Bassam Tariq: The beauty and diversity of Muslim life

翻译人员: Jennifer Zhang 校对人员: Moire Yim

I'm a blogger, a filmmaker and a butcher,

我是一个博客作家、电影制作人、屠夫，

and I'll explain how these identities come together.

让我来解释这些身份如何汇聚到一起。

It started four years ago,

一切都是从4年前，

when a friend and I opened our first Ramadan fast

我和一个朋友在 斋戒月的第一个夜晚

at one of the busiest mosques in New York City.

去了纽约其中一间最繁忙的清真寺。

Crowds of men with beards and skullcaps were swarming the streets.

一群群头戴瓜皮帽的大胡子男人 挤满了街道。

It was an FBI agent's wet dream. (Laughter)

简直就是FBI特工的梦寐而求的美事。 （笑声）

But being a part of this community, we knew how welcoming this space was.

但是作为这个社区的一员， 我们知道这个地方是多么的热情友好。

For years, I'd seen photos of this space being documented

多年来，我看见这地方的照片被做成

as a lifeless and cold monolith,

没有生命的、冰冷的磐石一般，

much like the stereotypical image painted of the American Muslim experience.

就像典型的美国穆斯林的经历。

Frustrated by this myopic view,

我和我的朋友为这种短浅的目光而恼火，

my friend and I had this crazy idea:

我们也因此有了一个疯狂的念头：

Let's break our fast at a different mosque in a different state

就是每晚在各个州不同的清真寺里，

each night of Ramadan

度过我们的斋月。

and share those stories on a blog.

并将期间的经历分享到博客里。

We called it "30 Mosques in 30 Days,"

我们管这个项目叫 “30个清真寺的30天”，

and we drove to all the 50 states

我们驾车去了美国所有的50个州，

and shared stories from over 100 vastly different Muslim communities,

并且分享了来自100多个 互不相同的穆斯林社区的故事，

ranging from the Cambodian refugees in the L.A. projects

包括洛杉矶项目中的柬埔寨难民，

to the black Sufis living in the woods of South Carolina.

住在南卡罗莱纳州森林里的 黑苏菲派。

What emerged was a beautiful and complicated portrait of America.

美国美丽又复杂的另一面逐渐呈现出来。

The media coverage forced local journalists

媒体报道促使各地记者们

to revisit their Muslim communities,

重新探访他们当地的穆斯林社区，

but what was really exciting was seeing people from around the world

而真正激动人心的是， 看到来自全世界的人们，

being inspired to take their own 30-mosque journey.

因此受到启发， 开始了他们自己的“30个清真寺”旅途。

There were even these two NFL athletes

甚至有两个国家橄榄球联盟的队员

who took a sabbatical from the league to do so.

专门请了假来做这件事。

And as 30 Mosques was blossoming around the world,

这一计划在世界范围内越办越火，

I was actually stuck in Pakistan working on a film.

而同时我正在巴基斯坦忙着拍一部电影。

My codirector, Omar, and I were at a breaking point with many of our friends

我的合作导演欧玛和我 和许多朋友争论到快要翻脸

on how to position the film.

也定不下如何为这部电影定位。

The movie is called "These Birds Walk,"

这部影片名字叫“行走的鸟”，

and it is about wayward street kids

内容是关于一群固执的流浪孩子，

who are struggling to find some semblance of family.

在挣扎地找寻一些象征家庭的存在。

We focus on the complexities of youth and family discord,

我们关注于年轻一代和 家庭冲突的复杂性，

but our friends kept on nudging us to comment on drones and target killings

但是我们的朋友一直鼓动我们讲 无人机和定点杀戮

to make the film "more relevant,"

使得这部电影更有“关联性”，

essentially reducing these people who have entrusted us with their stories

而最终把这些信任我们的 人们的故事降格为

into sociopolitical symbols.

是一种社会政治学的象征。

Of course, we didn't listen to them,

当然，我们没听他们的，

and instead, we championed the tender gestures of love

而是捍卫其中温柔的爱意

and headlong flashes of youth.

和稍纵即逝的年少。

The agenda behind our cinematic immersion was only empathy,

我们如此投入地做这部电影 是因为我们发自内心的同情，

an emotion that's largely deficient from films

一种经常被其他电影所忽略的情感，

that come from our region of the world.

相比于其他来自同地区的电影。

And as "These Birds Walk" played at film festivals and theaters internationally,

随着“行走的鸟”在世界的电影节上 或者电影院里播出，

I finally had my feet planted at home in New York,

我终于有机会在纽约的家里多待待，

and with all the extra time and still no real money,

有许多空闲时间，仍然没什么真正的收入，

my wife tasked me to cook more for us.

我太太要求我多做做饭。

And whenever I'd go to the local butcher to purchase some halal meat,

每次我去附近屠夫那里买清真牛肉，

something felt off.

我总觉得不太对劲。

For those that don't know, halal is a term used for meat

如果你不了解，“清真肉类”是指，

that is raised and slaughtered humanely following very strict Islamic guidelines.

那些严格遵循伊斯兰教义 人道养殖和宰杀的肉。

Unfortunately, the majority of halal meat in America

不幸的是，美国大多数的清真牛肉

doesn't rise to the standard that my faith calls for.

并没有达到我的信仰所要求的标准。

The more I learned about these unethical practices,

我知道的越多这种不道德的行为，

the more violated I felt,

我就越觉得被冒犯，

particularly because businesses from my own community

尤其是和我有共同宗教背景的商家

were the ones taking advantage of my orthodoxy.

正是那些利用我们教义来行骗的。

So, with emotions running high, and absolutely no experience in butchery,

所以，在这样强烈的情绪感染下， 尽管我对屠宰行业一无所知，

some friends and I opened a meat store

于是，我和一些朋友一起开了一家肉店

in the heart of the East Village fashion district.

就这在纽约东村时尚区的中心地带

(Laughter)

（笑声）

We call it Honest Chops,

我们叫它“诚实一刀”，

and we're reclaiming halal by sourcing organic, humanely raised animals,

我们通过贩卖有机、人道养殖 的肉重新定义了清真一词，

and by making it accessible and affordable to working-class families.

并且让工薪阶级也能买得到，买得起。

There's really nothing like it in America.

在美国真的没人这么做。

The unbelievable part is actually that 90 percent of our in-store customers

最让人难以置信的是 我们百分之九十的顾客

are not even Muslim.

根本不是穆斯林。

For many, it is their first time interacting with Islam

他们中的大多数很多人都是 第一次接触伊斯兰教

on such an intimate level.

而且是这样的近距离接触。

So all these disparate projects -- (Laughter) --

所以所有这些零碎的项目—— （笑声）——

are the result of a restlessness.

都是因为我不能接受现况的关系。

They are a visceral response to the businesses and curators

它们是对于商家和那些管理者 的一种发自内心的回应

who work hard to oversimplify my beliefs and my community,

那些力图将我的信仰和背景 过分简单化的人们。

and the only way to beat their machine is to play by different rules.

唯一能战胜它们的方式 就是不走寻常路。

We must fight with an inventive approach.

我们必须用一种别出心裁的方式来斗争。

With the trust, with the access, with the love that only we can bring,

带着信任，带着魄力，带着那份爱

we must unapologetically reclaim our beliefs

我们必须毫无歉意的重燃我们的信仰，

in every moving image, in every cut of meat,

并体现在电影的每一帧， 切肉的每一刀里，

because if we whitewash our stories for the sake of mass appeal,

因为如果我们为了大众要求 而粉饰了自己的故事，

not only will we fail,

我们不仅会失败

but we will be trumped by those with more money and more resources

而且会被那些有钱有势的人战胜

to tell our stories.

去炒作我们的故事。

But the call for creative courage is not for novelty or relevance.

但是我们呼吁有新意的勇气 并不是为了新奇和反叛，

It is simply because our communities are so damn unique and so damn beautiful.

只是因为我们的社区确实独特而美丽。

They demand us to find uncompromising ways to be acknowledged and respected.

这驱动我们去寻求不妥协的认可和尊敬。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）