Insight ELC

Coming together, sharing together, succeeding together

2 , I S S U E 3 V O L U M E J U N E 2 0 1 1

Babies and bath water

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
From the Editor

1 2 4 5 7 10 12

Conference Feedback Poetry

KSAALT Humanism

Book Review

Teacher Reflection

I r ecen t l y r ec ei ved a n e ma i l a n n o u n c i n g t h e winner of a well-known book prize in our field ( T h e B e n Wa r r e n International House Trust Prize 2010). It wasnt so much the author of the bo o k t ha t gr ab b ed my attention (Guy Cook), but rather its subject matter: translation. The title of the winning book is Translation in Language Teaching, with the rather telling subtitle a case for reassesment. I have not read the book, and there is currently no preview on Googl e books , but t he following is from the press release: Cooks book provides a groundbreaking reconsideration of translation in English language teaching, with a survey and critical assessment of arguments for and against translation in different teaching contexts. In the view of the judges, Cook convincingly throws new light on a topic long outlawed in many teaching centres and shunned on many teacher training courses. Im not sure whether I smiled to myself or not,

whe n I r e ad ab ou t t h e book and the prize, but it reminded me of heated discussion over the years about grammar translation and arguments about moving with the times, being in vogue, and not flogging a dead horse. We live in a world that, at times, tends to delight in rather simplistic assessment or

pronouncements, such as No Arabic in the classroom! Its a clear rule and a few simple observations, or bits of research can be used to substantiate the dictum. But t he wor l d i s not a simple place and neither is the language classroom. A zeal for a parti cular me t h o d o l o gi c a l vi e w , often leads to scorn for an alternative view, and the expression throwing out the baby with the bath water comes to mind. It seems as if Cooks book is, in part, about recovering the translation baby, and in this regard I was pleased to note that a

paper deli vered at our conference by Ibrahim Machaal Assessing the role of Arabic in English Classes, and an article in the last issue of the newsletter by Nanees Athar, were also arguing for a similar reassessment, and recovery of the translation baby. Which means, incidentally, that different people in different environments are coming to similar conclusions : thi nking, assessing, and reassessing are part and parcel of what it means to be a reflective language practitioner, no matter what the qualifications, nationality, or place of work. This is the last newsletter issued under the supervision of the current editor (Iain McGee) and assistant editor (Hannah Sarpong). We wish our successors all the best in keeping the newsletter going, and building on the wor k ac compl i shed t o date. We would like to thank contributors to this issue for their input and support, and to Shariyf Abdul Qabid for the format editing. The Editor Iain McGee

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TUELC Conference Feedback

We hope that you enjoyed the conference. Were pleased to inform you that our invited speakers did.

I enjoyed the Taibah Conference immensely. I was impressed both by the rigorous academic atmosphere I sensed among the delegates as well as being touched by the warmth and kindness of the people I met.

Prof. Mike McCarthy

...congratulations to you and all your team for the success of the conference.

Prof. Simon Borg (Leeds University)

It was a great pleasure to attend your conference. It was one of the most interesting conferences I have been to in a long time.

Mr. Richard Harrison (German University of Technology)

It was a great opportunity to share the experience.

Dr. Khaled Al-Ali (Qatar University)

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just want to let you know that I enjoyed my visit and appreciated the hospitality.

Prof. Cameron Richards (University of Technology, Malaysia)

Thank you for allowing me to speak at your very successful conference.

Mr. Terry Phillips

I 'd like to congratulate you on having held a very successful conference and thank you again for the warmth and hospitality.

Prof. Mohammed Farghal (Kuwait University)

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Poetry
Poems by Raad BtoushA teacher at the ELC Main Campus Words & Actions Words can change a heart Anger can turn to calm Faith enfolds our pain Makes the deaf hear the voice within Evil and good are mirrors, Which crack in our thoughts Unspoiled reflections believe Actions can change the world Delusion is a blight of the mind Its only friend is the color grey Black and white are invisible No wonder why man has gone blind Words make you feel, see the path Actions await the brave hearts There are still many chances left To walk along the less taken roads

Queen Stilla She leaves no room for doubt, or haze Unflawed elegance, sails across her sea of frankness . My queen, led by confidence, and perfection Embraces prudence, always ready to give redemption . She's not a work of today's intricate life But a genuine offspring of peace of mind . When she smiles like a heavenly light The frenzied seas play the sweetest melody . Sweetheart, I am not your foe, nor a careless lover I am yours; your reactions are my mirror.

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KSAALT 2011 A personal perspective

5 presenters from the ELC represented Taibah University at this years KSAALT 2011 annual conference, accompanied by Dr Waleed al-Amri and Mahmood Zar. This year the ELC presented more papers than any other university (including the host university Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd University), something which we can all be proud of. In what follows, Said Zohairy, one of the presenters, gives us his personal perspective on the event. Madinah May 5, 2011. (From left to right) Mr Mohammed Redwan, Dr Waleed al-Amri, Mr Mansour Wahby, Mr Said ZoSleeping very late on Tuesday made it hard for hairy and Mr Mohammed Mansour the Egyptian contingent of presenters (Mansour Wahby, Mohammed Mustafa and Mohammed Mansour and myself) to meet on time to get to the airport. Not surprisingly, we left our homes half an hour late, and were not sure if we would make it to the airport on time or not. Luckily, the airport system was down and so we found everybody waiting amid the manual boarding procedures! Sometimes Saudi Airlines is a blessing in disguise! The flight was not very relaxing, but my friends slept like babies. Dammam welcomed us with a sand storm, but Khobar was more welcoming: nice weather and no sand in the eyes. We spent the day visiting a friend, and the night playing football on the beach. On the conference day we woke up at 06:00 am to drive to the conference and be there at 7:30am sharp for registration. We were depending on Mohammed Mansour to get us to the conference venue a reasonable choice as he used to live in the area. We started off very well, and Mohammed seemed very informed about the city, but all of a sudden, we were lost, very lost! Everything seemed to conspire against us: road maintenance, dead end short-cuts and wrong directions from well-meaning passers-by. We finally reached the venue after 8:45am! The featured plenary speaker was already speaking, and we missed the talk, but it seemed like we didnt miss a lot, as there was a steady trickle of people coming out of the session! I managed to attend a session entitled Better ESP Teaching, and it was very informative and the presenter was interesting. Lunch was great and the overall organization of the conference was good. What I liked most was that they assigned an assistant for every presenter to help with any questions, introduce the speaker to the audience, etc.

Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd Universitythe KSAALT 2011 conference venue

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KSAALT 2011

Our return flight was at 6:00 pm, and we had to leave the conference early, around 3:15 pm. We were dead tired after two sleepless nights, playing football, getting lost and a busy day at the conference but it was a great experience. I hope more people from Taibah University can make it next year. The following are the titles of sessions presented by ELC faculty, with a brief description of the session:

Let Creativity Awaken

Ahmad S. Abdelmoeti, Saudi Aramco, Dhahran. Mohammad H. Mansour, Taibah University The presentation examined the rationale behind adopting and adapting the learner-centered approach. &

Internalizing Globalized Language

Ibrahim Yabagi Mohammed, Taibah University This session was about how teachers perception affects the internalization of language taught and why teachers should speak less and act more as a facilitator in the learning process.

Practical Ideas for Classroom Management

Mohammed Redwan, Taibah University Mohammed provided participants with some tips on classroom management. These included simple steps to eliminate daily problems typically encountered in the classroom (e.g. poor student attention, disruptive speaking etc.).

Deep Understanding of Saudi Students Mistakes

Said Zohairy & Mansour Wahby, Taibah University Arabic-English interference affects language acquisition. In the session we looked in depth at language parameters and copula construction in Saudi Arabic Syntax. Mohammed Mansour, at the start of his presentation

Mohammed Mansour and Said Zohairy on the plane

The writer, Said Zohairy, is a teacher and the head of the Professional Development Unit.

Insight ELC

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Humanism: Lessons in Life By Hannah Sarpong The main principles of humanism in education focus on enhancing a learner's overall self. To be specific, it is concerned with developing a learner's emotional needs and feelings. Miller in Moskowitz, (1978) summarized four approaches to humanism in English language teaching (ELT): the developmental model: associates what is taught to the learner's developmental stages in life the self-concept model: focuses on developing a learner's self esteem the sensitivity and group-orientation model: focuses on empathy and communication the conscious-expansion model: encourages creativity and enhancing sensory awareness Additionally, if we combine the later contributions of Underhill (1989: 25) and Williams and Burden (1966: 38) the basic principles can be categorized as follows: Affective Focus for Development (Student's Needs) Establish a personal identity Practical realization (Teacher Role) Involve the whole person Involve feelings and emotions Encourage knowledge of self through self evaluation Respect the individual's subjective experience Encourage creativity and allow for choice Encourage personal esteem Minimize criticism Create a sense of belonging Encourage self initiation Encourage self Make the subject relevant to the learner Assist learners to develop knowledge of the process of learning Assist learners to become aware of developmental stages in life

Self Empowerment

Establish a path for lifelong learning

The notion that a learner should be able to establish a personal identity by imparting their experiences and identifying their own personal qualities has been a fundamental basis for Communicative Language Learning. This approach to ELT aims to teach language through social interactions and it is the teacher's role to assist a learner in establishing their own worth. In Suggestopedia, another approach to ELT, the learner's main goal is to communicate and to be aware of the developmental stages in life. This approach also incorporates factors of self empowerment: Learner's roles are carefully prescribed [] Students are expected to tolerate and in fact encourage their own" infantilization". In part this is accomplished by acknowledging the absolute authority of the teacher and in part by giving themselves over to activities and techniques designed to help them regain the self-confidence, spontaneity, and receptivity of the child (Richards and Rodgers, 2001 citing Bancroft, 1972).

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T. Terrel and S. Krashen, advocates of the Natural Approach, view communication as the primary function of language (Richards and Rodgers, 2001 citing Krashen and Terrrel, 1983). In the Natural Approach, Krashen and Terrel have stated a number of hypotheses upon which the theory was based. The Affective Filter Hypothesis represents some of the fundamental tenets of humanism namely: Motivation. Learners with high motivation generally do better. Self-confidence. Learners with self confidence and a good self-image tend to be more successful. Anxiety. Low personal anxiety and low classroom anxiety are more conducive to second language acquisition (Richards and Rodgers, 2001 citing Krashen and Terrel, 1983). These theories incorporate the idea of being aware of the self and how this encourages self esteem. For Krashen and Terrel, learners' emotions are variable; they can change according to their feelings in class: if learner anxiety is high it is likely to block or impede language acquisition input. Advantages and disadvantages of humanistic approaches According to J. Arnold (1998: 235), humanistic approaches to language teaching have a number of advantages. Firstly, they support the idea that learners should be aware of the self. Learners are therefore encouraged to learn more about themselves and this raises motivation levels in class. One of the problems with learning about the self is self-discovery. Learners may well discover positive as well as negative qualities with regards to their ability to acquire a second language or interact with others in their society. Negative findings may result in high anxiety, and as Krashen and Terrell have pointed out, this may act as an impediment to language acquisition. In such a context the teacher would be both educator and counselor and such a setting would require a teacher who is both knowledgeable in language teaching as well as dealing with emotional setbacks. N. Gadd, a critic, states that self-discovery is not what motivates a learner in a language classroom, what motivates the learner is being able to gain 'access to the teacher's expertise about language', and then being able to use the language 'to achieve things in the outside world' (Gadd, 1998: 243). For Arnold, language teaching is a forum where learners have the capacity to learn more about themselves and this has wider implications for the learners' role in society (Arnold, 1998: 239). Arnold states that awareness of society is already being promoted in mainstream education. Values education allows teachers to include aspects of societal problems in the lesson and to allow students to build upon their emotional intelligences in the safe setting of the classroom in order for development to take place and to better equip learners to deal with the problems of society (Arnold, 1998: 239). Unfortunately, Arnold does not discuss the cultural sensitivities associated with dealing with societal issues in class. Where do syllabus designers or teachers draw the line with the types of society awareness activities that students should be exposed to? Such an approach could lead to very negative effects, especially in a multi-lingual class with students from different countries or cultural backgrounds. Conversely, limiting the amount of society awareness activities does not give students a true representation of what is really going on in the world and such an approach would have to keep up with the ever-changing socio-political state of affairs that dominate our society. Based on scientific research findings, Arnold argues that affect (the role of emotions and feelings) has an important role to play in language learning. Arnold states that '[c]ontemporary theorists in pragmatics tell us that, for language to achieve its contemporary function, the role played by effect is essential' (1998: 239). Although Gadd acknowledges the role that affect plays in language learning, he argues that evidence of such a proposition should not be reduced merely to the findings of scientific neurobiological research. combination of say, anthropological and scientific research can language specialists get a better idea of the true significance of affect in language learning.

Gadd suggests that the relationship between affect and cognition is subtle and complex and suggests more research should be done on it outside the scope of the basic sciences. What Gadd is probably suggesting is further empirical research looking at social interactions inside and outside of the classroom; only with a teacher from the UK give lessons on life to a student from the Middle East? Where does one draw the line with regard to cultural differences and expectations of rights and wrongs and how does this relate to the language he or she is learning? There are many questions still to answer about the role of humanism in language teaching. However, I believe that such questions will never get the answers they deserve until we take the mighty step of introducing such methods in the classroom and building the much needed empirical evidence to support the theory. For an example of humanistic approaches to teaching in general, teachers may want to watch the insightful thought provoking documentary: Children Full of Life accessible on YouTube or via topdocumentaryfilms.com: http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/children-full-of-life/ Excerpt taken from Top Documentary Films Website (accessed 19 May 2011): Mr. Kanamori, a teacher of a 4th grade class, teaches his students not only how to be students, but how to live. He gives them lessons on teamwork, community, the importance of openness, how to cope, and the harm caused by bullying. In the award-winning documentary Children Full of Life, a fourth-grade class in a primary school in Kanazawa, northwest of Tokyo, learn lessons about compassion from their homeroom teacher, Toshiro Kanamori. He instructs each to write their true inner feelings in a letter, and read it aloud in front of the class. By sharing their lives, the children begin to realize the importance of caring for their classmates. Toshiro is an amazing example of what all teachers across the world should be like. He truly understands what teaching children is all about and certainly made a positive difference in the lives of these 10 year olds. References: Arnold, J. (1998) 'Towards more humanistic English teaching', ELT Journal 52 (3): 235-242 Gadd, N. (1998) 'Reply to Arnold', ELT Journal 52 (3): 223-234. Gadd, N. (1998), 'Towards less humanistic English teaching', ELT Journal 52 (3): 223-234. Moskowitz, G. (1978) Caring and Sharing in the Language Class. Rowley, Mass., Newbury House Richards, J. C. & Rodgers, T. S. (1986) Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Underhill, A. (1989) 'Process in Humanistic education', ELT Journal 45/4: 250-260. Williams, M. & Burden, B. (1996) Psychology for Language Teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Hannah Sarpong is an English language teacher at Taibah Universitys Salaam Female Campus.

Book Review By Mashael Al Saleh, a teacher at the Salaam Campus, Madinah Fabulous! was my first impression of this little gem. 1001 Inventions: Muslim Heritage in Our World is by far one of the greatest literary successes documenting ancient Muslim heritage. This on-demand, treasured book is in its second edition and is also in the process of being translated into different languages. It is innovative in the way it displays its content, organizes key information and does a worthwhile job to bring Muslim heritage back to life with its colorful images. The book covers almost all fields of knowledge ranging from architecture to cartography, education to engineering, medicine, mechanics and so much more. The seven main chapters of the book are organized to represent key aspects of life: Home, School, Market, Hospital, Town, World and Universe. The Reference section consists of a vast inventory of further readings, a map, a glossary, an index and a brilliant time line that takes you on a chronicle journey through the most important Islamic and European events. One of the major aims and successes of the book is to shed light on the often misconceived era of the Dark Ages. It is within this era that some of the foundations of modern science and technology were set by Muslim notables. So, what many have perceived as being a dark age was in reality the planting of science and technologys seeds by early Muslim scientists, the benefits of which were to be reaped by later generations. Muslim Heritage in Our World forms part of a wider project launched by the Foundation for Science Technology and Civilization. Another part of the project is an exhibition that started in London in January, 2010, followed by another successful exhibition in Istanbul in August that same year. An additional branch was launched in New York later that year in December and is currently transferring to Los Angeles, where it is due to open at the end of May this year. Hopefully soon we would have one located in the Middle East and I pray that it would be in one of the two Holy cities. One would be in awe of such a huge, successful, and priceless project of Muslim Heritage that has been in existence since 2006, yet hardly spoken about. Its incumbent upon us to prolong its success and revive our great ancestors foundation by opening up the minds of our youth to the vast fields of knowledge in this book. For more information of the 1001 inventions project, please visit the dedicated wonderful website www.1001inventions.com or watch the MUST SEE clip that revolves around the projects theme, a nine-minute long marvelous clip on http://www.1001inventions.com/1001inventions. Another recommended website is http://www.muslimheritage.com/ 1001 Inventions: Muslim Heritage in Our World [Hardcover] Authors: Salim T.S. Al-Hassani (Editor), Sir Roland Jackson (Foreword) Publisher: Pearson Longman Year: 2007 (2nd edition) UK 29.50 RRP

Information Quotes How often have people confused the term information with knowledge? Below is a compilation of quotes that either support or reject Albert Einsteins proposition that Information is not knowledge and the role information plays in our ever developing society. Whats your opinion? Send your thoughts to mail.insightelc@gmail.com

Information & Knowledge

True genius resides in the capacity for evaluation of uncertain, hazardous, and conflicting information. Winston Churchill Information is the oxygen of the modern age. It seeps through the walls topped by barbed wire, it wafts across the electrified borders. Ronald Reagan The most interesting information comes from children, for they tell all they know and then stop. Mark Twain For having lived long, I have experienced many instances of being obliged, by better information or fuller consideration, to change opinions, even on important subjects, which I once thought right but found to be otherwise. We are more thoroughly an enlightened people, with respect to our political interests, than perhaps any other under heaven. Every man among us reads, and is so easy in his circumstances as to have leisure for conversations of improvement and for acquiring information. Benjamin Franklin Information technology and business are becoming inextricably interwoven. I don't think anybody can talk meaningfully about one without talking about the other. Bill Gates We can say with certainty - or 90% probability - that the new industries that are about to be born will have nothing to do with information. Peter Drucker The new information technology... Internet and e-mail... have practically eliminated the physical costs of communications. Peter Drucker Where is the Life we have lost in living? Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information? T. S. Eliot I want minimum information given with maximum politeness. Jackie Kennedy The highest education is that which does not merely give us information but makes our life in harmony with all existence. Rabindranath Tagore Compiled by Nasreldin Mohammad, a teacher at the Yanbu Male Campus

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Teacher Reflection
A page from the reflective diary of a teacher By Prof. Fauzia Shamim Today I got up dreaming of ways of teaching my students to make a request using can and could. But let me introduce my class first- they are a group of repeat students- some of them are real and others, false beginners. The majority somehow managed to get good grades in quiz 1 without engaging with the work done in class, so they think that they can sail through the rest of the assessment in the same way too. Their focus is on memorizing some basic grammar rules and chunks of language rather than trying to understand concepts, and practice the language. They find reading and/or following instructions rather difficult, to say the least. They generally use one-word utterances (mainly content words) and are rather shy of speaking in complete sentences in English. As it is a small class, I often go and talk individually to students, check their work and provide help when they are working in pairs or groups (though the last two forms of classroom organization are usually considered by them as a time for relaxation or quickly catching up on news or clandestinely chatting on their cell phones (you wont believe the amount I have had to confiscate this semester!). So, let me start from the beginning. Yesterday, I announced the learning objectives for the session as follows: Today we will learn: a) how to make requests using can/could and b) how to respond to requests. I also told them that this will not only be a grammar lesson but the classroom activities to follow would help in preparing them for the forthcoming speaking quiz. As soon as the students heard my agenda for the day, two smart ones piped up- I can, I cant. Wow! I said to myself, They remember this from a lesson we did on the use of can for talking about ability before the mid-term! I informed them that these responses indicated someones ability to do or not to do something. After giving some examples, I reminded them about the use of can for asking for permission as taught in a previous lesson. Next, I introduced the use of can for offers and requests by going round the class making offers of help to individual students and requesting to borrow their pens, pencils, erasers etc. When I felt confident that they had all understood these concepts, I decided to move on to a more open ended activity using a handout I had prepared very diligently a day earlier. The handout described six situations briefly- working in groups, each student had to read one situation and make a request appropriate to that situation; the others were supposed to check the correctness of the request and provide a brief response. Lo and behold! What did I find when I walked around the classroom to monitor the stronger (READ know-it-all) students and help the weaker ones? The stronger students were busy talking about their computer test (for which they told me they had been up studying all night) while some weaker ones said, Teacher, no understand! A couple of the more assiduous students had written, Can you help me? and Yes, I can/No, I cant for all the six situations! And then the bell rang for the class to end! Boy! Have I ever been so happy to step out of a class as I was at that time. But my happiness was short lived- my objectives for the day, not achieved, loomed large over my head-how do I teach them how to make requests using can/ could? Are you surprised that I woke up dreaming about it the next morning! As a result of my all night reflection, it dawned upon me that the open-ended task I had given the students a day earlier was probably too difficult for them. So I decided to redo the worksheet, breaking up the task in smaller parts. I also gave all the instructions in writing (short sentences only). In addition, I decided to give them time to write down their answers and practice them in pairs. I felt that all this preparation may give them the necessary language and the required level of confidence to make a request in real-time (remember one of my aims was to help them prepare for the speaking quiz). After the break, we did a mock speaking exam.

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First, I shared a simple marking scheme with the students and told them to mark me (role playing as two students) using the given rubrics. It took them a while to first understand this switch of roles and then to accept it. Then, I acted out the role of two students- one weak and one good student. Using the given grading criteria, they happily gave a very low mark to the weak student and full marks to the good student. I was glad that at least they could see the difference in performance of the two students. Following this demonstration, each pair was given a situation (from those given to each group earlier), assigned roles (A and B), and BRAVO! everyone, even those who had never spoken in English before, came to the front of the class and produced ONE COMPLETE MEANINGFUL utterance in English! I was really touched when I saw the expressions of joy on some students faces- they had done their first public performance in English (without reading from the book robot-like) successfully! So whats the moral of this story? (Remember, all good stories must have a moral!) Two things: first, when a lesson doesnt go well we should not simply blame the students but look at our own practice and reflect upon it; second, when things go wrong, it helps to pour your heart out onto the pages of your reflective diary. It is great catharsis, but more important, you can be sure to get up the next morning with tons of ideas for setting things right. Try it! Caveat: Spending more time on this section of a unit has pushed me behind in the pacing schedule. Im perplexed- should I race through the book as per the requirements of the pacing schedule or stop occasionally to reflect on my practice, and more important, on my students learning outcomes? In other words, what should be the focus of my teaching- coverage of the book or helping my students progress- even if its one small step at a time? This story is based on my reflective diary. However, the style has been changed to read more like a story for ease of understanding for the readers. All students who want to switch on/off the AC in my class (this happens at least 5-6 times during the class) can do it only if they seek permission in English using a complete sentence beginning with Can I- I must admit that this strategy has gotten even some very quiet students to use English in a real life situation. Prof. Fauzia Shamim is currently researching and working as a language teacher at Taibah Universitys Of Milk and Laban By Hafizah Abdullah, a teacher at Salaam campus, and deputy head of the Professional Deveopment Unit This incident happened about four years ago when I first got to Saudi Arabia. As any normal person would do, I equipped myself with a bit of Arabic to get by. Accustomed to having breakfast every single day, I headed to the nearest store. A big word Panda was on the building. Next to it, the word banda printed in Arabic letters. My inquisitive mind wondered, were these different stores? I went inside having a list of things in my mind: milk, cereals, bread, coffee and sugar. The next morning, just before I left for work, I poured some milk out of the carton and drank it. It tasted awful. What on earth is this? I thought. The milk was off. Oh, it could be the weather I pondered. I poured the remaining milk down the sink and left without breakfast. At work, I told a colleague about the incident. I bought a carton of laban and it was off. I threw it away. She laughed and laughed. You threw a carton of laban? Laban is not milk. Its like buttermilk. Milk is Haleeb. I was puzzled. Later I learned that the Arabic word laban which I thought was milk is only used as milk in Egypt. Since then, when I pick up a carton of laban at the store, I cant help but smile to myself. I have learned to use laban in my daily life now and it tastes just as good as milk!

Islam in Sin City

By Tasdiq Nomaira Alam, a teacher at Taibah Universitys Yanbu Female Campus Las Vegas, the entertainment capital of the world, is famous for gambling, shopping and fine dining. It is the most populous city in Nevada and the 28th most populous city in the United States. The bright lights of Vegas and the magnetism of slot machines drive people crazy. Many of the largest hotels, casinos and resort properties in the world are located on the Vegas Strip. I had been living in Las Vegas for many years. Being a Muslim, I would like to say that apart from the casinos and racy night life, there is a separate world where you can practice Islam very comfortably. It sounds pretty surprising and some of you may think that its impossible, but let me describe the facts related to the emergence of Islam in this valley. The total population of Vegas is 1,951,269 according to U.S. Census Bureau as of 2010. Among them around 18000 people are Muslims from North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, etc. There are seven mosques in Las Vegas and the Imams of the mosques are highly qualified. Las Vegas strip at night The first mosque was established in 1983 by the proactive people of the Islamic Information Cen-

ter. One of the roles of the Islamic Information Center is to provide different facilities to both Muslims and non-Muslims and this organization welcomes converted Muslims as well. There are numerous good Muslim community activities which can be remarkable examples for us. Free Saturday clinics are arranged by Muslim doctors to help those who dont have insurance (in USA medical treatment is very expensive without insurance). Soup kitchens are organized by volunteer Muslims to feed the homeless people, free Quran lessons for kids and adults by experts in teaching the Quran and there are many more productive activities for the Muslim community too. Rain or shine, day or night, at any given moment of the year there are thousands of tourists roaming around the fabulous city of Vegas. However, dazzling lights and music melodies Sin City can never attract a true Muslim and, interestingly, Muslim populations in North America are increasing remarkably day by day.

Las Vegas central mosque

Insight ELC

Photo Caption Challenge So, what are the camels thinking? Send your ideas to us at mail.insightelc@gmail.com

Editor in ChiefDr Waleed al-Amri Editor Iain McGee Assistant Editor Hannah Sarpong Graphics / Format Editor Shariyf Abdul Qabid All correspondence can be addressed to: mail.insightelc@gmail.com

Insight ELC is a bimonthly publication of the ELC, Taibah University.

Please note that the views of the contributors are not necessarily those of the editorial board and should not be considered ELC policy. Responsibility for content lies with the authors.