離開
進入《中英對照讀新聞》Japanese teacher takes it upon herself to depict what Muslim life is really like 日本教師以呈現穆斯林生活真貌為己任
◎張沛元
Naomi Matsubara, 46, lived in Dubai and taught Japanese and karate at a local university for six years, now teaches Japanese at a private junior and senior high school in London.
46歲的松原直美曾住在杜拜以及在當地一所大學教日文與空手道6年，如今在倫敦的一所私立中學教日文。
With her background as a resident of multicultural London as well as Dubai, Matsubara reckoned she knew a thing or two about Islamic culture.
憑藉她多元文化的倫敦與杜拜居民身分，松原認為自己對伊斯蘭文化知之甚詳。
That was certainly the case, but Matsubara became increasingly dismayed by the barrage of reports in the media about the activities of Islamic extremists, which she felt painted an unfair picture of Muslims as a whole.
固然是這樣，但松原對於有關伊斯蘭極端主義份子之活動的媒體報導愈來愈不滿，她認為這些報導以不公平的圖像來描繪整體穆斯林。
Determined to depict the Muslim world she was familiar with in a more flattering light, she created a picture book that shows how a typical Muslim boy practices his faith. Matsubara’s hope is that her book, "Ehon de Manabu Islam no Kurashi" （Learning Islamic life through a picture book）, will eliminate negative stereotypes about Muslims and, therefore, eradicate prejudice.
她矢志以較討喜的方式描述她所熟悉的穆斯林世界，創作了一本圖畫書，「用圖畫書學習伊斯蘭的生活」，呈現一名典型的穆斯林男孩如何落實他的信仰，盼能藉由她的書，減少外界對穆斯林的負面刻板印象，進而剷除偏見。
新聞辭典
take something upon oneself：慣用語，自認有權、責任或義務去做某事。例句：She took it upon herself to personally thank each person at the party.（她一肩挑起感謝所有派對與會者的責任。）
know a thing or two：慣用語，擁有實務經驗或知識，了解某事。例句：She grew up on a farm and knows a thing or two about taking care of animals.（她在農場長大，對如何照顧動物知之甚詳。）
be familiar with：慣用語，熟悉。
