''Al Qibla'' () was the official gazette of the

Kingdom of Hejaz The Hashemite Kingdom of Hejaz (, ''Al-Mamlakah al-Ḥijāziyyah Al-Hāshimiyyah'') was a state in the Hejaz region of Western Asia that included the western portion of the Arabian Peninsula that was ruled by the Hashemite dynasty. It was self ...

. The paper was backed by the British. It was in circulation between 1916 and 1924 and headquartered in

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

. The paper was a four-page broadsheet and published twice a week, on Mondays and on Thursdays. The slogan of ''Al Qibla'' was the following verse taken from

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

''Al Qibla'' was first published on 15 August 1916, five weeks after the capture of Mecca by

Sharif Hussein Hussein bin Ali al-Hashimi ( ; 1 May 18544 June 1931) was an Arab leader from the Banu Qatadah branch of the Banu Hashim clan who was the Sharif of Mecca, Sharif and Emir of Mecca from 1908 and, after proclaiming the Great Arab Revolt against ...

. The founders of the paper were

Muhib Al Din Al Khatib Field marshal () was a Five-star rank, five–star officer rank and the highest attainable rank in the Iraqi Armed Forces. Field marshal ranks immediately above colonel general, but is now generally considered to be obsolete. The rank was typical ...

and Fuad Al Khatib. They were tasked by the British to start the paper to address the whole Arabic-reading public. It was published by Wilāya Press in Mecca on a semi-weekly basis. Muhib Al Din Al Khatib was also its founding

editor-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 ...

. Tayeb Al Sassi also served in the post. Shortly after its start Sharif Hussein became the King of Hejaz, and the coronation ceremony held in October 1916 was fully covered in ''Al Qibla''. The paper featured international news based on the official communiques from Cairo, local news and writings of leading Arabic writers concerning ethical and social virtues. It also published reports from European and other foreign newspapers and periodicals. The British agents in the region helped the distribution of the paper. Following capture of

Hejaz Hejaz is a Historical region, historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes the majority of the western region of Saudi Arabia, covering the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif and Al Bahah, Al-B ...

by Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud, founder and later

king of Saudi Arabia The king of Saudi Arabia, officially the king of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (; ''Malik al-Mamlakat al-ʿArabiyat as-Suʿūdiyya''), is head of state and of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, who holds absolute power. He is the head of the Saudi ...

, ''Al Qibla'' was replaced by '' Umm al Qura''. ''Al Qibla'' folded after the publication of the last issue in September 1924. It produced a total of 852 issues during its lifetime.

Contributors and political stance

Sharif Hussein was closely interested in the design of the paper and the language used in the news. He also published several articles in the paper which was supported by the British authorities. From 1919 his name appeared as the editor-in-chief of the paper in the masthead. The contributors of ''Al Qibla'' were mostly Syrian exiles living in Egypt. ''Al Qibla'' had an

Arabist An Arabist is someone, often but not always from outside the Arab world, who specialises in the study of the Arabic language and Arab culture, culture (usually including Arabic literature). Origins Arabists began in Al Andalus, medieval Muslim ...

and Islamist ideology. The goal of the paper was to strengthen the awareness of the Arabs and Muslims about the threats of

Wahhabism Wahhabism is an exonym for a Salafi revivalist movement within Sunni Islam named after the 18th-century Hanbali scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. It was initially established in the central Arabian region of Najd and later spread to oth ...

against

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. ''Al Qibla'' also opposed to the

Committee of Union and Progress The Ottoman Committee of Union and Progress (CUP, also translated as the Society of Union and Progress; , French language, French: ''Union et Progrès'') was a revolutionary group, secret society, and political party, active between 1889 and 1926 ...

and the military alliance of 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 ...

with the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In addition, Sharif Hussein employed the publication to justify his revolt against the Ottoman Empire. The paper's interest in the Ottoman Empire continued with the publication many articles criticizing the developments in the country. It also published an article in which it was argued that the

Caliphate A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

should belong to the Arabs when the last Ottoman sultan

Mehmed VI Mehmed VI Vahideddin ( ''Meḥmed-i sâdis'' or ''Vaḥîdü'd-Dîn''; or /; 14 January 1861 – 16 May 1926), also known as ''Şahbaba'' () among the Osmanoğlu family, was the last sultan of the Ottoman Empire and the penultimate Ottoman Cal ...

expressed his intent to assume the role. Following the publication of the

Balfour Declaration The Balfour Declaration was a public statement issued by the British Government in 1917 during the First World War announcing its support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine, then an Ottoman regio ...

in November 1917 Sharif Hussein published a number of articles in ''Al Qibla'' in which he called for the cooperation with

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

and asked Arabs to avoid conflicts with the British in that they would help them achieve independence. The paper frequently praised the rule of Sharif Hussein whom it compared to Muhammad Ali Pasha, ruler of Egypt between 1805 and 1848.

Legacy

In the anniversary of the foundation of the Hashemite Kingdom of Hejaz several issues of ''Al Qibla'' were reprinted and distributed as a supplement of the Jordanian daily newspapers, including '' The Jordan Times'', in 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Qibla 1916 establishments in Asia 20th-century establishments in the Arabian Peninsula Kingdom of Hejaz 1924 disestablishments in Asia Arabic-language newspapers Defunct newspapers published in Saudi Arabia Former state media Government gazettes Mass media in Mecca Newspapers established in 1916 Publications disestablished in 1924