al-Muqtataf

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al-Muqtaṭaf
Al-Muqtataf Title Page Issue 1 Volume 2
description magazine
Area of ​​Expertise Science, encyclopedia
language Arabic
publishing company unknown (Beirut, Lebanon)
First edition 1876
attitude 1952
Frequency of publication per month
editor Yaqʿūb Ṣarrūf; Fāris Nimr; Shāhīn Makāriyūs
Web link [1]
ZDB 2823699-3

The Arabic-language magazine al-Muqtaṭaf ( Arabic المقتطف 'The Selection') was founded in 1876 by the Arab Christians Yaqʿūb Ṣarrūf (1852–1927) and Fāris Nimr (1856–1951) at the Syrian Protestant College (SPC, now the American University of Beirut ) in Beirut . Both graduated there with a Bachelor of Arts and Science and then worked as lecturers. Ṣarrūf, who over the years made a name for himself as an important science journalist and promoter of modern Arabic literature, was primarily interested in scientific and literary topics, while Nimr also devoted himself to current politics. The third editor, Šāhīn Makāriyūs (1853–1910), also a journalist, was responsible for the printing technology and developed it during the production of the magazines Našra al-Usbūʿīya (1871) and aṭ- Ṭabīb (1884–1885). Since there was no prospect of a scientific and journalistic career for Ṣarrūf and Nimr in Beirut, they moved to Cairo in 1884 and produced the magazine in a private printing house set up by Makāriyūs. In Egypt they simultaneously published the daily al-Muqaṭṭam (1889–1952), the monthly al-Laṭāʾif (1886–1896) and the Ǧarīdat as-Sūdān (The Sudan Times, 1903).

The al-Muqtaṭaf was published monthly from 1876 to 1952 in a total of 121 volumes in Beirut and Cairo. The course of publication was apparently not planned from the start, as the issues were only dated from the fourth year onwards. Until 1885, the time calculation only appeared according to the Gregorian calendar , after which the Islamic date was also given. In addition to Syria and Egypt , the editions were also distributed in Iraq and Iran and Yemen and were able to be distributed in numerous European countries, in America, Canada, Latin America and Australia, right up to India and China .

The al-Muqtaṭaf was not a political, but encyclopedic magazine, which was based on European and American models. The New York weekly American Artisan for Arts, Mechanics, Manufactures, Engineering, Chemistry, Inventions and Patents, for example, provided the crossed hammer and pen logo that was featured on the covers until the 1890s. The subtitle of the magazine was initially "ǧarīda ʿilmīya ṣināʿīya" ("Journal of Science and Industry") and already indicates that, with a few exceptions, daily politics was neglected. The aim of the editors was to inform readers in the Arab world about the scientific advances in the West at the time and how these findings could be used in everyday life. The scientific and literary topics covered in the magazine were very diverse. Treatises appeared on modern natural sciences, from anatomy to astronomy and from physics to veterinary medicine, as well as on agriculture and handicrafts . The theory of evolution and Darwinism received a special status in the first few years of publication and led to lively discussions among the authors and readers. Cultural and social topics and literature have grown in relevance over time, and translations of European literature have been published more frequently. The column for disputation and correspondence (Bāb al-Munāẓara wa-l-Murāsala) and the column for questions and answers (Masāʿil wa-aǧwibatuhā) enabled and promoted social, scientific and political debates. Authors and readers were able to express themselves by means of letters and letters to the editor, debate with other authors and ask questions. The importance of interaction with the readership is also evident from numerous reader surveys, the results of which were published continuously in the editions. It was also important for the authors to supplement the articles with numerous illustrations, which were initially black and white and from 1926 onwards in color. From March 1885 on, numerous advertisements appeared, which from October 1886 were published in Arabic and English for a wider audience on several pages. Overall, this encyclopedic educational journal, the only one of its kind at the time, had a considerable influence on the numerous scientific, social and political debates in the Arab world. Thanks to their publications, fields of science, European literature and social issues have become popular and widely discussed.

literature

  • Dagmar Glaß: The al-Muqtaṭaf and his public. Enlightenment, Reasoning and Opinion Controversy in Early Arab Magazine Communication, Volume I, Würzburg 2004, pp. 42, 113.
  • Ayalon, Ami (1992): "Sihafa: The Arab experiment in journalism.", In: MES, Vol. XXVIII, 2, pp. 258-280.
  • Ayalon, Ami (1995): The Press in the Arab Middle East: A History, New York: Oxford University Press, p. 53.
  • Farang, Nadia (1972): "The Lewis Affair and the Fortunes of al-Muqtataf", in: Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 73-83.
  • Glaß, Dagmar (1995): “The Masāʾil column in al-Muqtaṭaf. An indicator for the reception of an Arab science journal of the 19th century? ”, In: Herzog, Christoph / Motika, Raoul / Pistor-Hatam, Anja (eds.): Press and Public in the Middle East, Heidelberg: Heidelberger Orientverlag.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Glaß, Dagmar (2004): The al-Muqta? Af and its public. Enlightenment, reasoning and disputes of opinion in early Arab magazine communication, 2 vols., Würzburg: Ergon Verlag., P. 61.
  2. ^ Glaß, Dagmar (1995): “The Masail column in al-Muqtataf. An indicator for the reception of an Arab science journal of the 19th century? ”, In: Herzog, Christoph / Motika, Raoul / Pistor-Hatam, Anja (1995): Press and Public in the Middle East, Heidelberg: Heidelberger Orientverlag, p. 59– 82.
  3. ^ Glaß, Dagmar (2004), pp. 185ff.
  4. ↑ Ibid., P. 195.
  5. ↑ Ibid., P. 205.
  6. ↑ Ibid., P. 73.
  7. ↑ cf. al-Muqtataf, 5th year, 1st edition, 1880.
  8. ↑ cf. al-Muqtataf, 10th year, 2nd edition, 1885.
  9. ^ Glaß, Dagmar (2004), p. 249.
  10. ↑ Ayalon, Ami (1992): "Sihafa: The Arab experiment in journalism.", In: MES, Vol. XXVIII, 2, p. 258.
  11. ^ Glaß, Dagmar (2004), p. 212.
  12. ^ Glaß, Dagmar (1995), p. 62.
  13. ^ Ayalon, Ami (1995): The Press in the Arab Middle East: A History, New York: Oxford University Press, p. 53.
  14. ↑ Farang, Nadia (1972): The Lewis Affair and the Fortunes of al-Muqtataf, in: Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 8, No. 1, p. 74ff.
  15. ^ Glaß, Dagmar (2004), p. 223ff.
  16. ^ Ibid.
  17. ↑ u. a. al- Muqtataf, from 5th year, 8th edition, 1881.
  18. ↑ al-Muqtataf, June-December 1921.
  19. ↑ al-Muqtataf August 1926th
  20. ^ Glaß, Dagmar (2004), pp. 250f.
  21. ^ Ayalon, Ami (1995): The Press in the Arab Middle East: A History, New York: Oxford University Press, p. 55.