''Al Qafilah'' () was a weekly newspaper published in Manama, Bahrain, between 1952 and 1956.

History and profile

''Al Qafilah'' was founded by progressive Arab nationalists, including

Ali Sayyar Ali Sayyar (1926–October 2019) was a veteran Bahraini journalist who founded and edited a newspaper, '' Al Qafilah'', and a magazine, ''Sada Al Osbou''. He was one of the founding fathers of the Bahraini press. Early life and education Sayyar ...

, one of the members of the High Executive Committee (HEC; al-Hay'a al-Tanfidhiyya al-Uliya) which was a cross-sectarian nationalist political movement. He was also the editor of the paper and its successor, ''Al Watan''. The secretary of the HEC,

Abdul Rahman Al Bakir Abdul Rahman Al Bakir (; 1917–1971) was a leading activist and one of the independence leaders in the Arab Gulf states in the 20th century. He was the founding member and secretary of the National Union Committee (NUC), a non-sectarian and pan ...

, was one of the editorial members of ''Al Qafilah''. The paper was not subject to any censorship until 3 October 1953 when it featured articles on the recent riots in the country. It praised the

abolition Abolition refers to the act of putting an end to something by law, and may refer to: *Abolitionism, abolition of slavery *Capital punishment#Abolition of capital punishment, Abolition of the death penalty, also called capital punishment *Abolitio ...

of the monarchy in Egypt in 1952 and supported the Iranian Prime Minister

Mohammad Mosaddegh Mohammad Mosaddegh (, ; 16 June 1882 – 5 March 1967) was an Iranian politician, author, and lawyer who served as the 30th Prime Minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953, elected by the 1950 Iranian legislative election, 16th Majlis. He was a membe ...

when he was overthrown in the

1953 Iranian coup d'état The 1953 Iranian coup d'état, known in Iran as the 28 Mordad coup d'état (), was the overthrow of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh on 19 August 1953. Led by the Iranian army and supported by the United States and the United Kingdom, the co ...

. The paper's constant target was the

Bahrain Petroleum Company The Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) is an integrated petroleum company that is the national oil company of Bahrain. It was founded in 1929 and discovered the first oil field in the Persian Gulf outside of Iran in 1932. Shipments of crude oil co ...

(BAPCO) which was run by foreigners. Together with the nationalist magazine '' Sawt al-Bahrain'' the company was labelled as ''Tyrannical BAPCO, a small state'', and ''the colonialist company''. The publication of an advertisement of the Egyptian musical ''Khadd al Jami'' in June 1953 caused controversy due to its appearance in

Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...

. Following the riots at the end of 1954 the newspaper published its last issue on 26 November and was closed by the Bahraini authorities in December 1954. The same year the monthly magazine ''Sawt al-Bahrain'' was also closed, and the advisor of the king,

Charles Belgrave Sir Charles Dalrymple Belgrave KBE (9 December 1894 – 28 February 1969) was a British citizen and advisor to the rulers of Bahrain from 1926 until 1957, as "Chief Administrator" or "adviserate". He first served under Shaikh Hamad ibn Isa Al ...

, reported the reason for these closures as their "offensive remarks about neighbouring friendly states." From 1955 the paper was published under title ''Al Watan'' for one year and ceased publication in 1956. ''Al Qafilah'' managed to sold four thousand and five thousand copies during its lifetime.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Qafilah 1952 establishments in Bahrain 1956 disestablishments in Bahrain Arabic-language newspapers Arab nationalism in Bahrain Censorship in Bahrain Defunct newspapers published in Bahrain Defunct weekly newspapers Mass media in Manama Newspapers established in 1952 Publications disestablished in 1956