Al Muqattam

Al Muqattam was first published on 18 April 1888.[2] It produced only three issues until 14 February 1889 when it became a daily newspaper.[2] The founders were three Christians: Fares Nimr, Khalil Thabet and Anton Najib Matar.[1][2] The paper was affiliated with the Al Muqtafa Foundation.[2] The publishers were Syrian-origin Christians, Faris Nimr, Yaqub Sarruf and Shahin Makaryus.[3] Fares Nimr also served as the editor-in-chief of the paper from its start to his death in 1951.[2]

Al Muqattam had three thousand subscribers in 1893.[4] It was nearly six thousands like those of Al-Ahram and Al Mu'ayyad in 1897.[4] The last issue of the paper was published on 11 November 1952.[2] It was banned by the Minister of National Guidance led by Salah Salem on 26 May 1954.[2]

The paper initially produced news based on the translations of the telegraph messages sent by the major news agencies such as Reuters and Havas.[4] Muhammad Al Muwaylihi's work entitled Ma Hunalik was first published in the paper and serialized between 28 June 1895 and 8 February 1896.[5] During the British occupation of Egypt, namely between 1892 and 1914, Al Muqattam held a pro-British political stance.[6] Therefore, the paper was subject to frequent criticisms and allegations that it was financed by the British authorities.[3] Due to these there were tensions between Al Muqattam and another Cairo-based newspaper Al Muayyad which supported the independence of Egypt.[3] A group led by Al Muayyad contributor Mustafa Kamil attacked the offices of Al Muqattam as a result of these conflicts.[7] In addition the publishers of Al Muqattam were frequently mocked by the political satire magazine Al Siyassa Al Musawwara.[3]

Al Muqattam began to support another event which also caused criticisms: migration of Jews to Palestine.[8] In 1911 Nissim Malul, a Zionist activist, began to work as the correspondent of Al Muqattam in Haifa.[8] The paper had a regular column on Palestine of which the editor was anonymous, and the articles were signed as “senior Zionist”.[9] Salim Tamari, a Palestinian sociologist and writer, argues that the editor of the column was possibly Shimon Moyal, a Jaffa-born writer and Zionist.[9] Following the end of the British rule in Egypt in 1914 Al Muqattam became known for its high-quality journalism and reformist stance.[1] In the early 1920s the paper frequently attacked Saudi ruler Ibn Saud.[10] These attacks had very significant effects on him and led to the establishment of a paper, Umm Al Qura, in Mecca in 1924 to counterweigh the negative propaganda of Al Muqattam.[10] Towards the end of its lifetime Al Muqattam had mostly an independent editorial approach.[11]