''The Majalla'', often directly transliterated as ''Al Majalla'' (

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 ...

:المجلة, "the magazine") is a Saudi-owned,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

-based political news journal published in Arabic, English and Persian. The magazine's headquarters in Saudi Arabia is in

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...

. From 1980 to 2009 a print edition was issued weekly, every Sunday. In April 2009 the magazine moved to an all-online format. The online version continues to be published weekly.

History and profile

''The Majalla'' was launched by

Hisham Hafiz Hisham Ali Hafiz (28 April 1931 - 26 February 2006) was a Saudi Arabian newspaper publisher and author. He is best known for co-founding '' Arab News'' and his Saudi Research and Publishing Company published 16 newspapers and magazines at the t ...

in 1980. The magazine is owned by Saudi Research and Marketing Group (SRMG), and was reestablished in 1987 by

Ahmed bin Salman Ahmed bin Salman Al Saud (17 November 1958 – 22 July 2002) was a Saudi royal and media executive who was also a major figure in international thoroughbred horse racing. He was the third son of Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, then governor of ...

, then chairman of the SRMG. The former chairman of the SRMG is

Turki bin Salman Al Saud Turki bin Salman Al Saud ( ar, تركي بن سلمان آل سعود ''Turkī ibn Salmān Āl Su‘ūd'') (born 1987) is a Saudi prince and businessman who is the chairman of Tharawat Holding Company. On 9 February 2013 he was appointed chairman ...

. The SRMG owns many other newspapers such as ''

Arab News ''Arab News'' is an English-language daily newspaper published in Saudi Arabia. It is published from Riyadh. The target audiences of the paper, which is published in broadsheet format, are businessmen, executives and diplomats. At least as of ...

'', ''

Al Eqtisadiah Al Eqtisadiah ( ar, الاقتصادية, 'The Economy') is a Saudi daily business newspaper, published by Saudi Research and Publishing Company. It has been in circulation since 1962. History ''Al Eqtisadiah'' was first launched as an economic ...

'', ''

Urdu News Urdu News is now an independent news website with the focus on Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and other parts of the globe. It was first daily Urdu newspaper published in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and also in other Arab countries. History and ownership ''U ...

'' and ''

Asharq Al Awsat ''Asharq Al-Awsat'' ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, Aš-Šarq al-ʾAwsaṭ, meaning "The Middle East") is an Arabic international newspaper headquartered in London. A pioneer of the "off-shore" model in the Arabic press, the paper is often noted f ...

'' and magazines, including ''

Sayidaty ''Sayidaty'' (Arabic سيدتي ''Sayyidatī'', meaning ''My Lady'' in English) is a weekly Arabic and a monthly English women's magazine published in both Riyadh and Beirut and distributed throughout the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and Am ...

'', ''

Al Jamila ''Al Jamila'' is an Arabic monthly women's magazine, published in Dubai. It is one of the publications of the Saudi Research and Marketing Group. History and ownership ''Al Jamila'' was firstly launched in London and then, in Riyadh in October 1 ...

'', ''

Arrajol ''Arrajol'' ( ar, الرَجُل, lit=The Man) is a monthly men's lifestyle magazine published in Saudi Arabia. The magazine is one of the publications of the Saudi Research and Marketing Group (SRMG). History and profile ''Arrajol'' was launch ...

'', ''Bassim'' and ''Heya''. ''The Majalla'', along with ''Sayidaty'' and ''

Al Yamamah Al-Yamama ( ar, اليَمامَة, al-Yamāma) is a historical region in the southeastern Najd in modern-day Saudi Arabia, or sometimes more specifically, the now-extinct ancient village of Jaww al-Yamamah, near al-Kharj, after which the rest o ...

'', is among popular magazines in Saudi Arabia.

Editors

Abdul Karim Abou-Nasr was the first chief editor of the magazine. He created the concept and managed it from April 1, 1979 to October 22, 1983. The first issue was published on February 16, 1980. During this period, Elias Mansour was the managing editor and Gaby G. Tabarani was the secretary of the editorial staff. From 1983 to 1987 the chief editor of the magazine was

Othman Al Omeir Othman Al Omeir (born 1950) (Arabic:عثمان العمير) is a Saudi-born British businessman, journalist and editor. He is considered to be close to King Salman of Saudi Arabia and former rulers, including King Fahd, King Hassan II and Has ...

who owns news portal ''

Elaph Elaph ( ar, إيلاف; ''Solidarity'') is the first daily Arabic independent online newspaper and is not associated with any established print or broadcast medium. History and profile ''Elaph'' was launched by Elaph Publishing in London in 2001 ...

''. Then Abdel Rahman Al Rashid served as the editor-in-chief of the magazine from 1987 to 1998.

Adel Al Toraifi Adel Al Toraifi (Arabic: عادل الطريفي) (born 1979) is a Saudi journalist and a specialist in Middle Eastern affairs, focusing on Saudi-Iranian relations and foreign policy decision making in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. He was ...

was appointed editor-in-chief of ''the Majalla'' in 2010, and the chief editor of the magazine. In July 2012, Toraifi was also appointed deputy deputy chief editor of ''Asharq Al Awsat'', a daily published by SRMG. Toraifi's term as the editor-in-chief of the magazine ended in July 2014 when

Salman bin Yousuf Al Dossary Salman bin Yousif Al Amour Al Dossary is a Saudi national who works as a media representative and journalist who held the position of editor-in-chief for the London-based ''Asharq al-Awsat'' newspaper from 2014 to 2016.USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'', ''

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...

'', ''World Monitor'' and ''MEED''. Because of its close connection with the Arab world, ''The Majalla'' has often broken stories from sources close to militant groups like the

PLO The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establishing Arab unity and s ...

Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...

, and

Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

. It also publishes articles written by senior Saudi princes like

Prince Turki Al Faisal Turki bin Faisal Al Saud ( ar, تركي بن فيصل آل سعود, Turkī ibn Fayṣal Āl Su‘ūd; tr, Türki bin Faysal Al Suud) (born 15 February 1945), known also as Turki Al Faisal, is a Saudi prince and former government official who se ...

. The magazine is also well known for its political cartoons, particularly those by the late Mahmoud Kahil. These were often critical of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and

the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. ''The Majalla'' sponsored London's first Festival for Arab Caricature in 1989.

Circulation

In 1994 ''The Majalla'' sold 116,000 copies. The audited circulation of the magazine at the end of the 1990s is stated to be just under 100,000 copies. Its 2009 circulation was 86,961 copies.

References

External links

Home page of the Arabic editionEditors page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Majalla, The 1980 establishments in the United Kingdom 2009 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Arabic-language magazines Arabic-language websites Defunct political magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 1980 Magazines disestablished in 2009 Magazines published in London Magazines published in Saudi Arabia Mass media in Jeddah Monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom News magazines published in the United Kingdom Online magazines published in the United Kingdom Online magazines with defunct print editions Saudi Arabian news websites Weekly magazines published in the United Kingdom