Al Ahrar (weekly)

Al Ahrar (Arabic الأحرار; the Free or the Liberal) was a weekly newspaper published in Cairo, Egypt, from 1977 to 2013. The paper was the official media outlet of the Liberal Party.[1][2]

Al Ahrar
TypeWeekly newspaper
Founder(s)Liberal Party
PublisherLiberal Party
FoundedNovember 1977
Political alignmentLiberal
LanguageArabic
Ceased publication2013
HeadquartersCairo
CountryEgypt

History and profile

Al Ahrar was established during the Sadat era in 1977 and was based in Cairo.[3][4] The first issue appeared in November that year.[5]

It was one of the highest circulation papers in the country owned by a political party.[6] The weekly had a liberal political leaning and was one of the major opposition publications in Egypt.[7][8] In November 1982 Al Ahrar attacked the advertisements of the Islamic investment companies.[9] It supported the Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's liberal and capitalist economy policies and also, fast harmony with the Western countries.[10] On the other hand, Al Ahrar was one of the major critics of Baháʼí Egyptians.[11]

As of 1996 the editor-in-chief of the paper was Mustapha Bakri who had a Nasserist political stance.[12] Due to his support for Gamal Abdel Nasser the chairman of the Liberal Party Mustafa Kamel Murad who was a member of the Free Officers movement fired Bakri.[12] Bakri attempted to continue his editorship, but was forced to resign from the post through the intervention of Egyptian security forces.[12] Al Ahrar sold 5,000 copies in 2005.[3] In 2013, the paper ceased publication.[13]

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.[14] In December 2012, Al Ahrar along with others went on strike for one day to protest the draft constitution presented by the Egyptian government.[15]

See also

References
  1. Roberto Aliboni; et al., eds. (2013). Egypt's Economic Potential. London; New York: Routledge. p. 205. ISBN 978-1-135-08688-6.
  2. Anthony McDermott (2012). Egypt from Nasser to Mubarak (RLE Egypt): A Flawed Revolution. London; New York: Routledge. p. 249. ISBN 978-0-415-81116-3.
  3. William A. Rugh (2004). Arab Mass Media: Newspapers, Radio, and Television in Arab Politics. Westport, CT; London: Praeger. p. 123. ISBN 978-0-275-98212-6.
  4. Mamoun Fandy (2007). (Un)civil War of Words: Media and Politics in the Arab World. Westport, CT: Praeger. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-275-99393-1.
  5. Donald M. Reid (1979). "The Return of the Egyptian Wafd, 1978". International Journal of African Historical Studies. 12 (3): 407. doi:10.2307/218411. JSTOR 218411.
  6. Hany Ghoraba (9 October 2012). "Egyptian press and online media quagmire". House of Dialog. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
  7. Neha Sahgal (2008). Divided We Stand, But United We Oppose? Opposition Alliances in Egypt and Pakistan (PhD thesis). University of Maryland, College Park. p. 97. hdl:1903/8871.
  8. Andrew Hammond (2007). Popular Culture in the Arab World: Arts, Politics, and the Media. Cairo; New York: American University in Cairo Press. p. 237. ISBN 978-977-416-054-7.
  9. Saad Eddin Ibrahim (1988). "Egypt's Islamic Activism in the 1980s". Third World Quarterly. 10 (2): 644. doi:10.1080/01436598808420075.
  10. Hanan Hammad (2009). "Khomeini and the Iranian Revolution in the Egyptian Press: From Fascination to Condemnation". Radical History Review (105): 43. doi:10.1215/01636545-2009-003.
  11. "Egyptian Press and the Industry of Bigotry" (PDF). Andalus Institute for Tolerance and Anti-Violence Studies. 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 December 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
  12. Joshua Stacher (2004). "Parties over: The demise of Egypt's opposition parties". British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies. 31 (2): 224. doi:10.1080/135301904042000268222. S2CID 145021477.
  13. "Media Situation in Egypt: Tenth report for the period January and February 2014" (Report). Al Sawt Al Hurr. 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  14. "Rival Helps Suspended Egyptian Newspaper Publish". The Spokesman Review. Associated Press. 13 September 1997. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
  15. "Egypt's online media shows solidarity with newspaper strike". Ahram Online. 4 December 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
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