Al Ahali
TypeDaily newspaper
Owner(s)National Progressive Unionist Party
Founder(s)Khalid Mohieddin
Founded1 February 1978 (1978-02-01)
Political alignmentLeftist
LanguageArabic
HeadquartersCairo
CountryEgypt
WebsiteAl Ahali

Al Ahali, also known as Al Ahaly, (Arabic: الأهالي, romanized: al-Ahālī, lit. 'The Masses') is an Arabic daily newspaper published in Cairo, Egypt. The paper has been in circulation since 1978 and is the official media outlet of the National Progressive Unionist Party

History and profile

Al Ahali was first published in February 1978.[1][2] It is the organ of the National Progressive Unionist Party[1] which is also the publisher of the daily.[3] The founder of both the paper and the party was Khalid Mohieddin.[4] Dilip Hiro who is an expert on Middle Eastern, Islamic, and central Asian affairs argues that Al Ahali is much more popular than the National Progressive Unionist Party.[5] The paper was temporarily closed by the Egyptian government six months after its establishment due to its coverage of the party's success and popularity.[6]

Shortly after its start the circulation of Al Ahali was 150,000 copies.[6] The paper sold nearly 100,000 copies in 1989.[7]

Political stance and bans

Al Ahali has a leftist stance[8] and was the major critic of the Sadat rule.[9] Immediately after its start the paper was temporarily shut down by the Egyptian government.[10] In addition, it came across numerous bans, and its offices were attacked by the Egyptian forces during the Sadat rule.[11] Its critical approach continued during the rule of Hosni Mubarak, Sadat's successor.[12]

Content and contributors

Al Ahali was critical of Iranian ruler Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.[13] The paper is the sole Egyptian publication which correctly interpreted the mass demonstrations in Iran in 1978 predicting that these demonstrations were the forerunner of the revolution.[13] In addition, it is the first Egyptian newspaper which published an interview with Ayatollah Khomenei before the revolution in 1979.[13] The daily was among twelve newspapers protested the Islamist-drawn constitution in December 2012.[14]

Rifaat El Saeed, chairman of the National Progressive Unionist Party, published many articles in the paper which mostly included criticisms over the violation of the rights of the Copts in Egypt.[15] Mahmud Al Muraghi is one of the former editors-in-chief of the daily who resigned from the post on 25 October 1989.[16] Farida Nakash also served in the post, being the first female editor-in-chief of Al Ahali.[17]

References

  1. 1 2 Nathalie Bernard-Maugiron (1999). "Freedom of the press in Egypt: Checks and Balances". Yearbook of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law Online. 6 (1): 22–43. doi:10.1163/221129800X00032.
  2. ↑ Donald M. Reid (1979). "The Return of the Egyptian Wafd, 1978". International Journal of African Historical Studies. 12 (3): 407. doi:10.2307/218411. JSTOR 218411.
  3. ↑ "The National Progressive Unionist (Tagammo' El Shaab El Eshtraky) Party". Egypt Electionnaire. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  4. ↑ "مصر: وفاة خالد محيي الدين "آخر الضباط الأحرار"". BBC Arabic. 6 May 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  5. ↑ Dilip Hiro (2013). A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Middle East. Northampton, MA: Olive Branch Press. p. 863. ISBN 978-1-62371-033-0.
  6. 1 2 Bertus Hendriks (1983). "The Legal Left in Egypt". Arab Studies Quarterly. 5 (3): 262, 264. JSTOR 41857680.
  7. ↑ Mona Makram Ebeid (Summer 1989). "Political Opposition in Egypt: Democratic Myth or Reality?". The Middle East Journal. 43 (3): 429. JSTOR 4327961.
  8. ↑ Lisa A. Blaydes (2008). Competition without Democracy: Elections and Distributive Politics in Mubarak's Egypt. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 290. ISBN 978-0-549-84064-0.
  9. ↑ Mamoun Fandy (2007). (Un)civil War of Words: Media and Politics in the Arab World. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-275-99393-1.
  10. ↑ Raymond William Baker (1990). Sadat and After: Struggles for Egypt's Political Soul. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. p. 123. ISBN 978-0-674-78497-0.
  11. ↑ Saad Eddin Ibrahim (2010). "Domestic Developments in Egypt". In W. B. Quandt (ed.). The Middle East: Ten Years After Camp David. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press. p. 48. ISBN 978-0-8157-2052-2.
  12. ↑ Salah Eldin Hafiz; Eugene Rogan (1996). "Press law 93, 1995". Index on Censorship. 25 (2): 59. doi:10.1080/03064229608536033. S2CID 143395325.
  13. 1 2 3 Hanan Hammad (2009). "Khomeini and the Iranian Revolution in the Egyptian Press: From Fascination to Condemnation". Radical History Review (105): 41. doi:10.1215/01636545-2009-003.
  14. ↑ "Egypt's media on strike ahead of anti-Mursi rally". Al Akhbar. 4 December 2012. Archived from the original on 24 October 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  15. ↑ Hazem Zohni (5 May 2010). "Al Tagammu Party". Ahram Online. Archived from the original on 30 June 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  16. ↑ "Chronology October 16, 1989-January 1990". The Middle East Journal. 44 (2): 296. Spring 1990. JSTOR 4328103.
  17. ↑ "Farida Al-Nakash presides over 32nd session of Egyptian Writers Conference". Daily News Egypt. 9 November 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
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