Participated in the fourth session and was not so lucky

Champion of the “Arab Reading Challenge”: I came back with more determination and won the title

• Abdullah Abu Khalaf: New technologies facilitated our participation in the challenge.

  From the source

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Despite the difficulties that accompanied the fifth session of the “Arab Reading Challenge”, in light of the “Corona” pandemic, student Abdullah Abu Khalaf succeeded in winning the title, among 21 million Arab students from more than 52 countries, during the closing ceremony that was broadcast the day before yesterday. And followed by millions in the Arab world and the world.

At the beginning of his dialogue with "Emirates Today", the Jordanian student admitted that the experience of the "Arab Reading Challenge" in light of the "Corona" pandemic was very competitive, as the committee was judging students through video interviews, as well as via the Internet, which may affect the interaction.

He indicated that he participated in the fourth session of the "Arab Reading Challenge", but he was not lucky to win, and he participated in the fifth session with more determination, pointing to the many challenges that accompanied the last session of the "Challenge", as it required other skills, and a specific style of Presentation patterns and remote book presentations.

Among the other challenges that Abdullah faced during his participation also was the balance between participating in the “Arab Reading Challenge” competition and his studies, as he was in the last academic year of high school, considering that he was able to win thanks to the arrangement of priorities and the organization of time.

Journey start

Abdullah Abu Khalaf’s journey began with reading since he was nine, and the beginning was with the Holy Qur’an and religious books, until he navigated various fields of reading, describing reading with verses of poetry: “Reading for souls is their life. Prestige.. Glory bows the head to the readers.”

Abdullah gave advice to Arab youth in the field of talking about reading, centered around knowledge: “Today we live in a world in which knowledge has become easy, and obtaining an abundance of information is with a simple click of a button, and this is a double-edged sword. The beauty of that is that knowledge is easy, and that Man has no excuse not to learn, while the negative side is that talking about an open technical world, which carries many cultures and references, and thus young people will face a state of identity disorder.”

He added that identity disorder can only be treated through reading that leads to the production of healthy youthful thought, pointing out that devotion to the book, and contact with the library, with the presence of the mentor, undoubtedly works to provide answers to questions, self-knowledge and openness to the world.

The champion of the reading challenge tends to books that examine the time stages in which human thought has developed, and these are the stages in which revolutions occurred, whether industrial, economic, technical, or knowledge. The books are among the best he has read, including “The Continuing Biography,” “Renew Your Life,” and other titles that left an impression on him.

The Jordanian student noted that his preference for one book over another does not mean his absolute approval of what it contains, but rather because of the existence of a distinct idea and emotional attachment to it.

He considered that the late Muhammad Al-Ghazali was one of the writers who influenced him the most. Abdullah’s upbringing was religious in the beginning, and then he opened up to general culture, and this is what Al-Ghazali lived in his beginning with Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, and then his openness to other fields, as he always when dealing with any topic there is Areas of agreement between the legitimate discourse and the most prominent findings of human thought in the world, and this is a renewal thought, in the words of the hero of the “Arab Reading Challenge.”

Abdullah Abu Khalaf explained that the “challenge” differed a lot before and under the “Corona” pandemic, as participation in the shadow of “Corona” included many changes and challenges, including talking from a distance with the committee, which may reduce the impact that the student leaves in the committee.

He believed that the new technologies facilitated the competition, and that the Ministry of Education in Jordan supported the students by providing all communication networks, which was a distinguished experience.

And about the skills that Abdullah Abu Khalaf distinguished in the “Reading Challenge” this year, he pointed out that what distinguishes the able student from others is the closeness of his reading to the academic model of information, which makes him more profound in what he reads, and thus he can compete.

Featured titles

The champion of the “Arab Reading Challenge” praised the moral and guiding support he received from the parents in the first place, along with the school, noting the role of the supervisor who directs the student to the distinguished titles.

With regard to his choice of books, he said that during the “Corona” crisis, he relied more on digital books, although he did not read “PDF” books, but the pandemic imposed many changes in the reading pattern, due to the difficulty of the availability of books or the opportunity to obtain On it, pointing out that he considers the best relationship to be built with the paper book, and even his experience with the audio book relied on listening to the summaries only.

future doctor

Abdullah Abu Khalaf completed his secondary education, and aspires to specialize in human medicine, indicating that he will try to invest the prize money in his education, if he does not receive a scholarship.

The Corona pandemic imposed many changes in the reading pattern.

My journey with reading started very early, especially since I was nine years old.

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