Al Jawaib

Al Jawaib was launched by Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq in Istanbul in 1861.^[3][4] He owned the paper until 1870 when his son Salim took over it.^[5] During the initial period it was subsidized by the Ottoman authorities.^[5] In addition, it was published at the imperial press for nine years which was announced in the paper.^[6] From 1870 the paper was published by the company named after it, Jawaib Press, which was also established by al-Shidyaq.^[3] The paper came out weekly.^[7] It frequently published the Arabic translations of the official Ottoman legislation, international treaties, and speeches along with their original Ottoman Turkish texts.^[8]

In the mid-1870s Al Jawaib enjoyed higher levels of circulation in various places, including India and East Asia.^[9] For instance, British historian Albert Hourani argues that it was possible to find the paper in different Muslim regions such as Nejd, Arabia, and Bombay, India.^[8] As a result of its significant influence on Muslims, the British Foreign Office covertly financed Al Jawaib from 1877.^[5][9]

Al Jawaib temporarily ceased publication in 1879 when the Ottomans banned it due to its praise for the Egyptian Khedive, Isma'il Pasha, who was among its financiers.^[6][10] The paper was moved to Cairo in 1883.^[11] It was closed down by the Ottoman government in 1884 due to its extreme pro-British stance which had been evident since the 1881 rebellion against the Empire in Sudan.^[5]