History of Middle Eastern newspapers

The history of Middle Eastern newspapers goes back to the 19th century.^[1] Many editors were not only journalists but also writers, philosophers and politicians. With unofficial journals, these intellectuals encouraged public discourse on politics in the Ottoman and Persian Empires. Literary works of all genres were serialized and published in the press as well.^[2]

Press in the Ottoman Empire

European influences

The first newspapers in the Ottoman Empire were owned by foreigners living there who wanted to make propaganda about the Western world. The earliest was printed in September 1795 by the Palais de France in Pera, during the embassy of Raymond de Verninac-Saint-Maur. It was issued fortnightly under the title of Bulletin de Nouvelles, until March 1796, it seems. Afterwards, it was published under the name of Gazette française de Constantinople from September 1796 to May 1797, and Mercure Oriental from May to July 1797.^[3] Its main purpose was to convey information about the politics of Post-Revolutionary France to foreigners living in Istanbul; therefore, it had little impact on local population.

In 1800, during the French occupation of Egypt, a newspaper in Arabic, al-Tanbih (The Alert), was planned to be issued, with the purpose of disseminating in Egypt the ideals of the French Revolution.^[4] It was founded by the general Jacques-François Menou, who appointed Ismail al-Khashab as its editor. However, there is doubt the newspaper was actually ever printed. Menou eventually capitulated after Alexandria was besieged by British forces in 1801.

The history of indigenous Middle Eastern journalism starts in 1828, when Muhammad Ali, Khedive of Egypt, ordered the local establishment of the gazette Vekayi-i Misriye (Egyptian Affairs), as part of the drastic reforms he was implementing in the province. It was first written in Ottoman Turkish and Arabic on opposite pages, and later in Arabic only, under the title al-Waqa'i`a al-Masriya.^[5][6][7]

The first official gazette of the Ottoman State was published in 1831, on the order of Mahmud II. It was entitled Moniteur Ottoman, clearly referring to the French newspaper Le Moniteur Universel. Its weekly issues were written in French and edited by Alexandre Blacque at the expense of the Porte. A few months later, a firman of the sultan ordered that the gazette be written in Turkish and renamed Takvim-i Vekayi (Calendar of Affairs). It was issued irregularly until 4 November 1922. Laws and decrees of the sultan were published in it, as well as descriptions of court festivities.

The first non-official Turkish newspaper, Ceride-i Havadis (Register of Events), was published by an Englishman, William Churchill, in 1840. The first private Turkish newspaper to be published by Turkish journalists, Tercüman-ı Ahval (Interpreter of Events), was founded by Şinasi and Agah Efendi and issued in October 1860. The owners stated that "freedom of expression is a part of human nature", thereby initiating the era of free press as inspired by the ideals of 18th century French Enlightenment.^[8] Subsequently, several newspapers flourished in the provinces. A new press code inspired by French law, Matbuat Nizamnamesi, was issued in 1864, accompanied by the establishment of a censorship office.^[8]

Rise of feminism

One of the earliest women to sign her articles in the Arab press was the female medical practitioner Galila Tamarhan, who contributed articles to a medical magazine called Yaasoub el-Tib (Leader in Medicine) in the 1860s.^[9] The Syrian writer and poet Maryana Marrash (1848–1919) seems to have been the first woman to write in the Arab daily newspapers.^[10] In 1892, the Lebanese journalist Hind Nawfal (c. 1860–1920) published the first monthly journal for women, al-Fatah (The Young Girl), in Alexandria, Egypt.^[11]

Press in Iran

The first newspaper in Iran, Kaghaz-e Akhbar (Newspaper), was created for the government by Mirza Saleh Shirazi in 1837. Shirazi had been sent to study in England by the crown prince Abbas Mirza in 1815. It was during his stay that Shirazi became interested in the printing press, which he imported to Iran.

References

1. ^ Ayalon, The Press in the Arab Middle East: a History.
2. ^ Unbehaun, The Middle Eastern Press as a Forum for Literature.
3. ^ Groc, Çağlar, La presse française de Turquie de 1795 à nos jours: histoire et catalogue, 6.
4. ^ Wendell, The Evolution of the Egyptian National Image, 143.
5. ^ Tripp, Contemporary Egypt: through Egyptian Eyes, 2.
6. ^ Amin, Fortna, Frierson, The Modern Middle East: a Sourcebook for History, 99.
7. ^ Hill, Egypt in the Sudan: 1820–1881, 172.
8. ^ ^{a b} Ágoston, Masters, Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire, 433.
9. ^ Sakr, Women and Media in the Middle East: Power through Self-expression, 40.
10. ^ Bosworth, van Donzel, Heinrichs, Pellat, Encyclopaedia of Islam, Volume VI, Fascicules 107-108, 598.
11. ^ Zeidan, Arab Women Novelists: the Formative Years and Beyond, 46.