''Al-Mabda ( ar, المبدأ, 'The Principle') was a

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

Arabic-language daily newspaper published from

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

, Iraq. The paper was founded by the dissident communist politician Daud as-Sayegh (who had just broken away from the original

Iraqi Communist Party The Iraqi Communist Party ( ar, الحزب الشيوعي العراقي '; ku, Partiya Komunista Iraqê حزبی شیوعی عێراق) is a communist party and the oldest active party in Iraq. Since its foundation in 1934, it has dominated the ...

). The first issue of ''Al-Mabda''' was published on 21 November 1959. The newspaper was allegedly supported by the government of Abd al-Karim Qasim. According to ''

Neue Zürcher Zeitung The ''Neue Zürcher Zeitung'' (''NZZ''; "New Journal of Zürich") is a Swiss, German-language daily newspaper, published by NZZ Mediengruppe in Zürich. The paper was founded in 1780. It was described as having a reputation as a high-quality ne ...

'', the Qassim government had issued a substantial loan to as-Sayegh for the sake of publishing ''al-Mabda'''. In early 1960 two editorial secretaries of ''al-Mabda''', Kazim Shawi and Adb al-Amir Hassun al-Haddad, resigned from as-Sayeghs party. In June 1960 ''al-Madba''' issued an appeal to the members of the (original) Iraqi Communist Party to join as-Sayegh's party.Ismael, Tareq Y.
The Rise and Fall of the Communist Party of Iraq
'.

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

: Cambridge University Press, 2008. p. 101 In November 1960 ''Al-Madba''' was closed down, with no public explanation. ''Al-Mabda''' was re-launched as a weekly on 4 February 1961. At the time, ''al-Mabda''' stated that the November 1960 disruption in publication had been caused by an urgent lack of funds.
Middle East Record 1960
'. London: published for the Israel Oriental Society, the Reuven Shiloah Research Center. p. 244
Middle East Record 1961
'. London: published for the Israel Oriental Society, the Reuven Shiloah Research Center. p. 270 ''Al-Mabda''' complained that the newspaper was treated with intense hostility from other leftwing sectors, and its readers frequently attacked in public. All in all, twenty-two issues of ''al-Mabda''' were published in its second year of existence. On 25 November 1961 an anniversary issue was released, in which ''al-Mabda''' criticized the unwillingness of the followers of the (original) Iraqi Communist Party to join the ranks of as-Sayegh's legal Iraqi Communist Party.

References

1959 establishments in Iraq Arabic communist newspapers Defunct Arabic-language newspapers Communist newspapers published in Iraq Defunct newspapers published in Iraq Defunct weekly newspapers Mass media in Baghdad Newspapers established in 1959 Publications with year of disestablishment missing {{italic title