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.[4]
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.[5] Al-Malayin was the first Egyptian communist newspaper which dedicated space for issues such as culture and sports.[6] Its issues carried articles about the labourers, peasantry, women, art, theatre, literature and international issues.[4] 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]
