智慧人生篇章 第75期:不要让宗教蒙蔽双眼

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　　The girl who is in her early teens and is said to have learning difficulties  据说这名少女患有学习障碍，

　　was taken into custody² after angry mobs alleged³ the she had burnt or desecrated⁴ pages inscribed⁵ with verses from the Qur'an.  愤怒的暴民声称她焚烧了一部《古兰经》的经文，亵渎了上帝。之后她遭到拘留。

　　In Pakistan, such allegations often fall under the umbrella of the country's blasphemy⁶ laws  在巴基斯坦，在渎神法律保护伞的庇护下，

　　resulting in calls for draconian⁷ punishments against Christians⁸ and other minorities.  穆斯林教徒常常指控基督教徒和其他非主流派别的教徒亵渎上帝。

　　The strange twist to this case however came at the weekend  不过，本起事件在上周末遇到了意想不到的转机，

　　when a Muslim cleric, Khalid Chishti was accused and later arrested for implanting burnt pages of the Qur'an himself in the girl's bag  一位名叫哈立德·奇什蒂的穆斯林牧师遭到逮捕，是他把被烧毁的经书放到了女孩的包里。

　　because as one witness says, he wanted to expel the Christian community from the locality.  有目击者称，他想把基督教徒从当地驱逐出去。

　　The subsequent response by other Muslim clerics calling for justice for the girl  其他穆斯林牧师纷纷站出，为这位女孩主持公道，

　　is almost unprecedented⁹ in a country infamous¹⁰ for extremism and religious intolerance.  在以极端主义猖獗和缺乏宗教包容闻名的国家中，这样的现象实属罕见。

　　We in the West are unfortunately used to hearing such stories from Pakistan,  遗憾的是，我们西方人常听说在巴基斯坦发生类似事件。

　　a situation made worse when often those who try to challenge the brutality¹¹ of the blasphemy laws are killed or assassinated¹² for speaking out.  每当有人因试图反抗渎神法的残酷暴行而惨遭杀害，当地的局势就变得更加险恶。

　　We can't understand how such societies show a lack of compassion¹³ and allow for the abuse of human rights all in the name of God's law.  怎么会有人打着上帝的名义去滥用人权，做出冷酷无情行径，这实在让人费解。

　　We are right to speak out and we are right to use the rhetoric¹⁴ of human dignity and fairness for all.  我们有权发表见解，有权拥有尊严，有权享受平等待遇，

　　But we must also bear in mind that we're not dealing¹⁵ with competing interests here.  但我们同时也要铭记，我们不应利用这些权利去谋求个人利益。

　　Here, in the West, we now live with intellectual and personal freedoms  在西方社会，人人都能各抒己见，畅所欲言，

　　where freedom of expression ensures that conflict and disagreement on all kinds of matters is rarely met with violence.  但遇到分歧时，我们绝不以暴力相向。

　　Freedom of conscience for all may remain a contested issue but there are systems in place which allow for voices to be heard.  宗教自由可能是一个长期存在争议的话题，不过人们有权发表自己的观点。

　　Religious faith is rarely a matter of religious persecution¹⁶, but in a country where communities clash on the smallest of issues,  宗教信仰不是宗教迫害，但在一个分崩离析的国家里，

　　where many face a daily struggle for food, shelter, basic securities and education, a just cause is often a lost cause.  当人们食不果腹，无家可归，得不到基本的生活保障，无法受到教育时，是没有公平可言的。

　　It is the mark of a civilised society when it uses all in its power to help its most vulnerable citizens.  在文明社会中，人们会尽全力帮助弱势群体。

　　Rimsha's case is less about communities and mob justice and more about Pakistan's commitment to courageous¹⁷ leadership.  里姆沙事件的发生虽然反映了当地的暴民政治，但更多的反映出了巴基斯坦领导人的勇敢决策。

　　Unless those in power, in government and in the legal profession are willing to take a collective stand for what is right in the name of humanity  如果这些执法掌权者没有共同维护人权，

　　not in the name of religious laws, Pakistan will face disillusionment by the international community.  而是宣扬宗教法律，巴基斯坦将受到国际社会的警醒。

　　Human rights for all isn't an embattled cliche¹⁸ of the last 50 years 过去50年来，人权并不是我们一再提及的陈词滥调，

　　but remains¹⁹ a universal struggle often highlighted by the plight²⁰ of a single individual 而是全世界人民的奋斗目标，这一目标在我们身处困境时犹为重要。

　　and in our age of instant global communication, no country can hide either the individual or the injustice²¹ from the rest of the world. 在这个全球信息化时代，没有哪个国家能掩盖个人行为或者任何不公平的现象。

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