<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>Arabic-L: Mon 14 Mar 2011<br>Moderator: Dilworth Parkinson <<a href="mailto:dil@byu.edu">dil@byu.edu</a>><br>[To post messages to the list, send them to arabic-l@byu.edu]<br>[To unsubscribe, send message from same address you subscribed from to<br><a href="mailto:listserv@byu.edu">listserv@byu.edu</a> with first line reading:<br> unsubscribe arabic-l ]<br><br>-------------------------Directory------------------------------------<br><br>1) Subject: Waheed Samy<br><br>-------------------------Messages-----------------------------------<br>1)<br>Date: 14 Mar 2011<br>From: Muhammad Eissa <<a href="mailto:eissa@comcast.net">eissa@comcast.net</a>><br>Subject: Waheed Samy<br><br><div>Hearing the news of of Waheed's loss stunned me and almost paralyzed my brain. I spent the night I heard the news in surreal dialogue with him; speaking of his latest pedagogical ideas, joking and exchanging social news. I could not write about his departure from this world simply because I could not easily accept or believe it. </div><div><br></div><div>The three years I spend in Ann Arbor he was the closest person to me in the town. We shared and exchanged multiple sorts of personal, professional activities. You will be greatly missed, Waheed. My personal and family condolences to Waheed's family in the States and in Egypt. The profession has lost a trowing figure about whom I can not find better, more sincere and eloquently expressed paragraphs than those written by Dr. Zeinab Taha. God bless you all. </div><div>Muhammad Eissa; Ph. D.</div><div>President, Eissa & Associates, INC.</div><div><br></div><div>--------------------------------------------------------------------------<br></div><div>1)<br>Date: 14 Mar 2011<br>From: kassem wahba <<a href="mailto:kassem_wahba@yahoo.com">kassem_wahba@yahoo.com</a>><br>Subject: Waheed Samy<br></div><div><br></div><div>It is with great sadness that I, too, express my condolences for the loss of <br>our colleague and friend, Waheed Samy. My relationship with Waheed Samy dates <br>back to the late seventies, when I first left Alexandria for Cairo. I met <br>Waheed at AUC; he had just finished his Master's in teaching Arabic as a <br>foreign language, and I was just about to start my own. In many ways, he was a <br>mentor for me during those years, but it became clear that he was also a model <br>human being-- a great friend, a great teacher, an excellent administrator, and <br>a superb scholar. Over time I have learned more from him than I can ever <br>convey, and I would not be exaggerating if I were to say that while I have met <br>many wonderful colleagues in the teaching field, Waheed was truly unique. He <br>was vibrant, hard-working, smart, humorous, gentle, kind, and ever a pleasure to <br>be around. I was lucky that my friendship with Waheed was not limited to our <br>time at AUC; it later extended to the USA, when he moved to Ann Arbor. Looking <br>back, I remember that when Waheed left AUC, many of his colleagues were very <br>unhappy. Without a doubt, he left a huge, empty space over there-- just as he <br>has now.<br>As a scholar, Waheed contributed much to the field of teaching Arabic as a <br>foreign language. In addition to establishing an Arabic language <br>computer-assisted learning unit at AUC, he wrote several scholarly articles; <br>one of them, published in 2006, discussed the intricacies of using media in <br>Arabic language instruction, an area of research that was in desperate need of <br>attention. He also participated in many workshops and seminars at institutions <br>like Georgetown University, and his talks covered a range of topics. I remember <br>his great talk at the Arabic language and K-12 education seminar in 2006, and <br>specifically, his discussion of the definition of Modern Standard Arabic. In <br>2007, Waheed came to Georgetown and talked about the role of culture in teaching <br>and learning Arabic, and just last year Waheed presented a paper at GURT 2010 in <br>which he discussed the use of the colloquial and fuSha in the Arabic classroom.<br>It seemed as though Waheed was always on top of developments in the field, <br>ever engaged in the intellectual activity that keeps the field robust. He was <br>involved in numerous projects-- most recently writing a book about Arabic <br>grammar-- and yet he was always willing to assist other students and scholars <br>in their own work. I am saddened, and I am sure many others are as well, by the <br>loss of this imminent scholar and wonderful friend. <br>I will keep you all in my thoughts and prayers.<br><br>Kassem Wahba<br>Arabic and Islamic Studies<br>Georgetown University<br></div><div><br></div>--------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>End of Arabic-L: 14 Mar 2011</body></html>