Persians v Arabs / Same old sneers

Persians v Arabs
波斯民族vs阿拉伯民族

Same old sneers
依旧相互蔑视

Nationalist feeling on both sides of the Gulf is asprickly as ever
波斯湾两岸两大民族的相互感觉跟以前一样酸楚

May 5th 2012 | from the print edition


Cyrus eyeballs the locust-eaters
居鲁士注视着吃蝗虫的人

THE Persians have enjoyed being nasty about their Arab neighbours at least since the seventh century, when their land was invaded by Arab armies. From satirical verses about "locust-eaters" out of the parched wastes of Araby to periodic efforts to "purify" the Persian language of Arabic accretions, assertions of cultural superiority have masked a deep historical resentment.

至少自7世纪波斯领土被阿拉伯军队入侵以来，波斯人一直厌烦他们的阿拉伯邻居。从讽刺诗中提到的来自炎热的阿拉伯半岛荒地的"吃蝗虫的民族"，到定期从波斯语里清洗来自阿拉伯语的外来词汇，我们可以看到，波斯人坚定地认为自己的文化更具优越性，这掩盖两个民族间深刻的历史积怨。

Now a row over three spots in the middle of the Persian Gulf (which Arabs, naturally, prefer to call the Arabian Gulf) has provoked fresh transports of emotion—on both sides. A recent trip by Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to the tiny island of Abu Musa, about 75km (47 miles) from Iran's south coast, prompted the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to restate in no uncertain terms its own claims to the island and to two barely inhabited chunks of rock nearby.

现今，位于波斯湾（当然阿拉伯人更喜欢称之为阿拉伯湾）中间的，一排由超过三个岛组成的岛链引发了波斯湾两岸民族情绪的爆发。最近，伊朗总统艾哈迈迪内贾德访问距离伊朗南海岸75（47英里）公里远的阿布穆萨小岛，这促使阿拉伯联合酋长国坚定地重申对该岛及附近两个几乎无人定居的岩石岛拥有主权。

Iranian nationalists responded joyfully. Anti-Arab gags dominated comedy programmes on state radio, while astonishment was expressed in parliament and in the newspapers at the cheek of the "little sheikhs" to the south, their confected country barely four decades old, daring to address the heirs of Cyrus the Great. If the people of Iran's southernmost province all blew at once across the Gulf, one wag remarked, "the wind would carry the Emirates away."

伊朗民族主义者诙谐地予以回复。反阿拉伯谐星在国家电台广播台上排演调侃阿拉伯的戏剧节目，同时国会和报纸上都表达了对这群"小酋长"的惊愕之情：他们东拼西凑成的国家也就不到40年的历史，竟敢以居鲁士大帝的继承人而自居。其中一位谐星称，如果伊朗最南部省的老百姓同时朝海湾吹口气的话，"会把阿联酋刮走"。

The war of words may well have been deliberately engineered by Mr Ahmadinejad, narked at being sidelined in Iran's latest nuclear negotiations with the West (see article). But the president's attention-seeking is not risk-free. Abu Musa occupies a commanding position near the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil passes under the protective eye of the American navy. Iran has threatened to block the strait in the event of a Western attack on its nuclear facilities.

口舌之争似乎是内贾德精心策划的。有消息指出，这位总统回退出与西方的核谈判。不过内贾德的这种转移视线的方法并非全无风险。阿布穆萨岛占据着霍尔木兹海峡出口附近的关键位置。世界上五分之一的石油都在美国海军的严密监视下经过该海峡。伊朗威胁一旦西方攻击其核设施，它将封锁霍尔木兹海峡。

Both parties claim that the islands have been part, since antiquity, of their cultural and political sphere. Iran's last shah seized them in 1971, as Britain abandoned its former possessions in the Gulf and the UAE was being set up. The Iranians have since strengthened their grip on the islands, settling mainlanders and building military defences, though Mr Ahmadinejad is the first head of government actually to visit any of them.

双方都宣称这三个岛自古便处于自己的文化和政治辐射圈内。1971年英国放弃对海湾的控制，阿联酋成立后，伊朗的末代国王将这些岛夺走。自此，伊朗加强了对这三个岛的控制，将伊朗大陆居民安排至这些倒定居，并建设军事防御工事。不过内贾德是第一位实际上参观过这三个岛之一的政府首脑。

Barring a rash move on either side, Mr Ahmadinejad's jaunt will probably not change very much. The Emiratis, backed by their Arab brethren, particularly the Saudis, have long pressed for negotiations over the island's sovereignty or for referral to the International Court at The Hague. The Iranians offer only talks aimed at resolving "misunderstandings".

除了引起双方间的鲁莽活动外，内贾德对该岛的访问可能作用不大。由阿拉伯兄弟国家，特别是沙特阿拉伯支持的阿联酋，强烈要求对该岛主权问题进行谈判或者由海牙国际法庭裁判。但是伊朗人仅愿进行旨在消除误解的谈判。

from the print edition | Middle East and Africa