2006年VOA标准英语-US Authorities Stress Cooperation With Religiou

By Richard Green
Washington
17 September 2006 

		A woman carrying a sign supporting Arabs argues with a man  at New York's Union Square (File photo - Sept. 15, 2001)

In the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States five years ago, there was an increase in crimes against Muslims, and Muslim-Americans said they were unjustly targeted by law enforcement agencies. In the five years since, there have been efforts to open a dialogue between law enforcement and civil rights groups representing Muslim and South Asian communities. 

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At a recent forum¹ in Washington, U.S. law enforcement officials and leaders of the nation's Muslim, Arab and South Asian communities gathered to discuss their attempts to improve relations since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States.

Laila al-Qatami, communications director for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, remembered the initial response from the public when terrorists flew hijacked² planes into the World Trade Center towers in New York City and the Pentagon outside Washington.

"I happened to be watching the news like probably many of you, and I know after the first plane hit, I answered the phone in our office, and, immediately, people were saying, 'We know you did this, and we're going to get you for it,'" she said.

Authorities say there was a huge jump in the number of hate crimes committed against members of the nation's Muslim, Arab and South Asian communities in the aftermath of the attack, as well as numerous civil rights violations³. Al-Qatami says her community deplores⁴ terrorism, but says combating terrorism should not be at the expense of America's most important values.

"ADC has been very unequivocal in its condemnation⁵ of violence against civilians⁶. We've also been very unequivocal in doing our part to help secure the nation," added Al-Qatami.  "But we've also been unequivocal in our belief that any of those efforts to secure our country should not come at the expense of our civil rights."

Wan⁷ Kim, the assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division in the U.S. Justice Department, says he and community leaders like al-Qatami try to resolve disagreements on issues that affect members of these communities on a day-to-day basis.

"We talk through specific issues, like, persons, who have problems with the no-fly lists, persons who are having problems with visa applications, persons who feel like they may be investigated unfairly," noted⁸ Wan Kim.

Daniel Sutherland, the civil rights and civil liberties officer in the Department of Homeland Security, says these discussions have led law enforcement officials to enact⁹ policies aimed at addressing these concerns.

"For example, we put out a new policy across the government on what is racial profiling, what does it mean," said Sutherland.  "We've done training and tutorials for our enforcement officers about what does racial profiling mean, and how do you really effectively target people that you're concerned about, without descending¹⁰ into ethnic¹¹ or racial profiling."

Manjit Singh, the acting¹² chair of the Sikh American Legal Defense¹³ and Education Fund, says both sides have formed a give-and-take relationship that addresses the issue of how authorities can be vigilant¹⁴ about looking out for potential terrorists, while still protecting civil rights.

"It's an ongoing¹⁵ dialogue. It's an ongoing process. But it has helped tremendously, where we better understand some of the positions that the different agencies take," he said.  "And, the officials understand why the community has this concern, why we are so hyper-sensitive to some of these issues. And, at times, we are accommodating, and at times they are accommodating. Other times, we are not. That's it, it's a respectful disagreement."

Ahmed Younis, the national director of the Muslim American Public Affairs Council, says authorities must also earn the trust of the ethnic communities.

"The more trust that exists, the better of an ability we have to engage in what is basically community policing," commented Younis. "The less trust that exists, the less of an ability we will have to convince our communities that government is here for the best interest of the community."

Brett Hovington, the head of the FBI's Community Relations Unit, says it is important that individuals in the Muslim, Arab and South Asian communities be involved in this effort.

"I would call upon everyone to figure out how we can get that information down to the grassroots level, to the individuals that need to hear that they can be engaged with their government," noted Hovington. "They can still be who they are. They can still practice the religion they want to practice."

Hovington says it is up to everyone to take responsibility in fighting the war on terrorism.

1 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

2 hijacked   

劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 )； 绑架； 拦路抢劫； 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图）

参考例句：

• The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. 飞机在从伦敦飞往罗马途中遭到两名持械男子劫持。
• The plane was hijacked soon after it took off. 那架飞机起飞后不久被劫持了。

3 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

4 deplores   

v.悲叹，痛惜，强烈反对( deplore的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He often deplores his past sins. 他经常痛悔自己过去的罪恶。 来自辞典例句
• Regretting the lack of spontaneity and real sensuousness in other contemporary poets, he deplores in Tennyson. 他对于和他同时代的诗人缺乏自发性和真实的敏感，感到惋惜，他对坦尼森感到悲痛。 来自辞典例句

5 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

6 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

7 wan   

(wide area network)广域网

参考例句：

• The shared connection can be an Ethernet,wireless LAN,or wireless WAN connection.提供共享的网络连接可以是以太网、无线局域网或无线广域网。

8 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。

9 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

10 descending   

n. 下行 adj. 下降的

参考例句：

• The results are expressed in descending numerical order . 结果按数字降序列出。
• The climbers stopped to orient themselves before descending the mountain. 登山者先停下来确定所在的位置，然后再下山。

11 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

12 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

13 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。

14 vigilant   

adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的

参考例句：

• He has to learn how to remain vigilant through these long nights.他得学会如何在这漫长的黑夜里保持警觉。
• The dog kept a vigilant guard over the house.这只狗警醒地守护着这所房屋。

15 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。