''Al Amal'' () is a long-running Arabic Lebanese newspaper affiliated with the

Kataeb Party The Kataeb Party (), officially the Kataeb Party – Lebanese Social Democratic Party ( '), also known as the Phalangist Party, is a right-wing Christian political party in Lebanon founded by Pierre Gemayel in 1936. The party and its parami ...

. It is published in Arabic and in French on a weekly basis in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

, Lebanon.

History and profile

''Al Amal'' was founded in 1939. The paper is headquartered in Beirut, and had Arabic and French editions. It is the official publication of the Kataeb Party, also known as Phalangist Party, and has a

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

approach. In the early period the publisher of the paper was Pierre Gemayel, leader of the Kataeb Party. Until 1946 ''Al Amal'' was distributed with another Kataeb paper entitled ''Action'' which was published in French. From 21 November 1946 ''Al Amal'' became an Arabic daily newspaper, and ''Action'' was made a separate French-language weekly newspaper on 3 October 1948. Its major function is to convey the party's views and ideas. In the 1940s ''Al Amal'' frequently published anti-Israeli news and articles. From 1945 it also frequently criticized the Lebanese government. The membership of the Kataeb Party significantly increased following the

crisis A crisis (: crises; : critical) is any event or period that will lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affairs, especially when ...

in 1958 which also increased the significance of the paper. However, during this turmoil Fuad Haddad, editor-in-chief of ''Al Amal'', was kidnapped on 23 September. Subscription to the newspaper became compulsory for all Kataeb Party members in 1966. The paper had an oppositional stance against the

Palestinian refugees Palestinian refugees are citizens of Mandatory Palestine, and their descendants, who fled or were expelled from their country, village or house over the course of the 1948 Palestine war and during the 1967 Six-Day War. Most Palestinian refug ...

in the country in 1980. In the 1980s ''Al Amal'' was published daily, but later its frequency was switched to weekly. In October 1985 Elie Hobeika, a militia commander, unsuccessfully attempted to suspend the publication of ''Al Amal''. However, he seized the headquarters of '' Le Reveil'', a French-language daily founded by

Amine Gemayel Amine Pierre Gemayel (, ; born 22 January 1942) is a Lebanese politician who served as the eighth president of Lebanon from 1982 to 1988. Gemayel was born in Bikfaya to Pierre Gemayel, the founder of the Christianity in Lebanon, Christian Kat ...

. Following the control of the party by the

Lebanese Forces The Lebanese Forces ( ') is a Lebanon, Lebanese Christianity in Lebanon, Christian-based political party and Lebanese Forces (militia), former militia during the Lebanese Civil War. It currently holds 19 of the 128 seats in Lebanon's Parliamen ...

, namely Elie Hobeika and

Samir Geagea Samir Farid Geagea (, , also spelled Samir Ja'ja' ; born 25 October 1952) is a Lebanese politician and former militia commander who has been the leader of the Lebanese Forces Lebanese Forces, political party and Lebanese Forces (militia ...

, ''Al Amal'' was for a time temporarily controlled by the group in 1986, but now reflects solely the points of view of the Phalange which is its license holder. The circulation of ''Al Amal'' was 35,000 copies in the beginning of the 2000s.

Editors and contributors

The long-term

editors-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

of the paper were Elias Rababi and

Joseph Abu Khalil Joseph Abu Khalil (1925–2019) was a Lebanese politician from the Kataeb Party. He served in various posts in the party and edited its official newspaper, '' Al Amal'', for a long time. Biography Being a native of Beit ed-Dine, Mount Lebanon, ...

. Both were also the leading figures of the Phalangist Party in the 1940s. Another editor-in-chief of ''Al Amal'' was Fuad Haddad who was abducted while serving in the post on 23 September 1958. Lebanese caricaturist Pierre Sadek contributed to the newspaper.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amal 1939 establishments in Lebanon Arabic-language newspapers Bilingual newspapers Daily newspapers published in Lebanon Falangism French-language newspapers published in Lebanon Newspapers established in 1939 Newspapers published in Beirut Phoenicianism Weekly newspapers published in Lebanon