''Al-Ahram'' ( ar, الأهرام; ''The Pyramids''), founded on 5 August 1875, is the most widely circulating Egyptian daily newspaper, and the second oldest after ''
al-Waqa'i`al-Masriya'' (''The Egyptian Events'', founded 1828). It is majority owned by the
Egyptian government
The politics of Egypt are based on republicanism, with a semi-presidential system of government. The current political system was established following the 2013 Egyptian military coup d'état, and the takeover of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. ...
, and is considered a
newspaper of record
A newspaper of record is a major national newspaper with large circulation whose editorial and news-gathering functions are considered authoritative and independent; they are thus "newspapers of record by reputation" and include some of the o ...
for Egypt.
Given the many
varieties of Arabic
The varieties (or dialects or vernacular languages) of Arabic, a Semitic language within the Afroasiatic family originating in the Arabian Peninsula, are the linguistic systems that Arabic speakers speak natively. There are considerable variati ...
language, ''Al-Ahram'' is widely considered an influential source of writing style in Arabic. In 1950, the
Middle East Institute
The Middle East Institute (MEI) is a non-profit, non-partisan think tank and cultural center in Washington, D.C., founded in 1946. It seeks to "increase knowledge of the Middle East among the United States citizens and promote a better understan ...
described ''Al-Ahram'' as being to the Arabic-reading public within its area of distribution, "What ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' is to Englishmen and ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' to Americans";
[Middle East Institute, 1950, p. 155.] however, it has often been accused of heavy influence and
censorship
Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
by the Egyptian government.
In addition to the main edition published in Egypt, the paper publishes two other Arabic-language editions, one geared to the
Arab world
The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...
and the other aimed at an international audience, as well as editions in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and
French.
History
''Al-Ahram'' was founded in
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
in 1875
by two
Lebanese Melkite
The term Melkite (), also written Melchite, refers to various Eastern Christianity, Eastern Christian churches of the Byzantine Rite and their members originating in the Middle East. The term comes from the common Central Semitic Semitic root, ro ...
Christian brothers, and
Saleem Takla
Saleem Takla ( ar, سليم تقلا, also spelled Selim Taqla; 1849 – August 8, 1892) was a Lebanese-Ottoman journalist who founded of ''Al-Ahram'' newspaper with his brother Beshara Takla.
Early life and education
Saleem Takla was born in Kfa ...
.
[ It began as a weekly newspaper published every Saturday. Its first issue appeared on 5 August 1876.] The paper was relaunched as a daily newspaper in January 1881.[
Its headquarters was in ]Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
until November 1899 when it was moved to Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
.[ Initially the Cairo and Alexandria editions remained separate but later there became only one out of the new headquarters.][Kendall, Elisabeth. "Between Politics and Literature: Journals in Alexandria and Istanbul at the End of the Nineteenth Century" (Chapter 15). In: Fawaz, Leila Tarazi and C. A. Bayly (editors) and Robert Ilbert (collaboration). ''Modernity and Culture: From the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean''. ]Columbia University Press
Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by Jennifer Crewe (2014–present) and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fiel ...
, 2002. . Start: p
330
CITED: p
338339
The newspaper was distributed in Egypt and the Levant
The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...
. The religious innovators Muhammad Abduh
; "The Theology of Unity")
, alma_mater = Al-Azhar University
, office1 = Grand Mufti of Egypt
, term1 = 1899 – 1905
, Sufi_order = Shadhiliyya
, disciple_of =
, awards =
, infl ...
and Jamal al-Din al-Afghani
Sayyid Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī (Pashto/ fa, سید جمالالدین افغانی), also known as Sayyid Jamāl ad-Dīn Asadābādī ( fa, سید جمالالدین اسدآبادی) and commonly known as Al-Afghani (1 ...
were early writers of the newspaper. Upon the death of Beshara Takla, Daud Barakat, a Lebanese journalist, was named editor of the daily in 1901.[ In the early 1920s ]Muhib Al Din Al Khatib
Muhib Al Din Al Khatib (1886–1969) was a Syrian journalist and politician who established various publications in Hejaz and Egypt, including ''Al Qibla'' and '' Al Fath''.
Early life and education
Born in Damascus in July 1886 Al Khatib was t ...
, a Syrian journalist, served as the editor of the paper.
Under Heikal
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-re ...
made his friend Mohamed Hassanein Heikal
Mohamed Hassanein Heikal ( ar, محمد حسنين هيكل; 23 September 1923 – 17 February 2016) was an Egyptian journalist. For 17 years (1957–1974), he was editor-in-chief of the Cairo newspaper ''Al-Ahram'' and was a commentator on ...
editor-in-chief of ''al-Ahram'' in 1957, and the paper gained semi-official status. On 24 May 1960, it was nationalized when Nasser passed a law eliminating the ownership of private newspapers. Under Nasser, ''al-Ahram'' became an internationally respected paper. It moved to a new headquarters in Bulaq
Boulaq ( ar, بولاق, Būlāq from "guard, customs post"), is a district of Cairo, in Egypt. It neighbours Downtown Cairo, Azbakeya, and the River Nile.
History
The westward shift of the Nile, especially between 1050 and 1350, made land ava ...
in the 1960s.
Heikal was known for high standard of production quality and contacted Linotype in 1965 seeking to acquire state-of-the-art Elektron linecastes.
The circulation of the paper was between 45,000 and 50,000 copies in 1937 whereas it was 90,000 copies in 1947. In 1976 the paper had a circulation of 520,000 copies, making it the second most read daily in Egypt after '' Al Akhbar''.[ ''Al Ahrams circulation in 2000 was 1.2 million copies.
]
Profile and editions
''Al-Ahram'' daily is the flagship of what is now the Al-Ahram publishing house, the largest in Egypt.[Islam, 2002]
p. 277
''Al-Ahrams headquarters is in Boulaq
Boulaq ( ar, بولاق, Būlāq from "guard, customs post"), is a district of Cairo, in Egypt. It neighbours Downtown Cairo, Azbakeya, and the River Nile.
History
The westward shift of the Nile, especially between 1050 and 1350, made land ava ...
, Cairo. Its content was controlled by the Egyptian Ministry of Information.
The pan-Arab Arabic-language edition of the paper, called ''Al Ahram Al Arabiya'', is destined for readers in the Arab World and the Egyptian expatriates in Arab countries. It is published daily in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE and distributed in Egypt and Arab states of the Persian Gulf
The Arab states of the Persian Gulf refers to a group of Arab states which border the Persian Gulf. There are seven member states of the Arab League in the region: Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. ...
. Arabic weekly, '' Al Ahram Al Arabi'', which was launched in 1997 is another publication of the publishing house.
An international Arabic-language edition called ''Al Ahram al Duwali'' has been published daily in London since 1984. It is printed in both London and Paris and is distributed throughout Europe, USA, Canada and Egypt.
Two foreign-language weekly versions are also produced: the English ''Al-Ahram Weekly
''Al-Ahram Weekly'' is an English-language weekly broadsheet printed by the Al-Ahram Publishing House in Cairo, Egypt.
History and profile
''Al Ahram Weekly'' was established in 1991 by the ''Al-Ahram'' newspaper, which also runs a French-langu ...
'' (founded in 1991) and the French ''Al-Ahram Hebdo
''Al-Ahram Hebdo'' is a French-language weekly newspaper in Egypt.
History and profile
''Al Ahram Hebdo'' was established in 1994 by the Al Ahram publishing house which also owns '' Al-Ahram'' newspaper, an English-language version, and ''Al A ...
''.
''Al-Ahram'' produces a continually updated news website in the English language at english.ahram.org.eg, called ''Ahram Online''. It also has an Arabic news website which was the 20th mostly visited website for 2010 in the MENA region
MENA, an acronym in the English language, refers to a grouping of countries situated in and around the Middle East and North Africa. It is also known as WANA, SWANA, or NAWA, which alternatively refers to the Middle East as Western Asia (or a ...
. It was named as the most popular news portal in the Arab world
The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western As ...
in the period from 31 August 2011 to 31 August 2012 by ''Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
Middle East''.
Ownership and government influence
''Al-Ahram'' is owned by the Al-Ahram Foundation which is managed by the Egyptian government's "Supreme Council of Press". ''Al-Ahram'' is one of the largest circulating newspapers in the world. Long-term editor of the daily Mohammad Hassanein Haykal was the confidant of Nasser and also, the semi-official voice of the Egyptian government when he was in office.
The Egyptian government owns a controlling share of the stocks of the paper and appoints the editors. As appointees of the state, little censorship is exercised over them; it is understood that they are loyal to the state. Under President Hosni Mubarak
Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak, (; 4 May 1928 – 25 February 2020) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011.
Before he entered politics, Mubarak was a career officer in t ...
, ''Al-Ahram'' largely ignored, and trivialised the opposition parties to Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party, and did not publish much direct criticism of the government.
The Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...
, in a review of Arab newspapers in 2005, stated that ''Al-Ahram'' "is given substantial leeway" by the government so long as they avoid "certain 'taboos'." Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...
, in their 2005 report on press freedom in Egypt, reported that editorials in many newspapers, including ''Al-Ahram'', had become increasingly critical of the National Democratic Party's control of the government, and the corruption of the Mubarak regime.[Egypt – 2005 annual report]
, Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...
, January 2005 In an interview with Reporters Without Borders, Abdel Halim Qandil, editor of the weekly magazine ''Al-Arabi'', said that the government interfered with independent operation of ''Al-Ahram'' by controlling the printing presses and appointing the editors.[
''Al-Ahram'' generated controversy in September 2010 when an Egyptian blogger, Wael Khalil, revealed that the newspaper had altered a photo of Middle East leaders walking with United States President ]Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
so that instead of Obama leading the group, Egyptian President Mubarak was placed in the front when he was actually walking in the rearmost position. Osama Saraya, ''Al-Ahram's'' editor-in-chief, defended the altered photo, stating that it was meant to underscore Egypt's leading role in the peace process: "The expressionist photo is... a brief, live and true expression of the prominent stance of President Mubarak in the Palestinian issue, his unique role in leading it before Washington or any other."
Notable writers and editors
Mohamed Hassanein Heikal
Mohamed Hassanein Heikal ( ar, محمد حسنين هيكل; 23 September 1923 – 17 February 2016) was an Egyptian journalist. For 17 years (1957–1974), he was editor-in-chief of the Cairo newspaper ''Al-Ahram'' and was a commentator on ...
was the long-term editor-in-chief
An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies.
The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...
of ''Al Ahram''. He served in the post between August 1957[ and 1974.][ Ali Amin served as editor-in-chief between 1974 and 1976.] From 1978 to July 2006 Ibrahim Nafie was the editor-in-chief of ''Al Ahram''. He also served as the chairman of the daily until 2005.[ Nafie was replaced by Osama Saraya as editor-in-chief in July 2005.] In August 2012, Abdel Nasser Salama was appointed editor-in-chief of the paper by the Egyptian Shura Council. in May 2017 Alaa Thabet became the editor-in-chief of the paper.
Notable writers include:
* Fekry Abaza
Fekry Pasha Abaza (1895 – 9 February 1979) was an Egyptian journalist and democratic political activist.
Early life and education
Abaza was born in 1895 in the village of Kafr Abu Shehata in the East, Egypt. He was a member of the Abaza Fa ...
* Shahid Alam
Muhammad Shahid Alam is a Pakistani economist, academic, and social scientist. He is a professor of economics at Northeastern University. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the Institute for Policy Research & Development, London.
Background ...
* Khalid Amayreh
* Azmi Bishara
Azmi Bishara ( ar, عزمي بشارة born 22 July 1956) is an Israeli Arab public intellectual, political philosopher and author. He is presently the General Director of the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies and the Chair of the B ...
* Hamid Dabashi
Hamid Dabashi ( fa, حمید دباشی; born 1951) is an Iranian-American professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature at Columbia University in New York City.
He is the author of over twenty books. Among them are ''Theology of Disc ...
* Sabah Hamamou
* Mohamed Hassanein Heikal
Mohamed Hassanein Heikal ( ar, محمد حسنين هيكل; 23 September 1923 – 17 February 2016) was an Egyptian journalist. For 17 years (1957–1974), he was editor-in-chief of the Cairo newspaper ''Al-Ahram'' and was a commentator on ...
served as editor-in-chief
* Taha Hussein
Taha Hussein (, ar, طه حسين; November 15, 1889 – October 28, 1973) was one of the most influential 20th-century Egyptian writers and intellectuals, and a figurehead for the Nahda, Egyptian Renaissance and the modernism, modernist movem ...
* Yusuf Idris
Yusuf Idris, also Yusif Idris ( ar, يوسف إدريس) (May 19, 1927 – August 1, 1991) was an Egyptian writer of plays, short stories, and novels.
Biography
Idris was born in Faqous. He originally trained to be a doctor, studying at the ...
* Naguib Mahfouz
Naguib Mahfouz Abdelaziz Ibrahim Ahmed Al-Basha ( arz, نجيب محفوظ عبد العزيز ابراهيم احمد الباشا, ; 11 December 1911 – 30 August 2006) was an Egyptian writer who won the 1988 Nobel Prize in Literature. ...
(1911–2006), awarded the 1988 Nobel Prize in Literature
)
, image = Nobel Prize.png
, caption =
, awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature
, presenter = Swedish Academy
, holder = Annie Ernaux (2022)
, location = Stockholm, Sweden
, year = 1901
, ...
* Anis Mansour
Anis Mansour, also transliterated as Anīs Manṣūr ( ar, أنيس منصور, ) (18 August 1924 – 21 October 2011) was an Egyptian writer.
Biography
Mansour was born in Al-Mansoura on 18 August 1924. He obtained his BA in philosophy at Cair ...
* Joseph Massad
Joseph Andoni Massad ( ar, جوزيف مسعد; born 1963) is a Jordanian academic specializing in Middle Eastern studies, who serves as Professor of Modern Arab Politics and Intellectual History in the Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, ...
* Salama Moussa
Salama Moussa (or Musa; 1887 – 4 August 1958) ( ar, سلامه موسى , ) was an Egyptian journalist, writer and political theorist. Salama Moussa was an avowed secularist, he introduced the writings of Darwin, Nietzsche, and Freud to ...
* Ihsan Abdel Quddous
Ihsan Abdel Quddous ( arz, إحسان عبد القدوس ', ) (1 January 1919 – 12 January 1990) was an Egyptian writer, novelist, and journalist and editor in Egypt's '' Al Akhbar'' and ''Al-Ahram'' newspapers. He wrote many novels that ...
* Edward Said
Edward Wadie Said (; , ; 1 November 1935 – 24 September 2003) was a Palestinian-American professor of literature at Columbia University, a public intellectual, and a founder of the academic field of postcolonial studies.Robert Young, ''White ...
* Ahdaf Soueif
Ahdaf Soueif ( ar, أهداف سويف; born 23 March 1950) is an Egyptian novelist and political and cultural commentator.
Early life
Soueif was born in Cairo, where she lives, and was educated in Egypt and England. She studied for a PhD in lin ...
References
Bibliography
* Merrill, John C. and Harold A. Fisher. ''The world's great dailies: profiles of fifty newspapers'' (1980) pp 51–58
*
*
*
External links
*
Al-Ahram Digital
Edinburgh Middle East Report
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahram Al-
1875 establishments in Egypt
Arabic-language newspapers
Daily newspapers published in Egypt
Mass media in Alexandria
Newspapers established in 1875
Newspapers published in Cairo
State media