VOA慢速英语2014 European Women Answer the Call of Jihad

 

European Women Answer the Call of Jihad

Hundreds of young Europeans and others have joined jihadist groups in the Middle East. Experts estimate that up to 10 percent of the new members are women. These women are reacting to the lure¹, or appeal, of a pure Islamic state. And they seem to like the idea of fighting in combat for the jihadists.

Assia Saidi recently disappeared from her home in southern France.  On her Facebook page, she wrote she had gone to join the Jihad in Syria. Investigators² and her family launched a widespread search. They found the 15-year-old-girl working in Marseille at a bar – where people are served food and alcoholic³ drinks.

Assia Saidi told French radio that she became interested in the jihadi movement after reading stories on the World Wide Web. But in Marseille, people told her that the individuals who wanted to her to join were terrorists.

Other stories about women and the jihadists do not end so happily.

Hundreds of girls and young women are leaving Western nations to join the Islamic State and other radical⁴ groups. It is hard to say how many join, but France appears to be a leading exporter of such women. Almost 1,000 Jihadi fighters came from France. More than 60 of them were women.

Katherine Brown is a lecturer with the Defense⁵ Studies Department at King’s College London. She has been studying the role of women in jihadi movements.

“This idea of radicalization is very, very popular at the moment.  But actually our understanding is very limited. Because what has become really, really clear is that individual motives⁶ are very, very diverse.”

Ms. Brown has looked at social media to find out why Western women are interested in joining the Jihadis.

“Women join radical groups and travel to Islamic states both for personal and political reasons…I really resist this idea of saying it’s all about emotion, it’s all about finding a husband, it’s all impulsive⁷ or irrational⁸.”

She says some women do want to become “Jihadi brides” – someone who marries a Jihadist fighter. But others like the idea of a Muslim nation, such as one described by the self-described Islamic State – even when Islamic State methods are clearly brutal⁹.                                 

Dounia Bouzar heads a new Paris center to prevent people from becoming radicals¹⁰. She says men are interested in arguments like fighting evil. Recruiters use humanitarian¹¹ arguments to lure women.

Ms. Bouzar says the recruiters’ first method is getting women to believe they must die in the Holy Land to save those they love. She said a second way is to tell them they must do good work there. She says that interests lots of women who want to become doctors, health care or social workers. 

But Islamist expert Louis Caprioli says the Islamic State also is sending a more activist¹² message. He is a former top anti-terrorism official.

Mr. Caprioli says the Islamic State supports women in the Jihad, so it is not just going out to do social work. But he says it is urging them to really take an active part. He says videos show women using strong language, threatening to kill people and holding guns. 

Katherine Brown says these images have a strong effect even if few women really fight.

“…and the reason it’s significant is because of our biases¹³. Because it is powerful in our society to see women engaging in acts of violence.  So it’s quite a propaganda coup¹⁴.”

Words in this Story

lure - v.   to tempt¹⁵ a person or animal to do something or go somewhere, especially by offering some kind of reward

lure - n.   something that tempts¹⁶ or is used to influence a person or animal to do something

combat - n.  fighting between armed forces

radical - adj.   supporting or based on complete political or social reform; representing or supporting extreme members of a political party

radical – n.   a person who supports thorough or complete political or social reform

emotion - n. a state of feeling

impulsive – adj. doing things suddenly and without careful thought

irrational – adj.   unreasonable¹⁷, not sensible

brutal – adj. extremely cruel or harsh

anthropologist¹⁸ – n. one who studies the science of human beings

recruiter – n. a person who seeks out individuals for employment

1 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。

2 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

4 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。

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 motives   

n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
• His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

7 impulsive   

adj.冲动的，刺激的；有推动力的

参考例句：

• She is impulsive in her actions.她的行为常出于冲动。
• He was neither an impulsive nor an emotional man,but a very honest and sincere one.他不是个一冲动就鲁莽行事的人，也不多愁善感.他为人十分正直、诚恳。

8 irrational   

adj.无理性的，失去理性的

参考例句：

• After taking the drug she became completely irrational.她在吸毒后变得完全失去了理性。
• There are also signs of irrational exuberance among some investors.在某些投资者中是存在非理性繁荣的征象的。

9 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

10 radicals   

n.激进分子( radical的名词复数 )；根基；基本原理；[数学]根数

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals. 一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The worry is that the radicals will grow more intransigent. 现在人们担忧激进分子会变得更加不妥协。 来自辞典例句

11 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

12 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

13 biases   

偏见( bias的名词复数 )； 偏爱； 特殊能力； 斜纹

参考例句：

• Stereotypes represent designer or researcher biases and assumptions, rather than factual data. 它代表设计师或者研究者的偏见和假设，而不是实际的数据。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• The net effect of biases on international comparisons is easily summarized. 偏差对国际比较的基本影响容易概括。

14 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

15 tempt   

vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣

参考例句：

• Nothing could tempt him to such a course of action.什么都不能诱使他去那样做。
• The fact that she had become wealthy did not tempt her to alter her frugal way of life.她有钱了，可这丝毫没能让她改变节俭的生活习惯。

16 tempts   

v.引诱或怂恿（某人）干不正当的事( tempt的第三人称单数 )；使想要

参考例句：

• It tempts the eye to dream. 这种景象会使眼睛产生幻觉。 来自辞典例句
• This is the tidbit which tempts his insectivorous fate. 就是这一点东西引诱它残杀昆虫。 来自互联网

17 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

18 anthropologist   

n.人类学家，人类学者

参考例句：

• The lecturer is an anthropologist.这位讲师是人类学家。
• The anthropologist unearthed the skull of an ancient human at the site.人类学家在这个遗址挖掘出那块古人类的颅骨。