美国国家公共电台 NPR As ISIS Gets Squeezed In Syria And Iraq, It's Using Music As A Weapon

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

About four years ago, the so-called Islamic State declared that it would become just that - a state, or more specifically, a caliphate that stretched from Iraq to Syria. Today, that physical caliphate is dissolving. The group is preparing for a future under siege, and they're using music to keep getting their message out. Here's NPR's Alison Meuse.

ALISON MEUSE, HOST:

Islamic State's latest nasheed, or hymn², is titled "Dawlati Baqia," or "My State Is Remaining."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MY STATE IS REMAINING")

UNIDENTIFIED ISIS MEMBERS: (Singing in foreign language).

MUESE: It goes, "the Muslim nation has been awoken from its slumber³." It continues, "the state is remaining, not vanishing." It's a defiant⁴ reply to those who believe ISIS' battlefield setbacks signal the group's demise⁵.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HEED¹ THE CALL")

UNIDENTIFIED ISIS MEMBERS: (Singing in foreign language).

MUESE: This nasheed, released in May, implores⁶ fighters to hold their ground and not flee. "Where are the real men, it says, where are the lions of the struggle?"

The past few months have been a struggle for ISIS. The U.S.-led coalition⁷ says Islamic State now holds less than 10 percent of western Mosul. And in Syria, U.S.-backed forces are pushing to recapture the ISIS de facto capital, Raqqa. Not so long ago, ISIS was producing defiant battle hymns⁸ like this one from two years ago, titled "Soon, Soon."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SOON, SOON")

UNIDENTIFIED ISIS MEMBERS: (Singing in foreign language).

MUESE: It says, "soon you'll see a wondrous⁹ struggle, a fierce conflict. You'll see the battle come to your home." Analyst¹⁰ Aymenn Jawad al-Tamimi has been tracking Islamic State's propaganda since the group emerged. He explains how the latest nasheeds reflect an organization under pressure.

AYMENN JAWAD AL-TAMIMI: The idea behind this messaging is that - OK, well, two things. One is, we'll still remain - so hence, the title of this new nasheed, "Dawlati Baqia," "My State Is Remaining" - and the second one being to encourage people to still keep up the fight.

MUESE: Tamimi says there's been a reduced output of these hymns, and the message has changed over time.

TAMIMI: In 2013, '14, '15, you see the rise of the Islamic State, the implementation¹¹ of Islamic law and how it creates this realm of justice and so on and so forth¹². But now what you see is, is the nasheeds are responding to the current situation faced by the Islamic State, which is the setbacks - territorial¹³ setbacks and potential loss of Raqqa, and they've almost lost Mosul now.

MUESE: Despite the mournful tone of the latest nasheed, the lyrics¹⁴ reveal a group keenly aware and proud of the terror and upheaval¹⁵ it's caused to the people of the region.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MY STATE IS REMAINING")

UNIDENTIFIED ISIS MEMBERS: (Singing in foreign language).

MUESE: It says, "our state has made the tears of our enemies flow. Our gale¹⁶ wind has dispersed¹⁷ them. We've killed them by the thousands and led them to their deaths." Alison Meuse, NPR News, Beirut.

1 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

2 hymn   

n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌

参考例句：

• They sang a hymn of praise to God.他们唱着圣歌，赞美上帝。
• The choir has sung only two verses of the last hymn.合唱团只唱了最后一首赞美诗的两个段落。

3 slumber   

n.睡眠，沉睡状态

参考例句：

• All the people in the hotels were wrapped in deep slumber.住在各旅馆里的人都已进入梦乡。
• Don't wake him from his slumber because he needs the rest.不要把他从睡眠中唤醒，因为他需要休息。

4 defiant   

adj.无礼的，挑战的

参考例句：

• With a last defiant gesture,they sang a revolutionary song as they were led away to prison.他们被带走投入监狱时，仍以最后的反抗姿态唱起了一支革命歌曲。
• He assumed a defiant attitude toward his employer.他对雇主采取挑衅的态度。

5 demise   

n.死亡；v.让渡，遗赠，转让

参考例句：

• He praised the union's aims but predicted its early demise.他赞扬协会的目标，但预期这一协会很快会消亡。
• The war brought about the industry's sudden demise.战争道致这个行业就这么突然垮了。

6 implores   

恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Every movie we see, every story we are told implores us to wait for it. 我们看的每一部电影，听的每一个故事都恳求着我们驻足等待。
• Every movie we see, every story we're told implores is to wait for it. 我们看的每场电影，听过的每个故事都告诉我们要耐心等待。

7 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

8 hymns   

n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌( hymn的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• At first, they played the hymns and marches familiar to them. 起初他们只吹奏自己熟悉的赞美诗和进行曲。 来自英汉非文学 - 百科语料821
• I like singing hymns. 我喜欢唱圣歌。 来自辞典例句

9 wondrous   

adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地

参考例句：

• The internal structure of the Department is wondrous to behold.看一下国务院的内部结构是很有意思的。
• We were driven across this wondrous vast land of lakes and forests.我们乘车穿越这片有着湖泊及森林的广袤而神奇的土地。

10 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

11 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

12 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

13 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

14 lyrics   

n.歌词

参考例句：

• music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
• The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。

15 upheaval   

n.胀起，(地壳)的隆起；剧变，动乱

参考例句：

• It was faced with the greatest social upheaval since World War Ⅱ.它面临第二次世界大战以来最大的社会动乱。
• The country has been thrown into an upheaval.这个国家已经陷入动乱之中。

16 gale   

n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等）

参考例句：

• We got our roof blown off in the gale last night.昨夜的大风把我们的房顶给掀掉了。
• According to the weather forecast,there will be a gale tomorrow.据气象台预报，明天有大风。

17 dispersed   

adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的

参考例句：

• The clouds dispersed themselves. 云散了。
• After school the children dispersed to their homes. 放学后，孩子们四散回家了。