. scholar says the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the U.S. confirmed to some people that Muslims and Christians will always fight.

Professor John Voll of the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University says the response he saw to the September 11th attacks was mostly positive. "The most remarkable⁶ thing was the number of requests that we got, not for people who would come and talk about how terrorist Muslims were, but rather for help in organizing Muslim-Christian dialogue in local communities," he said.

In the past four decades, the Vatican has promoted reconciliation.  In 1965, the Second Vatican Council pleaded with Christians and Muslims to overcome their past differences and work for peace and understanding.

In 2001, Pope John Paul II was hailed for visiting the cherished Ummayad Mosque⁷ in Syria and urging respectful dialogue between what he called two great religious communities.

In October, 130 leading Muslim scholars from around the world issued a letter calling for peace and understanding between Islam and Christianity. They said the very survival of the world is at stake.

"I really think that this initiative that has come from Muslims for theological dialogue based upon the principles of love of God and love of neighbors is very positive," says Professor John Borelli, National Coordinator⁸ for Interreligious Dialogue at the U.S Jesuit Conference.  "The Vatican has responded and what will come out of this will be the largest Muslim dialogue that the Vatican has co-sponsored."

Borelli says during Pope Benedict's U.S. visit, American Muslim leaders will participate in interfaith activities with the pontiff.

Yet, nearly two years ago, it was this pope who angered many Muslims  when he quoted a 14th Century Byzantine emperor who had criticized the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad.  The pontiff later sought to defuse the anger, expressing deep respect for all Muslims.

Parvez Ahmed is Chairman of Council on American-Islamic Relations. He says demonization of Islam in the Christian West is a serious problem. "Many mainstream⁹ religious leaders have said very derogatory things about the Prophet Muhammad, about Islam and about Allah [God] in a way  that if it had been said for any other faith or group there would be a major backlash on it," he said. "Unfortunately these important figures, religious and political figures made these hateful comments about Islam and in some sense they got away with it." He adds Muslims must follow their religious teachings and respect other faiths to foster better relations. 

Keith Ellison is the first Muslim American to be elected to the U.S Congress. He points to the lessons of the Koran as a path to better relations. "Those lessons speak to religious tolerance¹⁰, those lessons speak to gender¹¹ equality, all the things that we should rely on. And the world of Islam should never operate on the basis of fear, because from fear we get exclusion¹², from fear we get harsh actions, desperate actions, and revengeful actions," Ellison said.

Pope Benedict, who has recently appealed for an end to bloody¹³ conflicts in the Middle East, has also said the religious and inter-cultural dialogues are necessary to build a world of peace.

1 bishops   

（基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象

参考例句：

• Each player has two bishops at the start of the game. 棋赛开始时，每名棋手有两只象。
• "Only sheriffs and bishops and rich people and kings, and such like. “他劫富济贫，抢的都是郡长、主教、国王之类的富人。

2 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。

3 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

4 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

5 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。

6 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

7 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。

8 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

9 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

10 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

11 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

12 exclusion   

n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行

参考例句：

• Don't revise a few topics to the exclusion of all others.不要修改少数论题以致排除所有其他的。
• He plays golf to the exclusion of all other sports.他专打高尔夫球，其他运动一概不参加。

13 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。