《中英對照讀新聞》A Frosty Fatwa? Snowmen get the cold shoulder in Saudi Arabia 冷若冰霜的教令？雪人在阿拉伯受到冷眼對待

◎管淑平

Saudis in the northern areas drew on their imagination and sense of fun as they braved the cold weather to build snow camels in a rare tribute to the local culture.

沙烏地阿拉伯北部地區的民眾發揮想像力和幽默感，冒著冷冽天氣堆出雪駱駝，在這難得的機會中展現地方文化。

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However, it was not all fun for Saudis.

然而，對沙國人來說，這種事不盡然好玩。

A prominent religious scholar in Saudi Arabia has given the cold shoulder to snowmen – by issuing a fatwa against them.

一名沙國重量級宗教法學者發出教令禁止，冷漠看待雪人。

The fatwa said that building snowmen – or indeed creating any living creature out of snow – was an insult to the Islamic religion. Only lifeless things, such as ships, fruit and buildings could be imitated, the fatwa said.

這道教令裁決指出，堆雪人或者用雪創造出任何有生命的受造物，都是汙辱伊斯蘭。禁令說，只能模仿無生命物體，如船、水果和建築物。

No date was mentioned about when the fatwa was issued, but it was widely circulated on social networks, triggering a wide and often heated online debate mainly among Gulf nationals.

這道禁令發出時間不明，但在社群網站上被廣為流傳，在波斯灣國家為主的網友間引發時而熱烈的廣泛辯論。

Those who supported the fatwa said that building snowmen was a crude imitation of the West.

支持發令禁止者說，堆雪人是不加修飾地模仿西方。

However, Mishaal, an angry blogger, blasted the fatwa.

不過，為此大感憤怒的部落客米夏爾抨擊這道禁令。

“We have snow for fleeting days, maybe even hours, and there is always someone who wants to rob us of the joy and the fun,” he posted. “It seems that the only thing left for us is to sit down and drink coffee,” he said.

「我們下雪的日子就短短幾天、甚至幾小時而已，但卻總是有人要剝奪我們這樣的樂趣」，他發文說。「似乎我們能做的只剩下坐著喝咖啡」，他說。

新聞辭典

give sb/sth the cold shoulder：片語，故意冷落、怠慢（人），對某事表現出毫無興趣。例句：Why are you giving me the cold shoulder?（你為什麼對我這麼冷淡？）

draw on something：片語，利用某事或從某事汲取資源。例句：Peter’s new book draws on his own life experiences.（彼得的新書取材自他自己的人生經歷。）

fleeting：形容詞，迅速的，短暫的。用法如︰a fleeting glimpse，匆匆一瞥。a fleeting visit，短暫的訪問。