''Al Watan'' (, meaning ''The Homeland'') is an Arabic daily newspaper published in

Manama Manama ( ar, المنامة ', Bahrani Arabic, Bahrani pronunciation: ) is the capital and largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 200,000 people as of 2020. Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is h ...

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

. It is known to have a pro-government stance.

History and profile

''Al Watan'' was launched on 10 December 2005. The publisher of the daily is Al Watan for Publishing and Distribution Company. Yusuf Albinkhalil is the

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 the daily. Its board of advisers mostly includes

Salafis The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a reform branch movement within Sunni Islam that originated during the nineteenth century. The name refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors" (), the first three generati ...

. The paper is based in Manama. The online edition of the paper was the 46th most 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 ...

Content and political stance

The daily has supplements in business and sports. It is a pro-government daily newspaper according to

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

.World Report 2011: Bahrain
Human Rights Watch. However; the paper describes itself as independent. On the other hand, it is under the effect of

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

through Salafi members of the advisory board.

References

2005 establishments in Bahrain Newspapers established in 2005 Arabic-language newspapers Newspapers published in Bahrain Mass media in Manama {{Bahrain-stub