Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram
By: Maftuna Yusupboyeva
In the Arab world, publishing houses and newspapers came 4 centuries after the invention of the printing press. The emergence and development of journalism, and print media in general, in the Arab world was shaped by two sources. The first was the Ottoman Empire, which dominated the Arab world at that time, and the second was the French and British invaders who marched on the Arabs of North Africa and Asia. Both sources had specific purposes for publishing newspapers and magazines. From the second decade of the 19th century, the first Arabic-language newspapers began to appear. In 1816, Davud Pasha, the ruler of the Ottoman Empire, started publishing a newspaper called “Jaridad al-Iraq” (Journal of Iraq) in Arabic and Turkish languages in Baghdad. After Napoleon Bonaparte’s invasion of Egypt, from 1798, 2 newspapers in French were published in Cairo. In 1828, Muhammad Ali Pasha began publishing an official newspaper called “Jaridat Waqaiul Misriyya” (Newspaper of Egypt). “Euphrates” in Aleppo, Syria in 1865.
In 1867, the newspaper “Syria” was published in Damascus. In 1885, Rizqullah Hasun publishes the first local Arabic newspaper “Mir’aatul Ahvaalil Arabi” (Mirror of the Arab Situation) in Istanbul. At the beginning of the 20th century, Arabic-language newspapers proliferated. Especially in Egypt and Syria, the number of newspapers was quite significant. The Egyptian newspaper “Al-Ahram”, which exists to this day, was first published in 1875.
In 1847, the first official French newspaper “Mubashshir” (Distributor) was published in Algeria. The first edition in Arabic was published in 1907 under the name “Kawkabu Ifriqyaa” (African Star).
Thus, the 19th century went down in history as the foundation stone for newspaper and publishing in the Arab world. The first periodicals began to appear in different Arab countries at different times of this century. In particular, in 1858, the newspaper “Hadiqatul Akhbar” (Garden of News) was published in Lebanon, in 1860, in Tunisia, “Ar-Roidut Tunisi” (Tunisian Pioneer), in 1866, the first newspaper “Torablusul Garb” (Western Tripoli) in Libya. ) newspaper, “Al-Maghreb” newspaper in Morocco in 1889, in Palestine in 1908 Al-Nafir (The Group) newspaper, the first newspaper in Jordan, was published in Amman in 1920 with the name “Alhaqqu Ya’lu” (The Right Wins). The first newspaper in Saudi Arabia was published under the name “Al-Qibla” and in 1924 its name was changed to “Ummul Qura” (Mother of Cities). In 1926, Al-Ayman (Oaths) was published in Yemen, in 1928, the first newspaper in Kuwait was published under the name “Al-Kuwait”, and in 1936, the first newspaper in Bahrain was published under the name “Al-Bahrain”. According to some historians, the formation of the press in the Arab world is mainly related to the proximity of North African countries and Sudan to European and Western countries. Nevertheless, each Arab country has its own reasons for the emergence of the press.
The following factors can be attributed to the emergence of printed publications in Egypt, where the first press in the Arab world appeared:
- Ideological awakening. By the 18th century, with the weakening of the Ottoman Empire, a new era began to appear in the land of Egypt, and on the eve of the French invasion, great changes had occurred in the thinking of Egyptians.
- Establishment of a new state. The emergence of a new state brought several innovations into practice. Among them were the structure of political organizations, the focus on education, the development of the economy, the emergence of ideological currents and, of course, the press.
Thus, the first stages of development of newspapers in Egypt come to an end. The next stages are considered as a new era, a new stage, a relatively developed period of journalism in the history of Egyptian journalism. In a word, we can say that the Egyptian press was the cradle of the Arab press. Press publications in other Arab countries also have a history of journalism that was formed mainly on the basis of the Egyptian model or the press of the state they are in the sphere of influence.
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