Al-Malayin Explained

Al Malayin
Type:Weekly newspaper
Owners:Ahmad Sadiq Azzam
Chiefeditor:Ahmad Sadiq Azzam
Foundation:May 1951
Language:Arabic
Ceased Publication:December 1951
Headquarters:Cairo

Al-Malayin (Arabic: الملايين, 'The Millions') was a weekly newspaper published from Cairo, Egypt.

History and profile

Al-Malayin was published from May to December 1951.[1] It was unofficially linked to the communist Democratic Movement for National Liberation (HADITU).[1] The launch of al-Malayin followed the closure of the pro-HADITU weekly al-Bashir in December 1950.[1] Al-Bashir and al-Malayin gained importance in the national movement in Egypt at the time.[2] Following the ban on al-Bashir, al-Malayin was a key channel for legal propaganda of the party.[3]

The owner and editor-in-chief of al-Malayin was Ahmad Sadiq Azzam. Prominent contributors to the newspaper included Yusuf Hilmu, Abd al-Murni as-Said, Rashid al-Barawi, Enayet al-Halim and Ibrahim Abd al-Halim.

Al-Malayin advocated armed struggle against British rule in Egypt, and appealed to a united front of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Socialist Party, nationalists, Wafdist, workers and student movements to rally against Anglo-American imperialism.[4] Al-Malayin was the first Egyptian communist newspaper which dedicated space for issues such as culture and sports.[5] Its issues carried articles about the labourers, peasantry, women, art, theatre, literature and international issues.[6] The newspaper dedicated relatively little attention to the Arab-Israeli conflict.[7] In its comments to developments following the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine, al-Malayin voiced criticism against treatments of the Jewish communities by governments in the Arab world.[8]

Al-Malayin was closed down by the Egyptian government in December 1951.[1]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Joel Beinin. Zachary Lockman. Workers on the Nile: Nationalism, Communism, Islam, and the Egyptian Working Class, 1882–1954. 1 January 1998. American Univ in Cairo Press. 978-977-424-482-7. 398.
  2. Book: Tareq Y. Ismael. Rifʻat Saʻīd. The Communist Movement in Egypt, 1920–1988. 1990. Syracuse University Press. 978-0-8156-2497-4. 69.
  3. Book: Selma Botman. The Rise of Egyptian Communism, 1939–1970. 1988. Syracuse University Press. 978-0-8156-2443-1. 73.
  4. Book: Selma Botman. The Rise of Egyptian Communism, 1939–1970. 1988. Syracuse University Press. 978-0-8156-2443-1. 91–92.
  5. Book: Rifʻat Saʻīd. تاريخ الحركة الشيوعية المصرية. 1987. د.ن.،.
  6. Book: Selma Botman. The Rise of Egyptian Communism, 1939–1970. 1988. Syracuse University Press. 978-0-8156-2443-1. 162.
  7. Book: Joel Beinin. Was the Red Flag Flying There?: Marxist Politics and the Arab-Israeli Conflict in Egypt and Israel, 1948–1965. 1990. I.B.Tauris. 978-1-85043-292-0. 116.
  8. Book: Tareq Y. Ismael. Rifʻat Saʻīd. The Communist Movement in Egypt, 1920–1988. 1990. Syracuse University Press. 978-0-8156-2497-4. 103.