''Al-Urwah al-Wuthqa'' (, ) was an Islamic revolutionary journal founded by

Muhammad Abduh Muḥammad ʿAbduh (also spelled Mohammed Abduh; ; 1849 – 11 July 1905) was an Egyptian Islamic scholar, judge, and Grand Mufti of Egypt. He was a central figure of the Arab Nahḍa and Islamic Modernism in the late 19th and early 20th ce ...

and

Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī Sayyid Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī (Pashto/), also known as Jamāl ad-Dīn Asadābādī () and commonly known as Al-Afghani (1838/1839 – 9 March 1897), was an Iranian political activist and Islamic ideologist who travelled throughout the Mus ...

. Despite only running from 13 March 1884 to October 1884, it was one of the first and most important publications of the ''

Nahda The Nahda (, meaning 'the Awakening'), also referred to as the Arab Awakening or Arab Enlightenment, was a cultural movement that flourished in Arabs, Arab-populated regions of the Ottoman Empire, notably in Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and Tunisia, ...

''. The journal targeted people across the Islamic ''

ummah ' (; ) is an Arabic word meaning Muslim identity, nation, religious community, or the concept of a Commonwealth of the Muslim Believers ( '). It is a synonym for ' (, lit. 'the Islamic nation'); it is commonly used to mean the collective com ...

'', calling upon them to unite. Its firm stance against European colonialism caused

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

authorities to ban it in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. ''Al-Urwah al-Wuthqa'' is an Arabic term with religious significance, appearing twice in the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

History and profile

The journal was founded in a room in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1884, and the first edition was published on March 13 of that year (corresponding with 15 Jumādā al-Ūlā, 1301). Ibrāhīm al-Muwayliḥī and his son Muhammad al-Muwaylihi, both in exile from the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, helped with its publication.'''' The

Imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

Muhammad Abduh summarized the main goals of the magazine in a speech he sent to his friend, the English poet

Wilfrid Scawen Blunt Wilfrid Scawen Blunt (17 August 1840 – 10 September 1922), sometimes spelt Wilfred, was an English poet and writer. He and his wife Lady Anne Blunt travelled in the Middle East and were instrumental in preserving the Arabian horse bloodlines ...

: protecting the independence of Eastern peoples from the aggression of Western countries, and to pressure the English government into stopping its policies that harm Muslims. Also among the goals of the magazine, as can be ascertained from its editorial line: a call to unite and stand in solidarity, and to embrace the

, and to liberate Egypt and

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

from

British colonialism The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts establish ...

Censorship

''Al-Urwah al-Wuthqa'' was banned by British authorities in Egypt and India, and an elaborate network including Arab businessmen in

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

disseminated copies throughout the Arab world.

End of publication

Muhammad Abduh and Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī decided to end the magazine in October 1884 after publishing 18 editions over the course of eight months, probably due to financial problems resulting from the ban.

Legacy

Some issues of ''Al-Urwah al-Wuthqa'' were found in the library of ''Dar al-Arab'' publishers, in addition to some other writings and speeches of Muhammad Abduh and Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī. In 1957, these were published with a foreword from

Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian military officer and revolutionary who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 a ...

in a book entitled ''Al-Urwah al-Wuthqa wa al-Thawra al-Tahririya al-Kubra'' ()''.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Urwah Wuthqa 1884 establishments in France 1884 disestablishments in France Defunct Arabic-language magazines Defunct Islamic magazines Magazines established in 1884 Magazines disestablished in 1884 Defunct magazines published in Paris Defunct religious magazines published in France Arabic-language mass media in France Non-French-language magazines published in France