Al-Manār (magazine)
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''Al-Manār'' (; 'The Lighthouse'), was an
Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
magazine, written in
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
, and was founded, published and edited by
Rashid Rida Sayyid Muhammad Rashīd Rida Al-Hussaini (; 1865 – 22 August 1935) was an Ulama, Islamic scholar, Islah, reformer, theologian and Islamic revival, revivalist. An early Salafi movement, Salafist, Rida called for the revival of hadith studies and ...
from 1898 until his death in 1935 in
Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
, Egypt. The magazine championed the superiority of Islamic religious system over other ideologies and was noteworthy for its campaigns for the restoration of a
pan-Islamic Pan-Islamism () is a political movement which advocates the unity of Muslims under one Islamic country or state – often a caliphate – or an international organization with Islamic principles. Historically, after Ottomanism, which aimed at ...
Caliphate A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...
.


History and profile

''Al-Manār'' was founded by the Sunni scholar
Muhammad Rashid Rida Sayyid Muhammad Rashīd Rida Al-Hussaini (; 1865 – 22 August 1935) was an Islamic scholar, reformer, theologian and revivalist. An early Salafist, Rida called for the revival of hadith studies and, as a theoretician of an Islamic state, cond ...
in 1898, and his brother, Salih Rida, was also instrumental in the establishment of the magazine. They were both members of the Decentralization Party. Their goal in establishing the magazine was to articulate and disseminate
reformist Reformism is a political tendency advocating the reform of an existing system or institution – often a political or religious establishment – as opposed to its abolition and replacement via revolution. Within the socialist movement, ref ...
ideas and preserve the unity of the Muslim nations. The magazine was based in Cairo. It was started as a weekly, but later its frequency was switched to monthly. Rashid Rida was the sole
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 editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...
of the magazine. Its content was heavily about
Quranic The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
interpretations. Rida published numerous articles in ''Al-Manār'' which praised the
Wahhabi movement Wahhabism is an exonym for a Salafi revivalist movement within Sunni Islam named after the 18th-century Hanbali scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. It was initially established in the central Arabian region of Najd and later spread to other p ...
in Arabia. One of the contributors was
Abd al-Rahman al-Kawakibi 'Abd al-Rahman al-Kawakibi (, -c.1902) was a Syrian author, a liberal thinker, and Pan-Arab solidarity supporter. He was one of the most prominent intellectuals of his time; however, his thoughts and writings continue to be relevant to the issues ...
, a scholar from
Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...
, Syria. His book, ''Umm al-Qura'', was serialized in ''Al-Manār'' from April 1902 to February 1903 which proposed the establishment of an
Arab Caliphate A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of the entir ...
. The magazine also featured articles on
politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...
and covered the coronation of
King Hussein Hussein bin Talal (14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 1952 until his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of Jordan since 1921, Hussein was traditionally considered a 40th-generati ...
as the ruler of Hejaz in October 1916. In addition to championing the beliefs of the Arabian ''
Muwahhidun The People of Monotheism may translate several Arabic terms: * (), a name the Druze use for themselves. Literally, "The People of the Unity" or "The Unitarians", from '' '', unity (of God). * () is an Arabic term meaning "the monotheists". It has ...
'' movement, ''Al-Manar'' also popularised the treatises of major Salafi theologians of
Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...
. These included ''Nayl al-Autar'' & ''Irshad al-Fuhul'' by
Al-Shawkani Muḥammad ibn Ali ibn Muḥammad ibn Abd Allah, better known as al-Shawkānī () (1759–1834) was a prominent Yemeni Sunni Islamic scholar, jurist, theologian and reformer. Shawkani was one of the most influential proponents of Athari theolo ...
and ''Subul al-Salam'' by Ibn al-Amir Al-San’ani. Outlining the religious orientation of his magazine, Rashid Rida wrote:
“since its inception, ''al-Manar'' has been preaching the pure oneness
f God F, or f, is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet and many modern alphabets influenced by it, including the modern English alphabet and the alphabets of all other modern western European languages. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounc ...
and the views of the early pious generation (''madhhab al-salaf'') in matters elated tothe dogmas and guidance of
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
. As for matters relating to governance and power, it .e., ''al-Manar'', has been advocatingthe arts of the age and the laws of nature (''funun al-asr wa sunan al-khalq'')"
''Al-Manār'' was one of the earliest Arab publications which called attention to the
Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...
threat against
Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
. The magazine claimed in 1898 that the Zionists were attempting to occupy Palestine. It repeated the same fears in 1902. Following the death of Rashid Rida in 1935, ''Al-Manār'' was irregularly published until 1940. In October 1939 it was temporarily banned by the Egyptian government. Two issues were published by the heirs of Rida, and from 1939 to 1940 the Association of
Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ('' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar, Imam and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings s ...
was the publisher of ''Al-Manār''.


Legacy

''Al-Manar'' advocated for a
fundamentalist Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that are characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishin ...
revival of the methodology and doctrine of the ''Salaf al-Salih'' based on the writings of classical
Hanbali The Hanbali school or Hanbalism is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence, belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It is named after and based on the teachings of the 9th-century scholar, jurist and tradit ...
theologian Ahmad ibn Taymiyyah (728 A.H/1263 C.E); communicating these ideas in such a way that mobilised the Muslim masses both culturally and politically. The intellectual heritage of ''Al-Manār'' has been adopted and championed by Islamic religious movements and organizations in
Arab world The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...
, including the
Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ('' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar, Imam and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings s ...
in Egypt and the Association of Algerian ‘Ulama’ in
Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
. Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hasan Al Banna, praised ''Al-Manar'' as one of "the greatest influences in the service of Islam for this age in Egypt and in other areas." ''Al-Manār'' inspired various journals, including ''
Shura Shura () is the term for collective decision-making in Islam. It can, for example, take the form of a council or a referendum. The Quran encourages Muslims to decide their affairs in consultation with each other. Shura is mentioned as a praise ...
'', a Turkic language magazine published in
Orenburg Orenburg (, ), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies in Eastern Europe, along the banks of the Ural River, being approximately southeast of Moscow. Orenburg is close to the ...
between 1908 and 1918.


See also

*
List of theological journals Theological journals are academic periodical publications in the field of theology. WorldCat returns about 4,000 items for the search subject "Theology Periodicals" and more than 2,200 for "Bible Periodicals". Some journals are listed below. 0 ...
*
The Caliphate or the Supreme Imamate (book) ''Al-Khilafa aw al-Imama al-ʿUzma'' (; ) is an Islamic political jurisprudence, Islamic political treatise published by Syro-Egyptian Salafi movement, Salafi Islamism, Islamist theologian Rashid Rida in 1923. The book initially had appeared as a ...


References


External links


''Al-Manār'' issues
in the Internet Archive * {{DEFAULTSORT:Manar 1898 establishments in the Ottoman Empire 1940 disestablishments in Egypt Defunct Arabic-language magazines Defunct political magazines published in Egypt Islamic magazines published in Egypt Magazines established in 1898 Magazines disestablished in 1940 Defunct magazines published in Cairo Monthly magazines published in Egypt Weekly magazines published in Egypt Defunct Islamic magazines