2007年VOA标准英语-Muslim Man Faces Retrial on Charges Tied to 200

By Cathrine Drew
London
25 June 2007
 

Mizanur Rahman

Next week, a British court plans to re-try a 23-year-old Muslim man from North London on charges of inciting¹ murder in connection to protests outside the Danish Embassy in London in February 2006.  A jury already has found Mizanur Rahman guilty of stirring racial hatred². The case has revived arguments over anti-terrorism legislation versus³ free speech. It also has heightened a debate within Britain's Muslim communities. From London, Catherine Drew reports.

In early 2006, the firestorm of protest over cartoons satirizing⁴ the Prophet Mohammed reached Britain. No British newspapers reprinted the cartoons, which were originally published in Denmark. 

Later in the year, police arrested four men under anti-terrorism laws which make it an offense⁵ to incite⁶ racial or religious hatred and violence.

At Mizanur Rahman's trial last year, prosecutors⁷ accused the 23-year-old Website designer of calling for British soldiers to be brought back from Iraq in body bags, and of saying he would like to see September 11th-style terrorist attacks across Europe.

Protesters say they should have the right to express their views

Prosecutors said Rahman was filmed carrying placards with slogans that said, "let's annihilate⁸ those who insult Islam" and  "behead those who insult Islam."  Rahman denied all charges. The jury found him guilty of "behavior with intent to stir racial hatred," but it could not reach a verdict on the more serious charges of inciting murder.

So prosecutors are trying again to get a conviction on inciting murder.

While unable to speak about this specific case because of British legal restrictions⁹, Sher Khan of The Muslim Council of Britain says he supports the prosecution¹⁰ of any demonstrators who have broken laws. 

"I think in that scenario¹¹, it was totally unacceptable for those protesting to do so in that manner and I think if the law found they had put at risk a group of people because of that incitement¹² then clearly that's a law that has to be applied¹³."

However, while there's general agreement that Rahman's words were offensive, some liberal groups believe protesters should have the right to express their views and that these sorts of prosecutions¹⁴ stifle¹⁵ debate.

The debate about the right to freedom of speech versus speech that incites¹⁶ violence is the subject of a new documentary on Britain's anti-terrorism laws in the wake of the terrorist attacks against the United States in 2001 and the terrorist bombings in London in 2005. The low budget "Taking Liberties" is proving a commercial success.  Many here have become cynical¹⁷ about anti-terrorism legislation.  There is also widespread anger that the country went to war in Iraq on deeply flawed intelligence.

In such an atmosphere, Britain's Muslim community is also becoming more fractured.  So much so that rights activists¹⁸ have launched a Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain. Similar groups already operate in Germany and in all the Scandinavian countries.  

The head of the British group, Maryam Namazie, says the group was formed to fight the political Islam. "There is a distinction between Muslims and Islamists.  The political Islamic movement is the work of the Islamists. The terrorists, terrorism is the work of the Islamists. It's not the work of Muslims."

The Council of Ex-Muslims say it is attracting thousands of followers¹⁹, both in the U.K. and elsewhere.   It says it will not be daunted²⁰ by threats of violence from extremists.

1 inciting   

刺激的，煽动的

参考例句：

• What are you up to inciting mutiny and insubordination? 你们干吗在这里煽动骚动的叛乱呀。
• He was charged with inciting people to rebel. 他被控煽动民众起来叛乱。

2 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

3 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

4 satirizing   

v.讽刺，讥讽( satirize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• River morals " is novel satirizing the knight novel. " 《堂吉河德》是一部讽刺骑士小说的小说。 来自互联网
• Marlows delights in excesses, until sometimes he seems to be satirizing his own manner. 马洛老爱走极端，直到他有时嘲笑自己的态度。 来自互联网

5 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

6 incite   

v.引起，激动，煽动

参考例句：

• I wanted to point out he was a very good speaker, and could incite a crowd.我想说明他曾是一个非常出色的演讲家，非常会调动群众的情绪。
• Just a few words will incite him into action.他只需几句话一将，就会干。

7 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

8 annihilate   

v.使无效；毁灭；取消

参考例句：

• Archer crumpled up the yellow sheet as if the gesture could annihilate the news it contained.阿切尔把这张黄纸揉皱，好象用这个动作就会抹掉里面的消息似的。
• We should bear in mind that we have to annihilate the enemy.我们要把歼敌的重任时刻记在心上。

9 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

10 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

11 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

12 incitement   

激励； 刺激； 煽动； 激励物

参考例句：

• incitement to racial hatred 种族仇恨的挑起
• Interest is an incitement to study. 兴趣刺激学习。

13 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

14 prosecutions   

起诉( prosecution的名词复数 )； 原告； 实施； 从事

参考例句：

• It is the duty of the Attorney-General to institute prosecutions. 检察总长负责提起公诉。
• Since World War II, the government has been active in its antitrust prosecutions. 第二次世界大战以来，政府积极地进行着反对托拉斯的检举活动。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

15 stifle   

vt.使窒息；闷死；扼杀；抑止，阻止

参考例句：

• She tried hard to stifle her laughter.她强忍住笑。
• It was an uninteresting conversation and I had to stifle a yawn.那是一次枯燥无味的交谈，我不得不强忍住自己的呵欠。

16 incites   

刺激，激励，煽动( incite的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• In all countries any person who incites others to insurrection is guilty of treason. 在任何国家里，煽动他人谋反者，都属犯叛国罪。
• The success of the handicapped man incites us to pursue our dreams. 这位残疾人的成功激励我们追求自己的梦想。

17 cynical   

adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的

参考例句：

• The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
• He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。

18 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

20 daunted   

使（某人）气馁，威吓( daunt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was a brave woman but she felt daunted by the task ahead. 她是一个勇敢的女人，但对面前的任务却感到信心不足。
• He was daunted by the high quality of work they expected. 他被他们对工作的高品质的要求吓倒了。