''Al Ahrar'' (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

الأحرار; ''the Free'' or ''the Liberal'') was a weekly newspaper published in

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 ...

, Egypt, from 1977 to 2013. The paper was the official media outlet of the Liberal Party.

History and profile

''Al Ahrar'' was established during the

Sadat era The history of Egypt under Anwar Sadat covers the eleven year period of Egypt, Egyptian history from Anwar Sadat's election as President of Egypt on 15 October 1970, following the death of President Nasser era, Gamal Abdel Nasser, to Sadat's ass ...

in 1977 and was based in Cairo. The first issue appeared in November that year. It was one of the highest circulation papers in the country owned by a political party. The weekly had a liberal political leaning and was one of the major opposition publications in Egypt. In November 1982 ''Al Ahrar'' attacked the advertisements of the Islamic investment companies. It supported the

Egyptian President The president of Egypt is the executive head of state of Egypt and the de facto appointer of the official head of government under the Egyptian Constitution of 2014. Under the various iterations of the Constitution of Egypt following the Egyp ...

Anwar Sadat's liberal and capitalist economy policies and also, fast harmony with the Western countries. On the other hand, ''Al Ahrar'' was one of the major critics of Baháʼí Egyptians. As of 1996 the editor-in-chief of the paper was

Mustapha Bakri Mustapha Bakri is a member of the Egyptian House of Representatives. In 1996 he was serving as the editor-in-chief of '' Al Ahrar'', organ of the Liberal Party, but fired due to his extensive support for the Nasserist views. He also served as th ...

who had a

Nasserist Nasserism ( ) is an Arab nationalist and Arab socialist political ideology based on the thinking of Gamal Abdel Nasser, one of the two principal leaders of the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, and Egypt's second President. Spanning the domestic a ...

political stance. Due to his support for

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 ...

the chairman of the Liberal Party Mustafa Kamel Murad who was a member of the Free Officers movement fired Bakri. Bakri attempted to continue his editorship, but was forced to resign from the post through the intervention of Egyptian security forces. ''Al Ahrar'' sold 5,000 copies in 2005. In 2013, the paper ceased publication.

Incidents

In September 1997 when the pro-Islamic biweekly '' Al Shaab'' was banned by the government ''Al Ahrar'' run a page for it in its third page. In December 2012, ''Al Ahrar'' along with others went on strike for one day to protest the draft constitution presented 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. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahrar 1977 establishments in Egypt 2013 disestablishments in Egypt Arabic-language newspapers Censorship in Egypt Defunct newspapers published in Egypt Defunct weekly newspapers Newspapers established in 1977 Newspapers published in Cairo Publications disestablished in 2013 Weekly newspapers published in Egypt

History and profile

Incidents

See also

References