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進入《中英對照讀新聞》Woman In Saudi Arabia Beheaded For ’Witchcraft’ 沙國婦女因施展「巫術」被斬首
◎陳成良
An accused witch, Amina bint Abdulhalim Nassar, was beheaded in Saudi Arabia earlier this week. She had been convicted of practicing "witchcraft and sorcery," according to the Saudi Interior Ministry. Such a crime is a capital offense in Saudi Arabia, and so Nassar was sentenced to death. Nassar’s sentence was appealed — and upheld — by the Saudi Supreme Judicial Council.
阿米娜．賓特．阿布杜哈利姆．納莎爾因被控施展巫術而於本週稍早在沙烏地阿拉伯被斬首。據沙國內政部指出，她因施展「巫術和魔法」而被定罪。這項罪行在沙國是死罪，因此納莎爾被判死刑。納莎爾的判決經提起上訴後，沙國最高司法會議維持原判。
Nassar, who claimed to be a healer and mystic, was arrested after authorities reportedly found a variety of occult items in her possession, including herbs, glass bottles of "an unknown liquid used for sorcery," and a book on witchcraft. According to a police spokesman, Nassar had also falsely promised miracle healings and cures, charging ill clients as much as $800 for her services.
納莎爾自稱是一個治療師和神秘主義者，據報導當局搜出她持有的各種神秘物品，包括草藥、裝有「用於巫術的不明液體」玻璃瓶、和一本宣揚巫術的書之後，將她逮捕。據警方發言人說，納莎爾還佯稱擁有神奇的康復治療功力，要求生病的客戶為她的服務支付多達800美元。
Many Shiite Muslims — like many fundamentalist Christians — consider fortune-telling an occult practice and therefore evil. Making a psychic prediction or using magic（or even claiming or pretending to do so）are seen as invoking diabolical forces.
許多什葉派穆斯林—像許多原教旨主義的基督教徒—認為算命是一種超自然的行為，因此是邪惡的。作心靈預測或使用魔法（或即使只是聲稱或假裝要做）都被視為招引了惡魔的力量。
Fortune-telling, prophecy and witchcraft have been condemned by Saudi Arabia’s powerful religious leaders. There is some question as to whether Saudi law technically outlaws witchcraft, though in a country where politics and religion are so closely aligned the distinction is effectively moot.
算命、預言和巫術一直遭到沙國權力強大的宗教領袖譴責。至於沙國的法律是否技術上將巫術列為非法，存在著一些問題，然而在一個政治與宗教聯繫得相當緊密的國家，這種區別並沒有實際意義。
新聞辭典
occult：形容詞，指神秘的；不可思議的；超自然的。occult一辭，源於拉丁文之Occultus，意指「隱匿無蹤」（Hidden）、以致「察覺不到」（Imperceptible）之義。
diabolical：形容詞，惡魔的；毒辣的。如a diabolical scene（群魔亂舞的場景）
moot：形容詞，無實際意義的；未決議的。
