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

Arabic-language Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

weekly (later daily) newspaper published in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. ''Kawkab America'' was the first Arabic-language newspaper in North America; it was published by

Syrian Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indig ...

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 Ottoman is the Turkish spelling of the Arabic masculine given name Uthman ( ar, عُثْمان, ‘uthmān). It may refer to: Governments and dynasties * Ottoman Caliphate, an Islamic caliphate from 1517 to 1924 * Ottoman Empire, in existence fro ...

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'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

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

Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, '' hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...

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 Najeeb Diab full name Najeeb Moussa Diab ( ar, نجيب موسى دياب; August 6, 1870 – July 11, 1936) was an early Syrian nationalist, founding owner of major Arabic language newspaper, publisher of Khalil Gibran and major force behind deve ...

. 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 histor. 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 the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The librar ...

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

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External links

* {{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 Publications disestablished in 1908 Non-English-language newspapers published in New York (state) Daily newspapers published in New York City Syrian-American culture

See also

References

External links