Al Siyasa

Al Siyasa was launched in 1922 shortly after the establishment of the Liberal Constitutional Party.^[1] The first issue appeared in October that year.^[2] The founders were Mohammed Hussein Heikal and Mahmoud Abdul Raziq.^[3] The former also edited Al Siyasa.^[4][5] Major contributors included Taha Hussein, Salama Moussa, Ali Mahmoud Taha, Ibrahim Nagi, Ibrahim Al Mazini and Mustafa Abdul Raziq.^[3]

Following its start Al Siyasa supported religious freedom and secular thought.^[1] During the 1920s the paper was particularly influential and the primary supporter of the reforms introduced in Turkey following the establishment of the new republican system.^[1] At the same time it advocated Egyptian nationalism through the articles of Mohammed Hussein Heikal, which supported close economic and cultural relationships between Egypt and the countries of the Arab East.^[6]

Al Siyasa was one of the four publications read by Egyptian women partly due to the fact that it featured a weekly women's page entitled Sahifat al Sayyida.^[7] The page was started on 17 November 1922.^[7] The other Cairo-based newspapers which also featured similar pages were Le Réveil, La Patrie and L'Information.^[7]

However, the political stance of Al Siyasa explicitly changed, and it became a fierce critic of the foreign influence in Egypt.^[8] In addition, the paper began to appeal to the beliefs of Muslims in the 1930s and claimed that the missionaries in the country were criminals.^[4] It also attacked the Copts in the country.^[9]

The major rival of Al Siyasa was Al Balagh, and the rivalry between them continued until 1951.^[2] Both papers launched a weekly edition in 1926.^[2] That of Al Siyasa was entitled Al Siyasa Al Usbuʿiyya which was started in March that year and existed until 1930.^[2][10] Al Siyasa ceased publication in 1951.^[3][11]