VOA标准英语2010年-Muslim Group Faces Opposition Near New

American Muslim groups seeking to build mosques² or community centers - or even summer camps - have faced suspicion and sometimes organized opposition³ since the September 11 terror attacks by Islamic extremists 10 years ago.

Some of the fiercest battles have taken place recently in New York City, where a proposal is being considered to build an Islamic community center two blocks from the former World Trade Center site.  The plan has sparked protests and angry community meetings.

The issue recently drew national attention, when former vice⁴ presidential nominee⁵ Sarah Palin called on "moderate" Muslims to oppose the project.  A possible Republican presidential candidate in 2012, Mitt⁶ Romney, has also expressed opposition to it.

The Muslim group wants to tear down the 153-year-old former warehouse⁷ on Park Place, which it has used for Friday prayers for many years.  The old building, designed in the style of an Italian Renaissance⁸ palazzo, would be replaced with an a sleek⁹, 13-story Islamic prayer and community center. The existing building is not within view of Ground Zero, where terrorists toppled the World Trade Center's twin towers in 2001.

 

As the building's owner, the group has a right to carry out its plan: The U.S. Constitution prohibits the government from any interference with religion.  But that has not stopped an opposition from forming, one made up of people who say that Islam is intrinsically violent, and that the new Islamic center and mosque¹ will be a magnet for some who celebrated¹⁰ the 9/11 attacks.

Pamela Geller leads a group called "Stop Islamization of America."  Group supporters demonstrated against the project in lower Manhattan in June.

"We feel that Ground Zero is a war memorial," Geller said during the protest.  "It's a burial ground, and it is an offensive idea of a mosque, to put it here, where thousands of people died, where their remains¹¹ are here.  It's humiliating, it's demeaning."

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf  is leading the effort to build the community center and mosque, known as the Cordoba House Building Initiative.  The imam has led a mosque near the site since 1983.  He argued during a bitter community board hearing that the proposed center will be open to everyone, not only to Muslims.

"We are also mothers and fathers, who have no higher aspiration¹² than to bring up our children whom we love very dearly, as we love your children," he said over shouting opponents.

In an interview, the imam noted¹³ the center would function primarily as a cultural center, not a mosque.

"It will have education programs, interfaith programs," he said. "Yes, there will be a prayer space because we pray five times a day. But there will be many other cultural activities which serve the needs of the community."

The imam said opponents suffer from what he calls "Islamophobia," the fear that most Muslims have terrorist sympathies.  He notes that at least 60 Muslims also died in the September 11 attacks.

Yet more than half of New York's residents oppose the Islamic center near Ground Zero, including even the one-third of city dwellers¹⁴ who say they have a "generally favorable" view of Islam, according to an opinion poll by Quinnipac University.  The percentage of New York residents who oppose the center is even higher in Staten Island and Brooklyn, where many residents have also opposed plans to build mosques in their boroughs¹⁵.

Dozens of those opponents also took part in another recent community hearing by the Landmarks¹⁶ Preservation¹⁷ Commission.  They included Republican Congressman¹⁸ Rick Lazio, who is running for governor of New York State.  He told the commission that Imam Rauf has ties to Islamist extremists, something that the imam has strongly denied.  Lazio also said that the sources of funding for the building need to be investigated, particularly foreign sources.  He and other opponents argued the current building has historical value, too.  Part of the landing gear of one of the planes that attacked the World Trade Center crashed through the roof.

"It was part of the attack, a place of deep historical significance and a reminder¹⁹ of just what happened on New York's darkest day," Lazio told the commission.

However, many prominent Christian²⁰ and Jewish leaders in the city support the project, including New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.  Mayor Bloomberg told reporters that he had no intention of investigating the Cordoba House initiative's funding or ties.

"I've said that the government should never, never be in the business of telling people how they should pray or where they can pray," the mayor said, "and we want to make sure that everybody from around the world feels comfortable coming here, living here, and praying the way they want to pray."

The commission will rule within weeks.  If it finds the building worth preserving for architectural or historical reasons, the owners will have to alter their design.  But even a design change won't satisfy opponents.  One man who demonstrated in June told a reporter, "It's a spit in our face; go build it uptown somewhere.  Don't put it here, of all places, don't put it here.  I think al-Qaida's laughing at us."

Supporters say opposition to the center, and to mosques elsewhere in the United States, is rooted in a misunderstanding of Islam.  The 9/11 attackers do not represent the beliefs of the world's 1.5 billion Muslims, any more than Christian-identified terrorists represent Christianity.  They say more Islamic centers are needed as places where moderate Muslims can forge an American-Islamic identity and build understanding and acceptance.

"A lot of people are telling me what I'm about, that I'm about blowing things up, that I'm about jihad," testified 17-year-old Dania Darwish at the Landmarks Preservation Commission hearing.  She's an American Muslim of Syrian descent.

"Do you guys even know what jihad is?  No, you don't!  Jihad means to sacrifice what's in your heart for Islam.  It's not about sacrificing other people.  It's about standing²¹ up for peace, for interfaith dialogue."
 

1 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。

2 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。

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 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

5 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

6 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

7 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。

8 renaissance   

n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴

参考例句：

• The Renaissance was an epoch of unparalleled cultural achievement.文艺复兴是一个文化上取得空前成就的时代。
• The theme of the conference is renaissance Europe.大会的主题是文艺复兴时期的欧洲。

9 sleek   

adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢

参考例句：

• Women preferred sleek,shiny hair with little decoration.女士们更喜欢略加修饰的光滑闪亮型秀发。
• The horse's coat was sleek and glossy.这匹马全身润泽有光。

10 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

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 aspiration   

n.志向，志趣抱负；渴望；(语)送气音；吸出

参考例句：

• Man's aspiration should be as lofty as the stars.人的志气应当象天上的星星那么高。
• Young Addison had a strong aspiration to be an inventor.年幼的爱迪生渴望成为一名发明家。

13 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

14 dwellers   

n.居民，居住者( dweller的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes. 城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They have transformed themselves into permanent city dwellers. 他们已成为永久的城市居民。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 boroughs   

（尤指大伦敦的）行政区( borough的名词复数 )； 议会中有代表的市镇

参考例句：

• London is made up of 32 boroughs. 伦敦由三十二个行政区组成。
• Brooklyn is one of the five boroughs of New York City. 布鲁克林区是纽约市的五个行政区之一。

16 landmarks   

n.陆标( landmark的名词复数 )；目标；（标志重要阶段的）里程碑 ~ (in sth)；有历史意义的建筑物（或遗址）

参考例句：

• The book stands out as one of the notable landmarks in the progress of modern science. 这部著作是现代科学发展史上著名的里程碑之一。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The baby was one of the big landmarks in our relationship. 孩子的出世是我们俩关系中的一个重要转折点。 来自辞典例句

17 preservation   

n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持

参考例句：

• The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。
• The picture is in an excellent state of preservation.这幅画保存得极为完好。

18 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

19 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

20 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。

21 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。