''Al Shaab'' (in

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 ...

الشعب meaning ''The People'') was the official newspaper of the

Egyptian Islamic Labour Party The Egyptian Islamic Labour Party ( ar, حزب العمل الإسلامي, Ḥizb al-ʿamal al-islāmī al-Masri), previously the Socialist Labour Party ( ar-at, حزب العمل الإشتراكي, Ḥizb al-ʿamal al-ishtirākī), is an Egyptia ...

(formerly known as the Socialist Labour Party). The paper existed between 1979 and 2020.

History and profile

''Al Shaab'' was started in 1979, and the first issue appeared on 1 May 1979. The paper initially advocated a mix of

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

and

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

similar to that advocated by Nasser.Amira Howeidy
Opposition blaster
, ''Al-Ahram Weekly'', (244), 26 October-1 November 1995. ''Al Shaab'' considered the stay of the former Iranian ruler,

Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi , title = Shahanshah Aryamehr Bozorg Arteshtaran , image = File:Shah_fullsize.jpg , caption = Shah in 1973 , succession = Shah of Iran , reign = 16 September 1941 – 11 February 1979 , coronation = 26 Octobe ...

, in Egypt in 1979 as having negative consequences for Egypt's national interests. From 1985 to 1993, the paper was edited by Adel Hussein, a

Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

turned

political Islam Political Islam is any interpretation of Islam as a source of political identity and action. It can refer to a wide range of individuals and/or groups who advocate the formation of state and society according to their understanding of Islamic pri ...

ist. In May 1993 Adel Hussein resigned from the editorship to become general secretary of the Socialist Labour Party, and was succeeded as editor by his nephew Magdi Hussein. The newspaper's oppositional Islamism repeatedly brought it into confrontation with government authorities in Egypt. In 1993 Abd Al-Munim Gamal Al-Din Abd Al-Munim from ''Al Shaab'' was jailed for several years under indefinite detention for "insulting religion" and "publishing indecent photographs". Shortly afterwards the newspaper's military correspondent Abdel-Sattar Abu Hussein was held in a military prison for allegedly publishing "top secret information", Hilmi Murad was held overnight in a police station for criticising a cabinet minister, and Adel Hussein spent 25 days in police custody after anti-government literature was supposed to have been found on his plane seat. On 24 February 1998, the editor-in-chief and a cartoonist of the paper was sentenced to one year in prison at hard labor due to libeling the sons of a former interior minister,

Hassan Al Alfi Hassan Al Alfi ( ar, حسن الألفي; 3 March 1936 – 3 November 2021) was an Egyptian police major and politician, who served as governor and interior minister of Egypt from 1993 to 1997. He resigned from office following the Luxor massacre ...

. In 2000 ''Al Shaab'' printed a hostile review of

Haidar Haidar Haidar Haidar ( ar, حيدر حيدر, born 1936 in Husayn al-Baher) is a Syrian writer and novelist. His novel ''Walimah li A'ashab al-Bahr'' was banned in several Arab countries, and even resulted in a belated angry reaction from the clerics o ...

's book ''A Banquet for Seaweed'', which had been reissued by the Ministry of Culture as part of its Modern Arab Classics series. Criticising the government for thereby promoting "rank atheism and blasphemy", the review helped spark a riot at

Al-Azhar University , image = جامعة_الأزهر_بالقاهرة.jpg , image_size = 250 , caption = Al-Azhar University portal , motto = , established = *970/972 first foundat ...

, and the newspaper kept up pressure by denouncing secular literary figures including

Tayeb Salih Tayeb Salih ( ar, الطيب صالح, aṭ-Ṭayyib Ṣāliḥ; 12 July 1929 – 18 February 2009) was a Sudanese writer, cultural journalist for the BBC Arabic programme as well as for Arabic journals, and a staff member of UNESCO. He is best k ...

. The government responded by arresting some junior Ministry of Culture figures for "assaulting revealed religion", shutting down ''Al Shaab'', and banning Haidar's book. On 29 May 2000 the paper was again closed down following the freezing of the activities of the Socialist Labour Party.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaab, Al 1979 establishments in Egypt 2020 disestablishments in Egypt Arabic-language newspapers Daily newspapers published in Egypt Defunct newspapers published in Egypt Newspapers established in 1979 Newspapers published in Cairo Publications disestablished in 2020 Socialist newspapers Censorship in Egypt

History and profile

See also

References