| Type | Official newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Founder(s) |
|
| Publisher | Wilāya Press |
| Editor-in-chief |
|
| Founded | 1916 |
| Language | Arabic |
| Ceased publication | September 1924 |
| Headquarters | Mecca |
| Country | Kingdom of Hejaz |
Al Qibla (Arabic:Direction of Mecca) was the official gazette of theKingdom of Hejaz.[1] The paper was backed by the British. It was in circulation between 1916 and 1924 and headquartered inMecca.[2] The paper was a four-page broadsheet and published twice a week, on Mondays and on Thursdays.[3]
The slogan ofAl Qibla was the followingverse taken fromQuran:[4]
And We did not make the qibla which you used to face except that We might make evident who would follow the Messenger from those who would turn on their heels.
Al Qibla was first published on 15 August 1916, five weeks after the capture of Mecca bySharif Hussein.[5][6] The founders of the paper wereMuhib Al Din Al Khatib and Fuad Al Khatib.[7] They were tasked by the British to start the paper to address the whole Arabic-reading public.[8] It was published by Wilāya Press in Mecca[6] on a semi-weekly basis.[5] Muhib Al Din Al Khatib was also its foundingeditor-in-chief.[9] Tayeb Al Sassi also served in the post.[3]
Shortly after its start Sharif Hussein became the King of Hejaz, and the coronation ceremony held in October 1916 was fully covered inAl Qibla.[10] 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.[11] It also published reports from European and other foreign newspapers and periodicals.[11] The British agents in the region helped the distribution of the paper.[12]
Following capture ofHejaz byAbdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud, founder and laterking of Saudi Arabia,Al Qibla was replaced byUmm al Qura.[1][5]Al Qibla folded after the publication of the last issue in September 1924.[6] It produced a total of 852 issues during its lifetime.[5]
Sharif Hussein was closely interested in the design of the paper and the language used in the news.[3] He also published several articles in the paper[13] which was supported by theBritish authorities.[7] From 1919 his name appeared as the editor-in-chief of the paper in the masthead.[6] The contributors ofAl Qibla were mostly Syrian exiles living in Egypt.[14]
Al Qibla had anArabist andIslamist ideology.[7] The goal of the paper was to strengthen the awareness of the Arabs and Muslims about the threats ofWahhabism againstIslam.[7]Al Qibla also opposed to theCommittee of Union and Progress and the military alliance of theOttoman Empire with theCentral Powers inWorld War I.[11] In addition, Sharif Hussein employed the publication to justify his revolt against the Ottoman Empire.[7] 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 theCaliphate should belong to the Arabs when the last Ottoman sultanMehmed VI expressed his intent to assume the role.[15]
Following the publication of theBalfour Declaration in November 1917 Sharif Hussein published a number of articles inAl Qibla in which he called for the cooperation withJews and asked Arabs to avoid conflicts with the British in that they would help them achieve independence.[16] The paper frequently praised the rule of Sharif Hussein whom it compared toMuhammad Ali Pasha, ruler of Egypt between 1805 and 1848.[8]
In the anniversary of the foundation of the Hashemite Kingdom of Hejaz several issues ofAl Qibla were reprinted and distributed as a supplement of the Jordanian daily newspapers, includingThe Jordan Times, in 2016.[17]