Type | Weekly newspaper |
---|---|
Founder(s) | Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq |
Publisher |
|
Founded | 1861 |
Language | Arabic |
Ceased publication | 1884 |
Headquarters |
|
Country | Ottoman Empire |
Al Jawaib ( Arabic: الجوائب al-Jawāʾib, "The News") [1] was a newspaper which existed from 1861 to 1884. The paper was founded by Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq, a Lebanese journalist, and headquartered in Constantinople, Ottoman Empire. Over time it became the most popular Arabic publication in the Empire and made its founder known as a respected journalist and writer. [2] [3] In the last year of its existence the paper was published in Cairo.
Al Jawaib was launched by Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq in Istanbul in 1861. [3] [4] He owned the paper until 1870 when his son Salim took over it. [5] During the initial period it was subsidized by the Ottoman authorities. [5] In addition, it was published at the imperial press for nine years which was announced in the paper. [6] From 1870 the paper was published by the company named after it, Jawaib Press, which was also established by al-Shidyaq. [3] The paper came out weekly. [7] It frequently published the Arabic translations of the official Ottoman legislation, international treaties, and speeches along with their original Ottoman Turkish texts. [8]
In the mid-1870s Al Jawaib enjoyed higher levels of circulation in various places, including India and East Asia. [9] For instance, British historian Albert Hourani argues that it was possible to find the paper in different Muslim regions such as Nejd, Arabia, and Bombay, India. [8] As a result of its significant influence on Muslims, the British Foreign Office covertly financed Al Jawaib from 1877. [5] [9]
Al Jawaib temporarily ceased publication in 1879 when the Ottomans banned it due to its praise for the Egyptian Khedive, Isma'il Pasha, who was among its financiers. [6] [10] The paper was moved to Cairo in 1883. [11] It was closed down by the Ottoman government in 1884 due to its extreme pro-British stance which had been evident since the 1881 rebellion against the Empire in Sudan. [5]