| 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]