Arabic-L:LING:Help in Understanding Bin Laden Statement

[Dilworth B. Parkinson]

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Arabic-L: Fri 12 Oct 2001
Moderator: Dilworth Parkinson <dilworth_parkinson at byu.edu>
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1) Subject: Help in Understanding Bin Laden Statement

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1)
Date:  12 Oct 2001
From: "Robert R. Ratcliffe" <ratcliffe at tufs.ac.jp>
Subject: Help in Understanding Bin Laden Statement

?I downloaded a text of Bin Ladin's statement on Monday from the
Labanese newspaper as-Safiir, and have been reading it with my
students. There are some things in it I don't understand. There also
appear to be some mistakes and omissions in the English version
available on Yahoo, but perhaps there are different versions of the
original. Anyway, I wonder if list members could help me with the
following

1. What does "mujanzar" mean? Wehr's dictionary gives "track-laying
vehicle,"  but does it refer to some specific piece of equipment?

2. How do you translate "taCiith fasaadan". Wehr gives "wreak havoc,
lay waste" But the Yahoo (AP?) translation is "infest"

The relevant passage is: daxala dabbaabaat wa mujanzaraat
isra'iiliiya l-taCiith fii 'arD filisTiin fasaadan.
Yahoo's translation:"Israeli tanks infest Palestine"
I believe this says "Israeli tanks and ?mujanzaraat? entered
Palestinian territory to wreak havoc"

3. My text has the phrase "Calaa hadhihi al-fi'a alatii xarajat
taqarru bi-diinihaa (?bi-dainihaa) ilaa allah"

The last part of this phrase is obscure to me, but I think it says
"Against this group which has gone out committed in its religion to
God." (or possibly to settle their debt to God?)

The Yahoo translation of this bit has " to this treachery , and they
want to wag their tail at God." This makes me think that their
original has "fitna" for "fi'a" and dhail (dhal-yaa-lam) for diin
(dal-yaa-nuun). The phrase following this doesn't correlate at all
with my Arabic text, by the way.

Anyway, thanks for your help with this.

Salaam,

Robert

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End of Arabic-L:  12 Oct 2001