History of Ahram Online

Al-Ahram (Arabic: الأهرام, lit. 'The Pyramids'), founded on 5 August 1876, is the most widely circulating Egyptian daily newspaper, and the second-oldest after Al-Waqa'i' al-Misriyya (The Egyptian Events, founded 1828). It is majority owned by the Egyptian government, and is considered a newspaper of record for Egypt. Given the many varieties of Arabic language, Al-Ahram is widely considered an influential source of writing style in Arabic.^[1]

History

Al-Ahram was founded in Alexandria in 1876 by two Lebanese Melkite Christian brothers, Beshara Takla and Saleem Takla. It began as a weekly newspaper published every Saturday. Its first issue appeared on 5 August 1876.^[1]

Under Heikal

President Gamal Abdel Nasser made his friend Mohamed Hassanein Heikal editor-in-chief of al-Ahram in 1957, and the paper gained semi-official status. On 24 May 1960, it was nationalized when Nasser passed a law eliminating the ownership of private newspapers. Under Nasser, al-Ahram became an internationally respected paper.^[1]

Profile and editions

Al-Ahram daily is the flagship of what is now the Al-Ahram publishing house, the largest in Egypt. Al-Ahram's headquarters is in Boulaq, Cairo. Its content was controlled by the Egyptian Ministry of Information.^[1]

Ownership and government influence

Al-Ahram is owned by the Al-Ahram Foundation which is managed by the Egyptian government's "Supreme Council of Press". Al-Ahram is one of the largest circulating newspapers in the world. Long-term editor of the daily Mohammad Hassanein Haykal was the confidant of Nasser and also, the semi-official voice of the Egyptian government when he was in office.^[1]

Notable writers and editors

Mohamed Hassanein Heikal was the long-term editor-in-chief of Al Ahram. He served in the post between August 1957 and 1974. Ali Amin served as editor-in-chief between 1974 and 1976.^[1]