View source for Al-Waqa'i' al-Misriyya

{{Short description|Egyptian newspaper}}
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox newspaper
| name                 = Al-Waqa'i' al-Misriyya
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| founder              = [[Muhammad Ali of Egypt|Muhammad Ali Pasha]]
| publisher            = [[Amiri Press]]
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| launched             = {{start date and age|1828|12|03}}
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| language             = Arabic
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| publishing_city      = [[Cairo]]
| publishing_country   = [[Egypt]]
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[[File:الصادرة الاولى الوقائع المصرية.jpg|thumb|The first edition of ''Vekâyi-i Mısriyye'', published in 1828 ([[Bibliotheca Alexandrina]])]]
'''''Al-Waqa'i' al-Misriyya''''' ({{langx|ar|الوقائع المصريّة}} / [[ALA-LC]]: {{translit|ar|ALA|Al-Waqā’i‘ al-Miṣrīyah}}; meaning "the Egyptian affairs") was an Egyptian [[newspaper]] (now a government information bulletin) established in 1828 on the order of  [[Muhammad Ali of Egypt|Muhammad Ali]], originally titled '''''Vekâyi-i Mısriyye''''' ({{langx|ota|وقایع مصریه}}) and written in Ottoman Turkish in the right column with an Arabic translation in the left one, and later in Arabic only<ref>Tripp (ed.), p. 2;{{full citation needed|date=June 2024}} Amin, Fortna & Frierson, p. 99;{{full citation needed|date=June 2024}} Hill, p.&nbsp;172.{{full citation needed|date=June 2024}}</ref> under the Arabic title.

It was printed at the [[Amiri Press]].<ref>{{cite web |title=History |url=http://alamiria.com/a/main_page/history.htm |website=Official site |publisher=Government of Egypt |access-date=28 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003220940/http://alamiria.com/a/main_page/history.htm |archive-date=3 October 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>

''Al-Waqa{{`}}i{{`}}'' was the [[official journal|official gazette]] of Egypt, and is now published as an appendix of the [[Official Journal of the Arab Republic of Egypt|Official Journal]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.alamiria.com/a/main_page/history.htm#table36 |title=The General Organization for Government Printing Office |language=Arabic |accessdate=9 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219060459/http://www.alamiria.com/a/main_page/history.htm#table36 |archive-date=19 December 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Precedents==
The newspaper's earliest precedent was [[Napoleon|Napoleon's]] {{lang|fr|[[Courier de l'Égypte]]}}, published every five days<ref>{{cite journal |first=Ali Bakr |last=Hassan |date=2021 |title=The Government of Egypt's Press (Matba'at Bûlâq): A Historical Analysis of Two Hundred Years of Performance |journal=Cogent Arts & Humanities |volume=8 |issue=1 |doi=10.1080/23311983.2021.1891683 |s2cid=234356747 |doi-access=free }}</ref> (according to another source, every ten days<ref name=":0">{{cite journal |first=Paul |last=Lunde |date=1981 |title=Arabic and the Art of Printing |url=https://archive.aramcoworld.com/issue/198102/arabic.and.the.art.of.printing-a.special.section.htm |journal=Aramco World |volume=32 |number=2 |access-date=February 18, 2023}}</ref>){{efn|The first issue was published on August 29, 1798 and the last one on June 9, 1801, 1014 days later. A total of 116 issues were published, meaning that, on average, an issue was published every 1014&nbsp;/&nbsp;(116&nbsp;−&nbsp;1) ≈ 8.8 days.}} in four pages in [[French language|French]] starting on August 29, 1798, for French propaganda during the [[French campaign in Egypt and Syria]].<ref name=":0" /> It included current events, [[courts-martial]], and [[French Army]] festivities. Inspired by this, the government of Ali Pasha decided to establish the [[Amiri Press]]. Although there was no official press policy on what to write, the leader wanted to keep abreast of local and foreign developments and ordered the publication of an official government newspaper.<ref name="zw-201">{{cite news |last1=Zaki |first1=Milad Hanna |title="الوقائع المصرية" صفحات مطويّة من تاريخ الصحافة |url=https://www.almasryalyoum.com/news/details/1853791 |access-date=28 May 2021 |work=[[Al-Masry Al-Youm]] |date=August 27, 2010}}</ref><ref name="aw-200">{{cite news |last1=Arafa |first1=Mohamed Gamal |title=حضور النقابات في الشارع المصري يفوق الأحزاب نقابة الصحفيين.. مؤشر للحريات في مصر |url=http://archive.islamonline.net/?p=9017 |access-date=28 May 2021 |work=[[Islam Online]] |date=July 10, 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161113175444/http://archive.islamonline.net/?p=9017 |archive-date=November 13, 2016}}</ref>

''[[Jurnal al-Khidiw]]'' ({{Langx|ar|جرنال الخديوي}}, {{Langx|ota|جرنال الخديوى}}; {{lit|Journal of the [[Khedive]]}}), a bilingual [[Ottoman Turkish|Turkish]]–[[Arabic]] bulletin first published 1821–1822, was the first printed periodical in Arabic.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Nemeth |first=Titus |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1030364292 |title=Arabic type-making in the machine age : the influence of technology on the form of Arabic type, 1908–1993 |date=20 July 2017 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-34930-8 |oclc=1030364292}}</ref> It was printed irregularly at first, using [[lithography]] and with as few as 100 copies per run.<ref name=":2" />

==History==
===Reign of Muhammad Ali Pasha===
During the Ottoman period, a newspaper known as {{Lang|ar|الجهادية}} ("Struggle") was distributed within the [[military of the Ottoman Empire]] for a subscription and offered free to civilian officials and subjects like its counterparts in Europe, but the Pasha believed the paper was only read by the most senior officials, courtiers, scholars, and the army. To enhance readership among the new class of civil servants, he required those who earned at least 1,000 [[piastre|piaster]]s a month to subscribe for 77 piasters and 11 [[kuruş]].<ref name="aw-200" /><ref name="qw-200">{{cite news |last1=Al-Qahtani |first1=Mubarak |title=صحيفة الوقائع المصرية |url=https://www.alukah.net/culture/0/56/ |access-date=28 May 2021 |work=Alukah |date=October 15, 2006}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=February 2023|reason=Couldn't find anything about a publication of this title in either source.}} Even [[France|French]] employees not fluent in [[Arabic language|Arabic]] or [[Ottoman Turkish]] were pursued for collection. In fact, an employee in the Finance Bureau was killed by his son to keep the latter from getting his salary garnished over paternal subscription debt.<ref name="zw-201" /> The Pasha made sure that the paper was published and distributed regularly, even on holidays,<ref name="qw-200" /> together with rations of meat, rice, and [[ghee]].<ref name="zw-201" />
	
The first issue of {{Transliteration|ar|Waqa'i' Misr}} ({{Lang|ar|وقايع مصر}}), published on December 3, 1828, featured four pages {{convert|38|cm|in}} long with a Turkish column translated into Arabic.<ref name="gw-196">{{cite book |last1=Ghorbal |first1=Mohammed Shafik |title=Simplified Islamic Encyclopedia |date=1965 |publisher=Dar Al Qalam |location=Cairo |url=http://encyc.reefnet.gov.sy/?page=entry&id=210257 |access-date=28 May 2021 |archive-date=25 December 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121225030642/http://encyc.reefnet.gov.sy/?page=entry&id=210257 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="gate.ahram.org.eg">{{Cite web |title=محمــد على أول رئيـس تحرير فى تاريخ مصر جورنال الباشا! |url=https://gate.ahram.org.eg/daily/News/203538/119/782755/ثقافة-شعبية-وإبداع/محمــد-على-أول-رئيـس-تحرير-فى-تاريخ-مصر-%0Aجورنال-ا.aspx |access-date=2022-09-12 |website=الأهرام اليومي |language=ar}}</ref> The first page had both translations side-by-side along with the mission statement.<ref name="aw-200" /> There was no regular publication schedule, and issues ranged from three to one times a week or even lagged a fortnight. [[Sami Efendi|Mustafa Sami Efendi]] was appointed the first editor of the Turkish section, and Shihab ad-Din Muhammad Ismail ({{Lang|ar|شهاب الدين محمد بن اسماعيل بن عمر المكي المصري}}) served as his Arabic-language counterpart; both were paid 750 piasters for their work.

''Al-Waqa'i' al-Misriyya'' apparently inspired ''[[Le Moniteur ottoman]]'', a francophone gazette published under [[Mahmud II]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nemeth |first=Titus |url=https://brill.com/view/title/32317 |title=Arabic Type-Making in the Machine Age: The Influence of Technology on the Form of Arabic Type, 1908–1993 |date=2017-07-20 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-34930-8 |pages=29 |language=en}}</ref>

The distinctive original letterhead at first featured a potted plant symbolizing the [[cotton]] tree left of the masthead until issue 18, when it was replaced with a [[Egyptian pyramids|pyramid]] in front of the Sun. Issues 535–540 were printed by Royal Chronicle Press (starting on June 15, 1833, near the end of the [[First Egyptian-Ottoman War|First Egyptian–Ottoman War]]), but production returned to the Amiri Press until Said's reign.<ref name="zw-201" /> A reverent tone was taken to the government.<ref name="aw-200" />

===At-Tahtawi era===
In 1842, [[Rifa'a al-Tahtawi|Rifa'a at-Tahtawi]] began developing form, content, and style of ''Al-Waqa'i' al-Misriyya'', most notably by focusing more on Arabic language and culture,<ref name="gate.ahram.org.eg"/> prioritizing local news over the once-prevalent [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] news, and pioneering the publication of book and political [[editorial]]s. The latter was a source of friction with government officials, leading [[Khedive]] [[Abbas I of Egypt]] to send him to what was then the colony of [[Turkish Sudan]] on accession in 1848, from whence he would return in 1854 when [[Sa'id of Egypt]] succeeded Abbas. Under At-Tahtawi's editorship, scholarly articles were published in the paper; his first issue (No. 623 in 1842) included some poems and quotations from the ''[[Muqaddimah]]'' of [[Ibn Khaldun]].<ref name="zw-201" /><ref name="aw-200" /><ref name="qw-200" /><ref name="gw-196" />

===Reigns of Said and Isma’il Pasha===
Sa’id, however, ended official control of publication during his reign (1854–1863) after completing a redesign and pricing it at 120 piasters a year with the director paid 3000 piasters a month and the editor 1500. Sheikh Ahmed Abdelrahim became the first independent editor.<ref name="zw-201" />

===Abduh’s Reforms===
In 1880, [[Prime Minister of Egypt|Prime Minister]] [[Riyad Pasha]] appointed [[Muhammad Abduh]] as editor of ''Al-Waqa'i' al-Misriyya''. Abduh emphasized education and social reform as a figure in the turn-of-the-century Arabic Enlightenment or [[Nahda]]. Abduh published every day except Friday, and in the wake of the 1882 [[Anglo-Egyptian War]], the paper became completely independent. Now in formal Arabic, it sold advertising for two piasters a line and was available for a penny per issue. Among the luminaries on Abduh's staff were independence pioneer [[Saad Zaghloul]]<ref>{{cite journal|author=Rania Maher|title=Saad Zaghloul Pro- or Anti-Concession Extension of the Suez Canal 1909-1910|journal= International Academic Journal Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management|date=October 2017|volume=3|issue=3|page=66|doi=10.21608/ijaf.2017.95527|doi-access=free}}</ref> and [[Ibrahim Al-Helbawi]], the first president of the Egypt [[Bar association|Bar Association]].<ref name="zw-201"/>

===Return to official status===
In 1911, ''Al-Waqa'i' al-Misriyya'' returned to government control, accompanied by a new masthead with a crown centered on the [[flag of Egypt]] and shifting advertisements and subscription guides from the left and right margins to the last page. Special issues on Sundays and Thursdays were introduced in 1912. Ahmad Sadiq Bey was appointed director of Amiri Press and editor in 1917 under the auspices of the [[Ministry of Finance (Egypt)|Ministry of Finance]]. Although the price was slightly altered by his successor George Newton, form and content remained consistent.<ref name="zw-201" />

===Emile Forgé’s term===
Emile Forgé was appointed editor of ''Al-Waqa'i' al-Misriyya'' on January 17, 1924, during a time of renewed parliamentary vigor under [[King of Egypt|King]] [[Fuad I of Egypt|Fuad I]]. Records from [[Parliament of Egypt|Parliament]] sessions were published as annexes to issues until the [[Egyptian revolution of 1952]]. Hassan Ali Kalwa Bey, Forgé's successor, sometimes published the text in green against a frame with [[calligraphy|calligraphic]] inscriptions, including a famed royal decree on the birth of King [[Fuad II of Egypt|Fuad II]]. The paper published all royal orders, decrees, Cabinet decisions, and internal cases without editorial independence, though it did not mention the Revolution of July 23, 1952 as it was going on.<ref name="zw-201" />

===Modern history===
On January 16, 1954, the [[coat of arms of Egypt]] and the [[Basmala]] appeared atop the letterhead of ''Al-Waqa'i' al-Misriyya'' and prices were raised to 30 milliemes a copy and 240 milliemes a line to advertise. Under [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]], the paper was published daily in Arabic and on Thursdays in French. Prices per copy reached 5 piastres in 1966 due to raw materials shortages, but were reduced to just 70 milliemes in 1974. Advertising reached [[Egyptian pound|£E]]6 a line in 1988, the year a postage stamp was issued to commemorate the newspaper's history.<ref name="zw-201" />

== Online availability ==
* 1829–1839 (partial) via [https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb39902117n/date Gallica]
* 1865–1895 (partial) via [http://ddsnext.crl.edu/titles/260/calendar Center for Research Libraries]

== See also ==
{{Portal|Egypt|Journalism}}
* [[List of newspapers in Egypt]]
* [[Media of Egypt]]
* [[History of newspaper publishing in the Arab world]]
* [[TGC Press Media Museum]] in [[Istanbul]], Turkey, which exhibits examples of the newspaper

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waqa'i' al-Misriyya}}
[[Category:1828 establishments in Egypt]]
[[Category:Arabic-language newspapers]]
[[Category:Newspapers published in Cairo]]
[[Category:Newspapers established in 1828]]
[[Category:State media]]
[[Category:Government gazettes]]
[[Category:Bulaq Press publications]]