扎瓦赫里被广泛视为本.拉登继任者

Osama bin Laden's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahri, is being tipped as a likely successor to the slain al-Qaida chief. Whoever might lead the network would be hard pressed to fill bin Laden's role.

本·拉登的副指挥官扎瓦赫里被指可能成为这位被击毙的基地组织领导人的继任者。但是，无论什么人来领导这个组织，将很难胜任本·拉登的角色。

Bin Laden's death has led to speculation about who, if anyone, will take control of al-Qaida. Often mentioned is the Egyptian Islamist Ayman al-Zawahri, a frequent spokesman for the group who stressed his closeness to the late leader.

本·拉登之死导致各方猜测，如果有继任者的话，会是谁接管基地组织。其中经常被提到的一个人是埃及的伊斯兰主义者扎瓦赫里。他常常担任基地组织的发言人，也强调过他同被击毙的本·拉登非常亲近。

Voice of rhetoric

In an audio address released in February, al-Zawahri noted that bin Laden assigned him to advise Mujahideen on Islamic Sharia law.

扎瓦赫里在今年2月发布的一段音频讲话中指出，本·拉登任命他为伊斯兰圣战者们提供有关伊斯兰教法的咨询。

Al-Zawahri has also been the voice of some of the group's more inflammatory rhetoric against the United States. Perhaps most importantly, he is considered by many to be the brains of the terror network, responsible for the planning of the group's most notorious acts, including the 2001 attacks in the United States.

基地组织针对美国的一些最具煽动性的言论也一直是由扎瓦赫里发表的。也许最重要的是，很多人将扎瓦赫里视为基地恐怖组织的智囊，他负责策划了该组织最臭名昭著的恐怖行动，包括2001年对美国的袭击。

Mohamed Salah, a political analyst and editor of the London-based al Hayat newspaper, says al-Zawahri is the real founder of al-Qaida, with his experience organizing Islamists in Egypt as important, if not more, than the ideological and financial leadership provided bin Laden.

穆罕默德·萨利赫是一名政治分析家，也是位于伦敦的阿拉伯文《生活报》的编辑。萨利赫说，扎瓦赫里是基地组织真正的创始人。而且，他在埃及组织伊斯兰主义者的经验，与本·拉登提供的意识形态和财政领导至少是同等重要的。Trained surgeon

A surgeon by profession, al-Zawahri, like bin Laden, gave up a life of privilege to violently promote a puritanical Islamic ideal. They met in the fight against Soviet troops in Afghanistan, but his roots in radical ideology stretch back to his teen years.

身为外科医生的扎瓦赫里像本·拉登一样，放弃了养尊处优的生活，而投身于暴力推行一个极端的伊斯兰理想。扎瓦赫里和本·拉登在对抗驻阿富汗苏联军队的战斗中相遇，但是，扎瓦赫里激进的意识形态可以追溯到他的少年时代。

A fellow Islamist who shared an Egyptian prison cell with al-Zawahiri in the early 1980's, remembers him as a modest, poetry-reciting "gentleman," a surprisingly common description of terror leaders.

同为伊斯兰主义者的阿萨姆·阿卜杜尔·马吉德曾在上个世纪80年代与扎瓦赫里被关押在埃及的同一个监狱里。他记忆中的扎瓦赫里是一位谦逊、喜爱吟诗的“绅士”，这是令人惊讶的对恐怖主义领导人最常见的描述。

Assem Abdel Maged says outward demeanor could be misleading. Abdel Maged adds that in spite of his politeness and docility, al-Zawahiri is rigid, someone who one cannot oppose or face to change his views.

阿萨姆说，外在的行为可能使人误解。阿萨姆说，尽管扎瓦赫里有礼而温和，但是他性格固执，别人不能反对他，也不能强迫他改变观点。

Sheikh Abdel Maged, a senior member of Jemaah Islamiyah, says the Islamic Group has advised al-Zawahri to follow its example and abandon violence. But the sheikh argues that as long as the reasons that provoked al Qaida remain - what he sees as American arrogance and support of Israel - so too will the group. All the same, in recent years, al-Qaida has been forced to undergo change. Part can be attributed to its leaders being forced underground.

谢赫·阿卜杜尔·马吉德是“伊斯兰祈祷团”的一名高级成员。他说，这个伊斯兰组织曾劝告扎瓦赫里，像他们一样放弃暴力。但是谢赫也争辩说，只要那些向基地组织挑衅的理由仍然存在，那么对“伊斯兰祈祷团”来说也是一样的。他认为，这些理由包括美国的傲慢自大及其对以色列的支持。近几年以来，基地组织也一样被迫经历了转变，部分原因可能是它的领导人一直被迫进行地下工作。Whereabouts unkown

Al-Zawahri's location remains unknown. But the movement has also become more diffuse, with affiliates often eclipsing bin Laden's group.

扎瓦赫里的行踪目前仍不得而知。但是，行动的重心也变得更加分散，一些基地组织分支的行动让本·拉登的组织显得黯淡无光。

Anwar al-Awlaki, of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, for example, has emerged as a powerful force, his charisma a stark contrast to the dour, scolding image al-Zawahri projects. Sheikh Abdel Maged believes some day this younger generation may come to the fore.

举例来说，阿拉伯半岛上的基地组织头目安瓦尔·奥拉基已经成为一股强大的力量。他的个人魅力同扎瓦赫里顽固、苛责的形象形成鲜明对比。谢赫相信，有一天，这位年轻一代的领导人可能会脱颖而出。

For now though, he believes al-Zawahri is the only candidate to succeed bin Laden. But some terror experts question whether al-Qaida even needs a leader. For one thing, they argue, bin Laden will remain a powerful even iconic symbol, long after his death. Sheikh Abdel Maged agrees that the organization has moved far beyond its hierarchical origins.

但是谢赫认为，就目前形势而言，扎瓦赫里是继任本·拉登唯一的候选人。但是，一些反恐专家质疑，基地组织是否真的需要一位领导人。他们争辩说，一方面，本·拉登死后很长时间内，他仍然是一位强有力，甚至比较标志性的象征人物。谢赫同意说，这个组织已经远远超出了它的等级根源。

Abdel Maged says al-Qaida is not a pyramid, rather it's an idea that lives in space, cyberspace in particular, nourished by American acts. And it could be the American act of killing bin Laden will give his supporters scattered around the world more reason to carry on, no matter who might step in to succeed him.

谢赫说，基地组织现在已经不是一个金字塔结构，而更像是生存在现实中的一种思想，特别是在网络空间里，因为美国人的行动而滋长。美国刺杀本·拉登的行为可能会给他散布在全球各地的支持者更多继续下去的理由，无论是什么人继承他的衣钵。