''Kawkab America'' (, 'Star of America' or literal translation 'Planet of America') was an

Arabic-language Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

weekly (later daily) newspaper published in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. ''Kawkab America'' was the first Arabic-language newspaper in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

; it was published by

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

Orthodox Christians, and its readership was almost exclusively Christian.Suleiman, Michael W. '' rabs in America: Building a New Future'. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1999. pp. 4, 18 Typeset by hand, ''Kawkab America'' was published between 1892 and 1908. It became a daily in 1898. Politically, ''Kawkab America'' was highly supportive of Ottoman rule (at least during its early years). Initially, the launching of the newspaper had been scheduled for the birthday of the Ottoman Sultan. However, it was delayed as the Arabic printing press had not arrived on time. The first issue came out on April 15, 1892, carrying a major article of praise of the Sultan. However, according to an 1898 article in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''Kawkab America'' represented the Young Turks Party in the United States and condemned repression against

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

in the Ottoman Empire.
ANOTHER DAILY NEWSPAPER.; The First One Published in America in the Arabic Tongue Comes Out To-day.
' There are different claims about who was the founder of the newspaper. Some historians claim the newspaper was founded by the brothers Najeeb and Ibrahim Arbeely (who belonged to a prominent Syrian family), and that the founding editor was Najeeb Diab. Lilian George Shoucair claims that her father, Saed Shoucair, was the founding editor of ''Kawkab America'' and that the Arbeelys financed its publishing. She also stated that Saed Shoucair later bought the newspaper from the Arbeelys and that he had left it when he moved out of the city in 1907.Geißler, Rainer, and Horst Pöttker.
Media - Migration - Integration: European and North American Perspectives
'. Medienumbrüche, 33. Bielefeld: transcript, 2008. p. 199Miller, Sally M.
The ethnic press in the United States: a historical analysis and handbook
'. New York u.a: Greenwood Pr, 1987. p. 6 ''Kawkab America'' was the transliteration used at the time of publishing. However, the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

used the more direct transliteration ''Kawkab Amirka''. Only the issues of the first four years have been preserved.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kawkab America Arab-American culture in New York City Defunct newspapers published in New York City Arabic-language newspapers published in the United States Eastern Orthodoxy in New York (state) Newspapers established in 1892 Newspapers disestablished in 1908 Non-English-language newspapers published in New York (state) Daily newspapers published in New York City Syrian-American culture

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