Al-Qaidah (newspaper) explained

Al-Qaidah
Foundation:January 1943
Political:Communist
Language:Arabic
Circulation:~5,400
Circulation Date:1954–55

Al-Qaidah (Arabic: القاعدة, The Base) was an Arabic-language newspaper published in Iraq. It was an organ of the Iraqi Communist Party.[1] It was printed clandestinely for thirteen years, albeit with interruptions.

The first issue of al-Qaidah came out in January 1943. Al-Qaidah was founded in the midst of a split in the party.[2] It was set up by Daud as-Sayegh, Hussain Muhammad ash-Shabibi and Zaki Muhammad Basim, who were supporters of Yusuf Salman Yusuf (a.k.a. Comrade Fahd) in the party's Central Committee. The newspaper sought to compete with ash-Shararah ('The Spark') for the position as the party organ. The different factions were effectively known by the names of their publications.[3] As-Sayegh served as editor of al-Qaidah before being expelled from the party.[4]

Al-Qaidah was banned by the government, and being caught with an issue of the newspaper could result in a prison sentence.[5] By 1947 al-Qaidah had a circulation of around 3,000.[6] It was probably one of the most widely read newspapers in the country at the time.[7] It was primarily read in Baghdad, the Shiite south and the Kurdish north.[6] During 1954–55, seventeen issues of al-Qaidah were published. In spite of being an illegal underground publication, its issues had an average circulation of around 5,400.[8]

In 1955 a workers newspaper, Ittihad ul-Amal was founded, after which al-Qaidah began focusing more on agrarian issues.[9]

Al-Qaidah was shut down as the party reconciled with the Rayat ash-Shaghilah ('Toilers Banner') group, and Ittihad ash-Sha'ab ('People's Union') was founded as the new party organ.[2] [10] The last issue was published on June 19, 1956.[11]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Вадим Васильевич Кортунов. Справочник пропагандиста-международника. 1983. Политиздат. 189.
  2. Book: Вестник Московского университета: Журналистика. 1972. Изд-во Московского Университета. 55.
  3. Book: Tareq Y. Ismael. The Rise and Fall of the Communist Party of Iraq. 2008. Cambridge University Press. 978-0-521-87394-9. 28.
  4. Book: Ṣalāḥ Khurasān. Safhat min tarikh al-harikah al-shuyuìyah fi al-Ìraq. 1993.
  5. Book: Sasson Somekh. Life After Baghdad: Memoirs of an Arab-Jew in Israel, 1950–2000. 2012. Sussex Academic Press. 978-1-84519-502-1. 10.
  6. Book: Elizabeth F. Thompson. Justice Interrupted. 15 April 2013. Harvard University Press. 978-0-674-07609-9.
  7. Book: Bassam Yousif. Human Development in Iraq: 1950–1990. 17 June 2013. Routledge. 978-1-136-61986-1. 63.
  8. Book: Johan Franzén. Red Star Over Iraq: Iraqi Communism Before Saddam. 2011. Hurst Publishers. 978-1-84904-101-0. 23.
  9. Book: Tareq Y. Ismael. The Rise and Fall of the Communist Party of Iraq. 2008. Cambridge University Press. 978-0-521-87394-9. 57.
  10. Book: Johan Franzén. Red Star Over Iraq: Iraqi Communism Before Saddam. 2011. Hurst Publishers. 978-1-84904-101-0. 69.
  11. Book: Tareq Y. Ismael. The Rise and Fall of the Communist Party of Iraq. 2008. Cambridge University Press. 978-0-521-87394-9. 60–61.