Al-Qaidah (newspaper)

Not to be confused with Al-Qaeda.

Al-Qaidah (Arabic: القاعدة, The Base) was an Arabic-language newspaper published in Iraq. It was an organ of the Iraqi Communist Party.^[1][2] It was printed clandestinely for thirteen years, albeit with interruptions.^[3]

Al-Qaidah

Founded	January 1943
Political alignment	Communist
Language	Arabic
Ceased publication	June 19, 1956 (1956-06-19)
Circulation	~5,400 (as of 1954–55)

The first issue of al-Qaidah came out in January 1943. Al-Qaidah was founded in the midst of a split in the party.^[3][4] It was set up by Daud as-Sayegh, Hussain Muhammad ash-Shabibi and Zaki Muhammad Basim, who were supporters of Yusuf Salman Yusuf (a.k.a. Comrade Fahd) in the party's Central Committee. The newspaper sought to compete with ash-Shararah ('The Spark') for the position as the party organ. The different factions were effectively known by the names of their publications.^[4] As-Sayegh served as editor of al-Qaidah before being expelled from the party.^[5]

Al-Qaidah was banned by the government, and being caught with an issue of the newspaper could result in a prison sentence.^[6] By 1947 al-Qaidah had a circulation of around 3,000.^[1]: 191 It was probably one of the most widely read newspapers in the country at the time.^[7] It was primarily read in Baghdad, the Shiite south and the Kurdish north.^[1]: 181 During 1954–55, seventeen issues of al-Qaidah were published. In spite of being an illegal underground publication, its issues had an average circulation of around 5,400.^[8]

In 1955 a workers newspaper, Ittihad ul-Amal was founded, after which al-Qaidah began focusing more on agrarian issues.^[9]

Al-Qaidah was shut down as the party reconciled with the Rayat ash-Shaghilah ('Toilers Banner') group, and Ittihad ash-Sha'ab ('People's Union') was founded as the new party organ.^[3][10][11] The last issue was published on June 19, 1956.^[11]

References

1. Elizabeth F. Thompson (15 April 2013). Justice Interrupted. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-07609-9.
2. Вадим Васильевич Кортунов (1983). Справочник пропагандиста-международника. Политиздат. p. 189.
3. Вестник Московского университета: Журналистика. Изд-во Московского Университета. 1972. p. 55.
4. Tareq Y. Ismael (2008). The Rise and Fall of the Communist Party of Iraq. Cambridge University Press. p. 28. ISBN 978-0-521-87394-9.
5. Ṣalāḥ Khurasān (1993). Safhat min tarikh al-harikah al-shuyuìyah fi al-Ìraq.
6. Sasson Somekh (2012). Life After Baghdad: Memoirs of an Arab-Jew in Israel, 1950–2000. Sussex Academic Press. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-84519-502-1.
7. Bassam Yousif (17 June 2013). Human Development in Iraq: 1950–1990. Routledge. p. 63. ISBN 978-1-136-61986-1.
8. Johan Franzén (2011). Red Star Over Iraq: Iraqi Communism Before Saddam. Hurst Publishers. p. 23. ISBN 978-1-84904-101-0.
9. Tareq Y. Ismael (2008). The Rise and Fall of the Communist Party of Iraq. Cambridge University Press. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-521-87394-9.
10. Johan Franzén (2011). Red Star Over Iraq: Iraqi Communism Before Saddam. Hurst Publishers. p. 69. ISBN 978-1-84904-101-0.
11. Tareq Y. Ismael (2008). The Rise and Fall of the Communist Party of Iraq. Cambridge University Press. pp. 60–61. ISBN 978-0-521-87394-9.

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