45 عاماً من 'Arab News': أحداث تاريخية غيّرت الشرق الأوسط
يحتفي المقال بالذكرى الخامسة والأربعين لتأسيس صحيفة Arab News، مستعرضاً 45 حدثاً تاريخياً بارزاً صاغت معالم الشرق الأوسط منذ عام 1975. تشمل أبرز هذه اللحظات زيارة السادات إلى إسرائيل عام 1977، والثورة الإيرانية عام 1979، والحرب السوفيتية-الأفغانية.
For Arab News' 45th anniversary, we look back at our part in more than four decades of history including 45 events that made an impact special edition
Nov.19,1977 Egyptian President Anwar Sadat becomes the first Arab leader to visit Israel, in a bid to bring about peace between two countries locked in conflict since Israel's foundation 30 years earlier.
After 10 days of talks at Camp David, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin sign a historic treaty ending three decades of conflict between the countries.
Sept.17,1978
Nov.20,1979
Nov. 20, 1979 About 260 armed extremists seize the Grand Mosque in Makkah, beginning a two-week siege that leaves hundreds dead and causes a reversal of modernization from which Saudi Arabia is only now recovering.
The Soviet Union invades Afghanistan, triggering an ultimately pointless conflict with mujahideen guerrilla forces that rages for nine years and claims more than a million lives.
oil company, which had begun the 1970s American owned.
Sept.22,1980 Iraqi aircraft bomb 10 air bases in Iran, launching a brutal war between the two neighbors that drags on for eight years and costs up to a million lives.
May 25,1981
The Gulf Cooperation Council is created at a conference in Abu Dhabi, bringing together the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait to work together in their best mutual interest.
Lebanese Christian militiamen enter the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Beirut and, as Israeli troops look on and block exits, embark on a 36-hour massacre of Muslim men, women and children.
Two suicide truck bombs kill 244 US Marines at their barracks in Beirut and 58 French paratroopers stationed nearby.
Oct.23,
Two suicide
Moroccan Nawal El-Moutawakel on the podium after receiving her gold medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Getty Images
The south tower of New York's World Trade Center collapses after being hit by a hijacked plane on Sept. 11, 2001. AFP
Feb.8,1985
Arabsat-IA, the Arab world's first satellite operated by the Riyadh-based Arabsat, is launched using an Ariane 3 rocket from a base in Kourou, French Guiana.
Dec.9,1987
Oct.13,1988 Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz becomes the first Egyptian and the first writer with Arabic as his native tongue to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Dec.21,1988 Pan Am Flight 103 en route to New York, is blown up by a bomb hidden in a suitcase and crashes on the Scottish town of Lockerbie, killing all 259 passengers and crew and 11 residents on the ground.
moments that changed the Middle East
Oct.22,1989 After 23 days of talks brokered by Saudi Arabia, the Muslim and Christian members of the Lebanese Parliament produce the Taif Agreement, a national conciliation charter designed to end 15 years of civil war.
To mark the 45th anniversary of Arab News, we decided to look at 45 historic events and their impact on the region since we began on April 20,1975
Lebanese peace 18 Fall of the Berlin Wall 19 First Gulf War 20 Boutros Boutros-Ghail appointed UN chief 21 Oslo Accords 22 Khobar Towers bombing 23 Kosovo conflict 24 9/11 5 Fire at a Makkah girls' school 6 The rise of Erdogan's AKP 7 US war on Iraq 8 Asassination of Rafio Hariri 9 Birth of the iPhone 10 Global financial crisis in 2008 11 Saudi Arabia attends its first G20 summit 12 Dubai's Burj Khalifa opens 13 Arab Spring 14 Egypt's Hosni Mubarak resists
Dec. 3,1991 Egyptian politician Boutros Boutros-Ghali is appointed the sixth secretary-general of the UN, becoming the first Arab and the first person from Africa to hold the post.
Bill Clinton with Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat at the signing of the Oslo Accords, Sept. 13, 1993. AFP
April 20,1975. Besides looking at how Arab News covered these events, our staff members and correspondents around the world will be writing about their larger impact.Starting on the back
June 25,1996 A truck bomb destroys the Khobar Towers building in Saudi Arabia housing coalition forces enforcing the southern no-fly zone over Iraq: 19 US personnel and one Saudi citizen are killed.
Saudi Aramco President and CEO Amin Minaer launches the energy giant's IPO on the Riyadh Tadawal on Dec. 11, 2019. AFP
March 5,1998 The Kosovo Liberation Army launches an armed uprising against Serbian rule in the mainly Muslim Yugoslav province of Kosovo, drawing a harsh response from Belgrade and triggering a humanitarian crisis.
On the cover: The '45 moments that changed the Middle East' collage on Arab News's cover is by Mexican illustrator Axel Rangel García, who works for the illustration agency illozoo. His work has also appeared in POLITICO Europe and Forbes Mexico.
Sept.15,2008 The collapse of Lehman Brothers leads to a stock market crash that balloons into a global financial crisis, causing a debt crisis in Dubai the following year.
VISION 2030
Nov.14-15,2008 Saudi Arabia begins participating in G20 meetings at the Washington Summit, where King Abdullah and other state leaders discuss ways to deal with the global economic crisis.
Feb.14, 2005 Rafic Hariri, Lebanon's former prime minister and the architect of the Taif Agreement that ended the 15-year Lebanese civil war, is killed by a massive bomb hidden in a van on Beirut's Corniche.
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, closing borders and airspace and imposing an economic blockade that remains in place to this day.
June 24,2018
April 11,2019 Thirty years after he seized power, Sudanese dictator Omar Bashir is overthrown in a military coup following months of popular protests against his regime.
45TH ANNIVERSARY
How Arab News was born
Hisham and Mohammed Hafiz launched Saudi Arabia's English-language daily on April 20,1975
Tarek Mishkhas Jeddah
Brothers Hisham and Mohammed Hafiz had a dream: To publish a daily, English-language newspaper in Saudi Arabia. In 1972, they began to seriously discuss how they might turn that dream into a reality.
Almost everyone they spoke to was skeptical about the idea. Undeterred, in 1974, they pushed ahead with their plans and began to buy the equipment they needed They also hired Ahmad Mahmoud to be the newspaper's first editorin-chief, and sent him to Pakistan to hire a team of journalists.
The first issue of Arab News, a 16-page tabloid, was published on April 20,1975, from a small garage in Jeddah. Thanks to its instant popularity, and the quantity of advertising it generated, by the end of August it had blossomed into a broadsheet.
The late Farouk Luqman, who died in July 2019 at the age of 84, was there at the beginning and became editor-in-chief 18 years later. In his book "Globalization of the Arabic Press," he told the story of the Hafiz brothers and their incredible journey, which began with the launch of Arab News and grew into the biggest publishing house in the Middle East. He revealed that in the early days the newspaper had only six employees, including the editor-in-chief.
including the editor-in-chief. "We were doing everything from writing stories to translating news and laying out pages," said Luqman, who was managing editor at the time of the launch. The entire operation was based in the garage -from writing, editing and layout to advertising and administration.
According to Luqman, Arab News proved popular not only with Europeans and Americans but also Asians and Africans.
The Hafiz brothers went on to publish over a dozen newspapers and magazines, but Arab News retained a special place in their hearts. AN
Rawan Radwan Jeddah
The world's best startups began in a garage
All startups must begin somewhere, and many of the world's largest - Microsoft, Dell, Google, Amazon, Apple and Disney all started in a simple garage. On April 20,1975, brothers Hisham and Mohammed Hafiz turned a dream into reality by establishing a startup that continues to prosper 45 years later.
INNOVATION
the heart of Jeddah, home to many businesses, showrooms and luxury residential buildings at the time.
Mahmoud added that he did not
During an interview in 2005, Mahmoud, the first editor-in-chief, recalled the offer of the top job caught him off guard. "One fine morning in 1974, I got a call from Mohammed Ali Hafiz asking me to meet him and his brother," he said. "At that time I was with Al-Madinah Arabic newspaper. They told me about
their project and, in breath, offered me the editor-in-chief. That completely by surprise
the same the post of took me "
it clear that I had no experience in English journalism," he said. The response of the Hafiz brothers was: "When one is a journalist, one will always be a journalist."
Like all new arrivals, Arab News had its share of teething problems. Following some trial dummy runs, Mahmoud — assisted by Luqman, who had experience of English language journalism — encountered a series of niggling problems as they tried to put this new and novel venture to bed every night.
Despite the l of additional publications laun newspaper's pub past 45 years, most Al-Awsat, Arab N
large number successful reached by the shers in the notably Asharq news retains a
"There were challenges and trials, but with youthful determination and zest we did our best and overcame them," Mahmoud said. "Arab News came out in difficult circumstances. As it was the first of its kind, we had to face up to the fact of limited news sources, a dearth of photographs, inadequate manpower and poor printing quality. Despite all this, surprisingly, the paper was well received." Despite the large number of additional successful
We worked until dawn preparing the first issue and the publishers stayed with us all the time until we printed.
special place in their hearts.
In 1982, the newsroom moved to the Al-Madina Printing and Publishing building in Al-Faisaliyah district, a landmark building not far from the former location. The residents of the city called it the "Sharq Al-Awsat and Arab News building." For many of the workers who recall those hectic first years, the memories of the small printing garage are still fresh in their minds, as they were part of a flourishing future that carried the legacy of two dreamers.
Noting that almost all of the hundreds of newspapers available in a variety languages are published on white paper, they decided to print theirs on green stock so that it would stand out. Later, Arab News began to follow its sister paper's example, using green paper for its front page.
My experience of working as editor in chief of Arab News was both rich and unique.The newspaper reaches a large audience in the region and
MOHAMMED FAHAD AL-HARTHI
internationally, and exerts an important influence on the media landscape.
It is a fact that anyone who works at Arab News develops an emotional connection with the newspaper that lasts forever. It is a unique publication created by a team made up of many nationalities, and this gives it a distinctive international dimension.
I have worked on a number of publications produced by the Saudi Research and Marketing Group, but my experience with Arab News was different because its audience is different — it targets English-language speakers. It was also the first newspaper launched by SRMG.
I have many fond memories of my time with Arab News, but the most vivid is the launch of its political dialogue forum. Through the forum, we were able to initiate discussions about a number of important issues with foreign ambassadors in Saudi Arabia. Such dialogue is important not only to encourage interaction,
Mohammed Fahad Al-Harthi was Arab News editor in chief from Jan. 5, 2013 to Sept. 25. 2016
but also because of the issues that it highlights. Arab News also acts as a link between the foreign and local media; many international agencies and other news outlets turn to the newspaper for reliable news, information and opinions from inside the Kingdom. This helps it to maintain a network of relationships with foreign media outlets, provide a neutral stance and attempt to convey the facts from Saudi Arabia.
I still work for the same group, on an important English-language media project that I was proud to launch: The About Her website. It
Women in the Kingdom are increasingly empowered as a result of the recent, significant changes and developments in Saudi society which have attracted a great deal of media attention. This is what motivated the development and launch of About Her.I am happy to say the website has been very successful and attracts a large audience.
An insider's view of the early years of Arab News
Veteran journalist Roohul Amin was one of the first to join the newspaper's editorial team
LAUNCH
A page from the newspaper's 20th anniversary supplement on April 20,1995. AN
Aamir Saeed Karachi
Macintosh com was added, whi workflow and streamline the process.
outer system ch improved helped to production
The veteran journalist was among the first to join the newspaper's editorial team. He played a part in some of the most memorable events in the publication's history, and to mark its 45th anniversary, he shared his memories of some of them.
in the UK, the fall of the Marcos regime in the Philippines, the rise of the Congress Party in India, the tragedies of the Gandhi family, and the days of Bhutto and Gen. Zia in Pakistan.
"It was a small space," he said. "Everyone sat together in a single room — from publishers to office boys. Later, the office moved to Al-Faisaliya district, where we had a simple but elegant building."
The printing process, he said, was time consuming in those days because it used Linotype machines, a "hot metal" typesetting system that created blocks of metal type. The flow of local news was little more than a trickle, he added, so the newspaper had to rely on stories from the news wires to fill its pages. The editorial staff had to work
He said he developed good relationships with his fellow journalists, and with the staff working on
other person's views."
Such was Amin's dedication to the newspaper, some of his friends called him the "soul and spirit" of Arab News. On weekends, he often drove coworkers to Makkah. These were memorable trips, he said, which he remembers fondly. He is proud of the great friendships he developed with other members the production team, whose creativity he always admired. In particular, he said, he was fascinated by the work of
the graphics desk. He described his experience of working under a number of editors in chief, including Ahmad Mahmoud, Mohammed Al-Shibani, Abdul Qader Tash, Farooq Luqman and Khaled Almaeena, as enjoyable and profitable.
"There was great coordination with one another and we always helped each other," he said. "We used to share our viewpoints with one another, but we always respected the other person's views."
Amin, in turn, became a respected figure among his bosses and his co-workers, all of whom paid tribute to his conscientious approach to work.
Below: The newspaper used to run quiz competitions in the past and there would be thousands of entries. The group's general manager of the time, Ahmad Mahmoud, left, and Roohul Amin, center, are seen at the draw of lots being conducted to pick the winners. Arab News Archives
hours. They realized how important it was at such a crucial time in the history of the nation and the region to maintain the flow of breaking news from the northern front. Sometimes, he said, staff
veteran cartoonist Mahmoud Kahil.
1980S EDITOR
Of course, there were some hard times, he said, but when things were challenging, everybody pitched in and worked as a team, creating a bond of true friendship of which he will be forever proud.
Typewriters and pencils
During the First Gulf War, for example, Amin remembers how reporters and subeditors worked hard to cover events taking place on the northern borders
Amin congratulated the newspaper on reaching its 45th anniversary. He said he was impressed by the recent launches of its online Pakistan and Japan editions, and hopes it will continue to flourish. His experience while living in the Kingdom was excellent, he added, and he misses the country — especially being so close to the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.
How it was working for the newspaper in the late 1980s and early 1990s
HOW WE WROTE IT
The paper's slogan was "The Middle East's Leading English Language Daily." The Arab News logo atop the front page was written in lower case letters in an arabesque style. I worked as an editor and edito
I worked as an editor and editorial writer. One editorial was published each day, seven days a week.
Fahd denounces Iraq's 'most horrible aggression' as Kingdom demands pullout, return of Al-Sabah Front page, Friday, August 10, 1990
I worked under three different editors-in-chief, each of whom brought a different approach to the post. Khaled Almaeena focused on promoting the newspaper, Farouk Luqman was the paper's engine room, while Abdul Qader Tash had to play catch-up because he previously worked on Arabic-language publications. We addressed them as Mr. or Ustaz or Dr., followed by their first name. One of my colleagues at Arab News was Jamal Khashoggi. I
I was as ill of us or of Dr. followed by their first name.
Their premises because men in teachers died by Arab News was part of what was One of my colleagues at Arab News was Jamal Khashoggi. I didn't know him well but he was big in physique and heart, an affable character and very down to earth.
Arab News was part of what was then called the Saudi Research and Marketing Company. The founders and owners of the publishing
during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990. Saddam Hussein had captured Kuwait in a matter of hours and was marshaling thousands of troops on the Saudi border. But for at least the first 10 days we could not publish a word about what was happening because we were barred from criticizing other Arab countries.
Experts from the Kingdom and other countries were brought in to show us how to use the new contraptions, but it was a slog for many of us. We had to throw away our pens and paper, set aside many of our hard-earned manual-editing skills and learn what was essentially a new way to work.
business, brothers Hisham and Mohammed Hafiz, humble as they were, would pray with the staff usually at Maghreb times.
The copy was then given to the proofreaders who crowded around a long, rectangular table in the basement on which sat piles of paper. To speed things up, we would send the stories to the basement in tube chutes. One night the stories got stuck in the tube, holding up the newspaper's midnight deadline.
Sub-editors used pencils and markers to draw pages on dummies that were six columns wide and 2 cm deep. We would manually count the number of lines, and sometimes words, in a story to try to ensure that it was neither too long nor too short for the space it had to fill. The copy was then given to
After proofreading, the stories were printed on strips of bromide that were pasted by the layout staff onto newspaper-sized dummies.
When I started working for Arab News, there were no computers, internet, or mobile phones in the office. Reporters wrote their stories on typewriters. Sub-editors edited ticker stories, mostly from Reuters, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse.
Arab News had two main rival publications in the Kingdom: The Saudi Gazette and the Riyadh Daily. The former was a formidable publication that kept us on our toes as we competed with it. The latter ceased publication in 2004.
A famous Japanese proverb states that a vision without an action plan is a daydream, but an action plan without a vision is a nightmare. I am proud and humbled to say we have one of the most promising and empowering visions. Vision 2030 has enabled 50 percent of the population to play an active part in nation-building. That is not to say women did not
achieved by a royal decree in 2011. My fourth dream was to buy tickets to attend a local match in Saudi Arabia. That came true in January 2018 when I attended the first local match in King Abdullah Aljohara Stadium between Alahli Club and Al-Batin FC. It was an ecstatic feeling with beautiful and respectful cheering crowds, eroding certain segments' fears regarding a possible catastrophe with women attending games in stadiums. My 60th dream was to switch
"Wild Female Dreams" is the title of my article as a teen editor in chief of the Jeddah Girls Gazette in 1995. Writers and contributors were dynamic high-school friends and family members. My uncle Tariq was our mentor and publisher.
it may have seemed, related to the sense of modesty for women. In the 1990s, there were no women in retail, and salesmen dominated female apparel outlets. The campaign in 2008, headed by Reem Assad and aimed at replacing salesmen with women in lingerie shops, made waves and eventually victory was achieved by a royal decree in 2011. My fourth dream was to buy
Lina Almaeena Jeddah
Wild female dreams in 1990s Saudi Arabia How Arab News helped support a teen's hopes for women in the Kingdom
As we experience the curfew, I also get to do something I was never able to do in the past. I ride my bike safely around my neighborhood before the 3 p.m. curfew and visit the mini-market next to my house. All I can think about is the last
All I can think about is the last two questions in my article "Wild Female Dreams." Can these dreams be reality? Can the impossible be possible? The answer is a double YES. But we will need a newspaper to document this, and what better one than Arab News to do so. Happy 45th anniversary and many more anniversaries to come.
OPINION
Diplomats call Arab News an 'indispensable' resource
- Ambassadors share fond memories of Kingdom's first English-language daily
Rashid Hassan Riyadh Sib Kaifee Islamabad
With hundreds of thousands of readers around the world, Arab News - the Middle East's leading English-language daily has every reason to celebrate its 45th anniversary.
As Arab News celebrates its 45th anniversary, heads of foreign missions in Riyadh have praised the leading English-language daily for providing indispensable journalism over more than four decades.
The newspaper, known for its objectivity, credibility and professional approach, has come a long way from a modest beginning to become one the most reliable sources of information for people in Saudi Arabia, the Middle East and North Africa.
Thanks to its expanding digital platforms, Arab News is now also read by people across the globe, with two more editions in Pakistan and Japan adding value for its readership.
senior government officials. Diplomatic Quarter, a weekly column published every Thursday, has become popular among envoys who see Arab News as a highly reliable source of information. "Packed with informa-
Recalling his encounters with the editorial staff during two visits to the Arab News headquarters, Ejaz said: "It was a wonderful experience in the sense that they had some very candid, forthright and diverse views on matters of regional and international interest. For me it was a pleasant and educating experience."
Moreover, new elements added recently to the paper's columns have drawn positive responses from readers, especially diplomats, businessmen and senior government officials.
Above: A reader in Islamabad catches up on the latest in Arab News.
to open Arab News and find open windows into the Kingdom, in the region that is dear to me."
Danish Ambassador Ole Moesby said: "I want to congratulate Arab News — 45 years ago, it was also
Indian Ambassador Dr. Ausaf Sayeed said: "Arab News is the leading English daily in the Kingdom and is known for its high-quality journalism, covering both international and domestic news for expatriates and Saudi nationals."
the day when diplomatic relations between the Kingdom and Denmark started.
"In my tenure of two and half years, I always had a chance to look at Arab News on my computer, iPad and mobile phone, and also have it in my office to read. We really depend on your lovely newspaper," he added.
South Korean Ambassador Jo Byung-wook said: "I start my day reading Arab News, which has the motto 'The Voice of a Changing Region,' and is the Middle East's leading English-language daily and major source of local and international news.
"As a regular reader I found many important commentaries and valuable opinions in this newspaper. In my view, Arab News plays a very important role in introducing the world to the Kingdom and Arab countries, and in introducing the Kingdom and Arab countries to the world," he said, adding this would help enhance relations between China the Middle East.
WHAT THEY SAID
"You're looking at 7 World Champions."
Francois Gouyette French Ambassador
when it comes to cars and trucks, nobody can beat Toyota! With a range of selection like this, no wonder Toyota is #1 in Saudi Arabia. • The Toyota Corolla—the economy champion. It's the best selling car in the world. • The Toyota Crown—the luxury champion. It's the most luxurious Toyota ever built. • The Toyota Crossland—the value champion. It's the #1 selling Toyota car in the Kingdom. • The Toyota Hi-Lux—the utility champion. It's the #1 selling pickup in the Kingdom. • The Toyota Celica—the styling champion. It's a winner in modern design. • The Toyota Land Cruiser—the 4-wheel drive champion. It’s been the #1 selling 4 wheel drive truck in the Kingdom for over 20 years. In fact, 9 out of 10 4-wheel drive vehicles sold in the Kingdom are Toyota Land Cruisers.
So see the 1080 Toyota at the ALJ branch nearest you. The only problem you'll have is deciding which one to buy*
Arab News plays a very important role in introducing the world to the Kingdom and Arab countries.
Choose your companion before the road.Toyota.
Business adverts were common in the 1970s as the Kingdom enjoyed a tremendous economic boom. AN
perfume.
Adverts for perfumes — all, naturally, from Europe — are a recurring theme during the paper's early years, along with an ever-present subtext that will remind social historians that throughout the world in the 1970s, sexism was still the norm. The scent Caron Paris, reads one advert from September 1975, "is the kind of French every woman understands."
ADVERTISING
I tell you what I did with the car?). But the adverts tell other stories, exclusive to the rapidly transforming and vibrant Saudi economy, fueled by the flow of oil, which by 1976 had hit a record 3 billion barrels per year. Throughout the 1970s, the paper's classified ads recorded a period of almost frantic entrepreneurship as businesses large and small sought to profit from the Kingdom's rapid development. A Bombay-based employment agency, unmiling kinds of personnel to
Arab News' ads from the 1970s give us a fascinating and often humorous look at Saudi Arabia's past
Ads a quirky trip down memory lane
beautiful color prints hat develop in front of your eyes
ceilings, placed by a company in France, is another offering cranes for hire, complete with "expert American operators."
American operators." For those making vast amounts of money from Saudi Arabia's development boom, discreet international banking services are offered by the Foreign Commerce Bank, "your private banking connection in Switzerland." Meanwhile, an American manufacturer of modular, precast concrete and steel structures, "suitable for homes, apartments, offices, warehouses, schools hospitals, etc.", urgently seeks a distributor in the Kingdom. On July 16, 1977, many businesses
In a reminder that the first desktop computer, or word processor, had still not arrived to revolutionize the worlds of business and leisure, an advert for a male secretary placed in December 1979 demands 60-70-word-per-minute shorthand — and skill in "IBM typing."
An advert from Dec. 13, 1979 placed by Algosalbi Foods congratulated the royal family after the end of the 10-day siege of the Grand Mosque in Makkah. AN
For a reminder of just how boxy most cars used to be, look no further than page 5 of the issue of Dec. 5,1979,where none
declaring that the formerly popular tourist destination was "back in business, back 'en route"'
leadership. "We rejoice in the resounding victory of the Saudi forces over the band of renegades responsible for desecrating Islam's holiest shrine, the Holy
Kaaba," read one half-page advert from Algosaibi Foods, which congratulated King Khalid, Crown Prince Fahd, Prince Abdullah "and the valiant Saudi people." Within weeks, 63 of the captured terrorists had been executed in eight cities across Saudi Arabia, but the country was to pay a high price for the victory. The seizure of the mosque shocked the entire Islamic world and, coming as it did in the wake of the Iranian revolution, provoked concerns that the Kingdom was embracing Western ways too fast, too soon, leading to a reversal of modernization from which Saudi society is only now recovering.
nights over Christmas at Al-Hada Sheraton hotel, can be found sombre reminders that the Kingdom's path to development and modernization was far from smooth. In the issue of Dec. 13
CARTOONISTS
Editorial cartoonists have provided us with much-needed comic relief in bleak times
category. During his career, he has drawn countless cartoons, some more dark than funny, others more funny than dark, but always thought-provoking.
thought-provoking.
"Over the years I have drawn many caricatures that express different issues, so I am not able to identify a specific drawing close to me, but some of my works carry cherished memories. Examples are letters of thanks and praise from government officials for drawings that have been published, or thanks from the editorial staff of the newspaper," he said.
He could not point a single
Rayes joined Arab News four years ago and was the recipient of last year's Saudi Media Award in the caricature category.
Mahmoud Kahil, the famous Lebanese-born British editorial cartoonist, was one of the greatest artists to be featured in Arab News. Mahmoud Kahil Archives
Having worked for the Saudi Research and Publishing Co. for nearly 20 years, his work has been featured in a range of publications, including Arab News's sister paper Asharg Al-Awsat. Power joined Arab News.
Kahil was at heart a humanist. He cared for the poor, the oppressed and the dispossessed.
Khaled Almaeena, former editor-in-chief, on Mahmoud Kahil.
The Pakistan edition has landed several major scoops with its investigations. AN
"I am a visual artist before I am a cartoonist. This is reflected in my
PAKISTAN
After getting published in several weekly newspapers, he moved to the local daily press as a full-time artist. Since 2005, his work has been published in Arab News in conjunction with Asharq Al-Awsat. Known for his unique style and visuals, as well as his signature sense of humor, Rasmi has been recognized internationally for his various published works.
source of inspiration, saying that he found many things in his daily life inspiring. "The community around me, from my family and friends to the general public, even people in the street are sources of ideas. Even situations or issues I find on social media articles in newspapers"
"The strongest motivation in my life to become a cartoonist in the beginning was the job, frankly. It started out that way at first, and now it is my life," he said.
Amjad Rasmi discovered his interest in caricature while attending the Jordan Institute of Fine Arts in the mid-1990s, but what began as a simple money earner became a way of life.
"I found myself drawn to caricature and started drawing for my first publication at the age of 15 when I was still in school," he said.
Arab News cartoonists balance barrier-breaking, appropriate content. AN
Arab News boasts some of the top editorial cartoonists in the region. Always on the nose, carefully toeing the line between the appropriate and the barrier-breaking, they have been speaking about how they got into the business and some of the favorite aspects of their work, while also offering advice to up-and-coming artists. Mohammed Rauz, known from
Pakistan edition praised for fair and balanced reporting
that not many people realize," added Rasmi.
- In just two years, it has carved a niche in the country's challenging media landscape
diverse cultures of both regions for a growing readership, and maintaining an impeccable, untainted track record of credibility. Arab News Asia Bureau Chief Baker Atyani said: "Stories about the Middle East and Arabs have always appeared in Pakistan's media. But what's new here is we are trying to present it through our own eyes and not through the eyes of the international media." He also highlighted the technical
Mahmoud Kahil, the famous Lebanese-born British editorial cartoonist, was one of the greatest artists to be featured in Arab News.
Arab News arrived on the Pakistani media landscape as part of the newspaper's ongoing global and digital expansion. With the aim of reporting news from across Asia, it hired a team of skilled journalists and assembled a network of freelance contributors.
He also highlighted the technical innovations that the Pakistan edition is implementing.
News Pakistan's success is its talented team of reporters, editors and social media producers who sort through the news, checking facts and covering developments as they happen. It resists the temptation to publish news stories based on existing media reports from other outlets, instead striving to carve out a niche of its own in a challenging media landscape.
During its short life so far it has delivered several scoops, published important investigative reports, brought intriguing and public-interest stories to the fore, and helped bridge the information gap between the Middle East and Pakistan. All of this while highlighting the rich,
The promotion of quality over quantity, fact debunking fiction, and attracting readers without sensationalizing stories are the bedrocks on which Arab News was built. It was the Kingdom's first English-language daily, and the Pakistan edition carries on this tradition through the practice of ethical journalism, while diligently navigating the country's complexities and its vibrant media landscape.
"I think there is a lot of information out there. There is a lot of clutter," said senior online editor Wajahat Ali. "What Arab News is trying to do is bring clarity out of that clutter. We are trying to find information gaps and provide information to our readers that is as authentic as possible."
Reporter Aamir Saeed said:"Arab News has allowed reporters to explore fresh angles that the local media usually ignores."
"The difference between Arab News and other media is that it doesn't believe in sensationalism," said Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry, who inaugurated the Arab News Pakistan bureau last year. "It is focusing on serious issues. This is what we expect from a serious media group like Arab News."
Arab News (is) very useful."
Social media producer Sehrish Ghaffar, a core member of the publishing team, said that Arab News Pakistan "is encouraging women to participate in the field of social media, which is the front line of any news network in this digital world."
Mohammed Ishtiaq, also a senior online editor, added: "Arab News always looks toward a story with an objective eye."
"We hope that Japan will have a fruitful future and I would like to congratulate Arab News; this
On Oct. 21, 2019, Arab News did something no other media outlet from the Arab world has done: Launch a dedicated online edition in Japanese, as part of its ongoing global expansion.
When Arab News arrived in Japan
The launch, which took place in Tokyo the day before the enthrancement of Emperor Naruhito, was a reflection of the cordial business, trading and cultural relations between Saudi Arabia and Japan. The news website www.arabnews.jp, which is available in both Japanese and English, focuses on enabling an exchange of information between Japan and the Arab world in a number of fields, including business, current affairs, and arts and culture.
Ali S. Itani Tokyo
"Since 1955, business has been great between the two countries. We appreciate all the
The Japanese edition of Arab News is the first international edition published in a language other than English, and the second after the successful launch of Arab News Pakistan edition. The launches are in line with what Abbas described as "part of our more digital, more global direction."
the time the minister of foreign affairs, for an interview in July, 2019. Japan hosted the G20 last year, before a historic handover of the presidency to Saudi Arabia for 2020. The Kingdom is the first Arab and Islamic country afforded the honor. The Japanese edition of Arab
JAPAN
in the Egyptian capital, graduating in sociology.
Arab News produced extensive coverage of the three-day visit to the region, including a special edition printed to mark the occasion. In addition, the newspaper was honored when the prime minister personally thanked the editor in chief for the launch of the Japanese edition during a private meeting, at which Abe was presented with a special hand-drawn cover in Japanese welcoming him to the Kingdom.
in sociology. Less than three months after its launch, Arab News Japan was quoted by Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Motegi Toshimitsu during a press briefing. He cited a special report by the newspaper titled "How Arabs view Japan," which was based on a survey conducted by Arab News in conjunction with YouGov. The report, which asked more than 3,000 Arabs in 18 countries for their views and perspectives on Japan, was widely circulated in the Japanese media. Arab News Japan was also in
the case, including exclusive interviews carried out in Lebanon, to the Japanese people in their own language.
CONGRATULATIONS NOTE FROM MBC CHAIRMAN
As a region, it's important to tell our own stories
This anniversary comes as the MENA region finds itself at the forefront of the global media landscape
Waleed Al-Ibrahim
Prior to the 1990s, before cable and satellite offerings started to fragment audiences, television was considered "community entertainment" that helped create a sense of identity. But, as audiences became more niche, this shared experience started to dissipate. Certainly, providers were giving viewers content that was considered much more "premium" than before, but oddly enough, something important was lost along the way - perhaps a sense of relatability.
That is why, ever since our first broadcast in 1991, MBC has always kept in mind our responsibility to serve the greater Middle East and North Africa (MENA), region while, at the same time, remaining proudly Saudi — thus catering to all diverse tastes and interests. It is also why, alongside our premium content, we still offer a major proportion of our content for free.
In 1991, the first p non-encrypt to-air Ara lite channel an objecti reach the com m u around the through en and ente content. T to pione innovate h with us over three decad
MBC was private andited free- satel el with love to Arab uni ty world engaging certainting this desire er and was stayed der the last times.
With some o brightest mi in the Arab w on our team the future looks bright
fthe nds world
By 2002, it became clear that if we were to continue our expansion and implement our plans to become a major content producer, we needed to be in the middle of our community. With this in mind, MBC relocated from London to Dubai. We had come home, and this greater proximity to our markets and consumers spurred us on to roll out more and more channels. Our move to Dubai Media City coincided with the launch of O3 Production, a company specializing
in the production and acquisition of programs, now under MBC Studios.
Diversification and cultural relevance have always been key to MBC Group's growth.
The year 2003 saw a major increase in new channels, with MBC2 arriving to offer some of the most successful movies from most if not all, major studios in Hollywood. Launching two months after was Al Arabiya, which quickly established itself as an accurate, trustworthy and credible source of news.
The next decade was equally exciting with the launch of genre-related channels: Kids' favourite MBC3 (2004), the male-targeted MBC Action (2007), youth music source of news.
Diversification and relevance have always be the MBC Group's growth
cultural en key to
showcase Wanasa romcom specialist (2008), MBC Masr Bollywood (2013), MB MBC Iraq (2019).
h (2007), MBC Max (2012),MBC C Persia and
MBC moments Milestones in the company's history
In 2011, we entered the digital era, with Shahid being the first Arab video-on-demand platform in the Middle East. Since then, we have focused on convergence across multiple platforms: On-screen, online, apps, social media, and now the all-new Shahid and Shahid VIP—both witnessing exponential growth.
Our moral and ethical commitments to the community were centralized via the activities of MBC Al-Amal, the group's corporate social responsibility arm which arrived in 2013.
With so many channels and platforms comes the commitment to provide a lot of quality content, and we have reached a point in time where it is now more important than ever to tell our own stories to the world. This is why we created MBC Academy and MBC Studios in 2018—to nurture and promote our own talent to produce films and series good enough to travel and compete globally.
As we move forward, MBC will continue its commitment to the MENA community by creating channels and producing premium content tailored to the needs of our audiences. We will continue to innovate and invest in the future. In particular, we will continue to invest in our youth with projects and initiatives.
and initiatives. With some of the brightest minds in Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Arab world on our team, the future looks bright.And we cannot wait to see where the future generations will take our industry in the region and beyond.
Saudi Arabia's first private radio station, MBC FM, goes to air.
The kids' channel MBC3 joins its offerings.
The male-targeted MBC Action and youth music showcase Wanasah are added.
MX
The launch of MBC Max. MBC's second free-toair channel specializing in Western movies.
MBC Masr is created for the Egyptian market.
nbc
Moments that ch the Middle East
anged
TOMORROW The Camp David Accords For more events in our '45 moments that changed the Middle East' celebrating Arab News' 45th anniversary, go to www.arabnews.com
NOV.19,1977
Then Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, the first Arab leader to visit Israel, pictured at Tel Aviv airport in November 1977. AFP
sions of the Israeli occupation of Palestine were immensely devastating not only to Jordan but to the whole region.
I read so many articles about Sadat's legacy in order to understand what informed his ideology. He remains a controversial figure in the Middle East. Praised as a prophet and cursed as a traitor, neither his death in 1981 nor the passage of time have resolved the ongoing debate about the man and his legacy.
HANI HAZAIMEH JEDOAH
Following the steps of my elders, I ran to the Egyptian baker and shouted in his face "Sadat is a traitor," without even knowing
At the time, there was an Egyptian man working at a bakery in our neighborhood in Zarqa, Jordan. Of course, for a 13-year-old boy, a peace treaty was meaningless as I had no idea what that meant and had no interest in politics. All I knew was that the people in our neighborhood started yelling and screaming in the streets: "Sadat is a traitor."
The dramatic crossing electrified a country demoralized by its defeat in the 1967 war. Although Egyptian troops fared less well once the element of surprise had passed and the war raged on for several weeks, even temporary success against a country that had been Egypt's foe for 25 years allowed Sadat to consolidate his leadership domestically.
HOW WE REPORTED IT
He was being seen as a militant strategist, since his limited war against the Israelis resulted in the Egyptians regaining control over the Suez Canal, in what the Egyptian military to this day considers its principal victory in the modern era. Sadat's emergence on the world
Sadat's emergence on the world stage, however, remained tied to his political success in Egypt. He dismantled many of the socialist features of the Egyptian state, and in so doing he impressed Western leaders with his sincerity, weakened his opponents and enriched his friends. Several times during US-mediated peace negotiations with Israel, Sadat slipped
Egypt and Israel made a mutual unwritten pledge on Monday to end their state of war in an unprecedented agreement aimed at achieving a negotiated peace settlement. Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Prime Minister Menachem Begin made the declarations separately in the climax of a historic first visit to Israel by an Arab leader that spurred hope for an Arab-Israeli peace. From a wire story on Arab News front page, Nov. 22, 1977
Although he will always be remembered for his courageous leap toward peace. Sadat's ultimate legacy remains uncertain. The negotiations he started did not result in the end of the Arab-Israeli conflict, nor did they create a prosperous Egypt.
Sadat also applied his mastery of symbolism to international relations. His decision to go to Jerusalem was breathtaking in its effect, and his landing on Israeli soil on Nov.19, 1977, irrevocably changed the nature of the Arab-Israeli conflict. In one gesture granting the Israelis the recognition they had been demanding for decades, Sadat at the same time won an American commitment to
a secret copy of his "fall back" positions to the US president.
aid Egypt in recovering the lands it had lost in war.
Name: Date: Phone: Email: Address:
Signature: [Signature] Date: [Date]
Signature: [Signature] Date: [Date]
and save on subscription rates for
Da
ey ates
But it is worth remembering that Sadat's political skill brought enormous benefit to his country. Egypt now has peace on its eastern border, and faces no serious military threats from any direction. It has received tens of billions of dollars in US aid over
Although he will always be remembered for his courageous leap toward peace, Sadat's ultimate legacy remains uncertain. The negotiations be started did not result in the end of the Arab-Israeli conflict, nor did they create a prosperous Egypt. But it is worth remembering
the last two decades, which it has used to modernize its army and thoroughly improve its national infrastructure.
Nov.11,1977 After Sadat announces intention to visit, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin addresses Egyptian people from Jerusalem, pleading for 'no more wars, no more bloodshed.'
Even small Egyptian villages are now connected to the electric grid, and in the country, credit for that is seen to lie with Sadat rather than the US. Egypt also has emerged as the leading state in the Arab world and the region. Faced with a crumbling and
Faced with a crumbling and inward-looking economy oriented toward the Soviet Union, Sadat laid the groundwork for Egyptian prosperity, even if it has not yet arrived. He truly led his country, and it was his tragedy that perhaps, he got too far ahead of the people he was leading.
In October 1978, Sadat and Begin were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
But as Arab News reported on Nov. 22,1977,the peace initiative angered many Arabs, who saw it as a betrayal of the Palestinians.Egypt was ejected from the Arab League and during a military parade in Cairo in October 1981,Sadat was assassinated by extremists opposed to the treaty.
The meeting was a stepping stone to the Camp David Accords in September 1978, which led to the signing of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in Washington in March 1979. In October 1978, Sadat and
Nov.19,1977 Sadat becomes first Arab leader to visit Israel, addressing parliament: 'Before us today lies the chance for peace-a chance that, if lost or wasted,the plotter against it will bear the curse of humanity and the curse of history.'
March 26,1979 Sadat and Begin sign Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in Washington.
Sept. 5,1978 At invitation of US President Jimmy Carter, Sadat and Begin arrive at Camp David for 10 days of talks.
Sept.17.1978 Begin and Sadat sign framework for peace at White House.
anged
TOMORROW Iranian Revolution For more events in our '45 moments that changed the Middle East* celebrating Arab News 45th anniversary, go www.arabnews.com
Dav flavor pea
id's ved ace
SEPT.17,1978
The accords between Egypt and Israel may have led to a Nobel prize, but the failure to fully realize them fueled extremism
During his lengthy speech to Israel's Knesset (Parliament), Sadat said: "I have not come here for a separate agreement between Egypt and Israel ... Even if peace between all the confrontation states and Israel were achieved, in the absence of a just solution to the Palestinian problem, never will there be that durable and just peace upon which the entire world insists today."
agreeing to withdraw from the occupied territories and allow for a Palestinian state.
The Camp David Accords won Sadat and Begin the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize but scorn in the Arab world. The Arab League reacted by removing Egypt as a member and moving its headquarters from Cairo to Tunis.
the US in 1978 and was feted at dinners in several major American cities, including Chicago, where I joined 500 other Arab Americans protesting his "surrender."
He was being wooed by Israel and the US, and treated like a distinguished head of state, for making peace with Israel. He toured
That massacre, with pregnant women butchered and bodies thrown into the village water well, shocked the Arab population of Palestine, prompting a refugee flight of fear. Before his Knesset speech, Sadat visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, which ironically is built on Deir Yassin's remains.
SUMMARY
HOW WE WROTE IT
RAY HANANIA CHICAGO
On Sept. 17, 1978, after 10 days of intense negotiations at the Camp David US presidential retreat, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin
"confrontation states" and block demands for Palestinian statehood. Sadat was naive to trust Begin, one of the Middle East's most vicious terrorists. Begin orchestrated some of the most heinous civilian atrocities during the 1947-1948 Arab-Israeli conflict, including the massacre of nearly 100 civilians in the small Palestinian village of Deir Yassin.
D
eyates
A month later, Sadat and Begin were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and in March the following year they signed the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty. Many in the Arab world, however, saw it as a betrayal of the Palestinians. Egypt was suspended from the Arab League, and in 1981 Sadat was assassinated by extremists opposed to the treaty. While a fragile peace between
While a fragile peace between the two countries remains hopes that the accords would resolve the Palestinian problem have yet to be fulfilled.
Top, Egyptian President Amwar Sadat, right, chats with Israeli Premier Menachem Begin as US President Jimmy Carter looks on at Camp David, the US presidential retreat in Maryland, on Sept. 6, 1978. Ray Hanania writes that Sadat was naive to trust Begin, who orchestrated the 1940 Deir Yassin massacre, still commemorated by Palestinians, above right. The accords failed to end Israeli settlements, above left. AFP
permanent peace... to take your own preestance into access, when working out plans with other leaders with whom it meet.
But three conditions were never met; Meetings to resolve the Palestine question with Jordan's involvement stalled; the introduction of Palestinian self-government in the West Bank and Gaza in five 1990s failed and end.
Despite differences, US President Ronald Reagan followed up on
inaugurated the settlement of Ariel, which has become a symbol of Israel's continuing war against Palestinian statehood and the center of settlement expansion.
Despite the disconcerting reality on the ground, Sadat went ahead and signed a formal peace treaty with Israel at the White House on March 26,1979, officially ending the conflict between the two countries.
Although peace between Egypt and Israel remains, the failure to achieve peace with the Palestinians has kept the accords as little more than a formal version of an armistice agreement; and relations between the two countries are defined by military cooperation.
Feb.14,1977 US President Jimmy Carter writes to Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin to express his commitment to finding 'a lasting peace settlement in the Middle East.'
Oct.21,1977 In a handwritten letter, Carter appeals to Sadat for help:The time has now come to move forward,and your early public endorsement of our approach is extremely important perhaps vital.'
Carter's Middle East peace vision and proposed a "freeze" on settlements in August 1982, urging Israel to grant Palestinians "autonomy" as a step toward statehood.
Ray Hanania was the publisher of an Arab American newspaper in the early 1970s, The Middle Eastern Voice, and an activist for Palestinian rights serving as President of the American Congress for Palestine.
Begin's reaction was swift. On Sept. 2,1982,with Carter and Sadat out of the way.Begin led a Knesset move to consolidate Israel's hold on the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Golan Heights, increasing the Jewish settler population. Israel, the Cabinet declared, will "reserve the right to apply sovereignty over the territories at the end of the five-year transition period" of Palestinian "autonomy" that was specifically envisioned in the Camp David Accords. In 1978,the settler popula-
Nov.11,1977 After Sadat announces his intention to visit Israel, the latter's new Prime Minister Menachem Begin, above, addresses the Egyptian people from Jerusalem, pleading for 'no more wars, no more bloodshed.'
Aug.3,1978 Carter writes private letters to Sadat and Begin, proposing that they meet.
Sept.17,1978 At 9:37 p.m., Carter, Begin and Sadat board presidential helicopter Marine I and fly from Maryland to the White House. At 10:31 p.m., Begin and Sadat sign the framework for peace.
anged
TOMORROW B siege of Makkah For more events in our '45 moments that changed the Middle East' celebrating Arab News' 45th anniversary, go to
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini
Before the revolution, most Iranian people were struggling to set up a representative and democratic system of governance. They were dissatisfied with Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi due to the widespread political and financial corruption and human rights violations. Many people in Iran were also discontent with American foreign policy because of the 1953 coup when the Eisenhower administration and UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill decided to overthrow the first democratically elected government in Iran, which was led by nationalist Prime Minister Mohammed Mosaddegh, and reinstate the shah, who had built a close alliance with Washington and the West.
Middle East's political landscape, affecting geopolitical alignments four decades later.
DR. MAJID RAFIZADEH LOS ANGELES
organizations. Ultimately, Khomeini's fundamentalist organization co-opted the revolution in February 1979. After the shah fled the country, the vast majority of Iranians voted for the Islamic Republic because they did not conceive that Khomeini's religious party would be capable of committing the atrocities it ultimately came to carry
After hijacking popular protests, the Islamic Republic launched a campaign to destabilize the region
FEB.11,1979
SUMMARY
The revolution that sparked Iran's hostility
the international community did not believe that these protests could result in the revolution of 1979. This is more likely due to the fact that the shah was successful in creating a desirable image of himself outside Iran as a king who enjoyed legitimacy and the support of the Iranian people. Khomeini's party had an edge
Far left: Protesters hold a poster of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini aloft during street demonstrations against the shah in January 1979. Left: Anger erupts outside the UB Embassy. AFP Getty Images
HOW WE WROTE IT
revolution changed than from a pro-Western monarchy into an anti- Western theocracy. Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi had always relied on Western support, but many Iranians chafed at his rapid program of westernization. The first demonstrations erupted toward the end of 1977, and over the following 14 months the slow-motion collapse of the shah's authority culminated in his overthrow and the return from exile of Shiite religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini.
The most immediate consequence was the seizure of the US Embassy in Tehran by revolutionary students, who held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. But in the long term, the revolution turned a close ally of Washington into its sworn enemy, triggering a bitter enmity with consequences for the region that echo to this day.
Makkah's World Supreme Council of Mosques appealed to the people of Iran to exercise self-restraint in a spirit of Islamic brotherhood and understanding. Farouk Luqman on the front page of Arab News, Feb. 12, 1979
The Islamic Republic also broke international laws by instigating the 1979 hostage crisis, in which 52 Americans were detained
out, or that it would have such an unrelenting hunger for power. Instead,the country thought it was on a smooth path toward democracy,with no expectation
Thousands upon thousands of people from other political or religious parties were ultimately tortured and executed. The regime established dozens of "death commissions," which were run by people such as Ebrahim Kaisi, who later ran for president, and Mostafa Pourmohammadi, who was served as minister of justice under President Hassan Rouhani. According to human rights groups, the death commissions were major players in the execution of some 30,000 political prisoners in a four-month period in 1988. Those killed were accused of having loyalty to anti-theocratic resistance groups, mainly the People's Mujahedin of Iran. The Islamic Republic also broke
D
ey ates
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh, an Iranian- American political scientist who is a columnist for Arab News, was born in Iran a year after the revolution. Several of his family members, including his father, were tortured by the regime for criticizing the ruling mulahs.
Finally, the Islamic Republic not only vied for regional dominance but also absolute exertion of leadership in the Muslim world. And, since Saudi Arabia is considered a critical regional power, the cradle of Islam and home to its two holiest cities, Makkah and Madinah, Tehran became determined to undermine the Kingdom's national, geopolitical and strategic interests in the region. As a result, antagonism toward Saudi Arabia became one of the core pillars of the mullahs' regional policy.
Feb.18,1978 Demonstrations and riots erupt in cities across Iran, triggering months of increasingly violent protests.
became anchored in exporting its revolution to other nations; increasing its influence through military adventurism; asymmetrical warfare; pursuing a sectarian agenda by inciting Shiites against Sunnis; the sponsorship of proxies and terror groups from Yemen to Iraq; and thwarting the objectives of other regional powers, particularly Saudi Arabia. Tensions in the region intensified as a belligerent, assertive and revolutionary dimension was added to Tehran's foreign and regional policies. Finally, the Islamic Republic not only vied for regional dominance
and Principlists. It gave them the platform to further consolidate their power, crush the remaining leftists, liberals and secular groups inside the country,and present to the world the Islamic Republic's defiant and revolutionary nature. Tehran's regional policies
Sept. 8,1978 More than 80 are killed and hundreds injured in Tehran when security forces open fire on demonstrators in Jaleh Square on a day remembered as Black Friday.
Dec.2,1978 Ayatollah Khomeini, in exile in France, orchestrates the Muharram protests, bringing millions onto the streets calling for the shah's removal and Khomeini's return.
Feb.11,1979 The military lays down its arms and the government of Prime Minister Shapour Bakhtiar, appointed by the shah, collapses.Bakhtiar, who attempts to organise a counter-coup from exile in France, is later assassinated.
Feb.1, 1979 Khomeini returns to a rapturous welcome from millions of supporters and days later, appoints an interim revolutionary government.
anged
TOMORROW The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan For more events in our '45 moments that changed the Middle East' celebrating Arab News' 45th anniversary, go to www.srabnews.com
Juhayman Al-Otaiba, pictured left in 1979, led the attack on the Grand Mosque, seen during the attack with smoke billowing from it over Makkah, above. AFP
Ringling in the new year with early morning prayers, the worshippers on their once-in-a-life-time pilgrimage were shocked to hear gunfire and then a demand to pledge allegiance to the so-called Mahdi. This figure is referred to as the Messiah in several passages of the Hadith (Prophet's sayings), although Islamic scholars are divided over the meaning.
SUMMARY
Nov. 20,1979 was the first day of a new century in the Islamic calendar, one that was witnessed by tens of thousands of worshippers who had just completed their Hajj ritual. Ringing in the new year with
to carry out a proper investigation as lead reporter on an online Deep Dive that looked at the siege in detail. The special report was a way of answering all the questions still on my mind.
But within moments of the completion of fajr, the first prayer of the day, joy turned to horror as gunshots rang out across the courtyard. The Grand Mosque, Islam's holiest sanctuary, had been seized by a group of 260 heavily armed religious fanatics. It was the beginning of a bloody siege that would last two weeks and, coming as it did in the wake of the Iranian Revolution, would lead to a setback in modernization from which Saudi society is only now recovering.
For years there was little information to be found in Saudi Arabia about the seizure of the Grand Mosque. However, when the Internet was introduced, search engines provided me with the means to know more — but still it wasn't enough. It was only in September 2010
Curious by nature, my interest began to grow.
HOW WE WROTE IT
Television showed pictures of the 170 renegades who were captured, huddled on the floor of a prison in Makkah, filthy and bedraggled. From a staff story on Arab News' front page, Dec. 5, 1979
RAWAN RADWAN JEDDAH
The siege of Makkah
Long a taboo topic, the full story of the attack on the Grand Mosque only recently came to light
Da
eyates
NOV. 20,1979
Over the broadcast system normally used for prayers, they told those inside that the so-called Mahdi, Al-Otaibi's brother-in-law Mohammed Al-Qahtani, was there to rid the world of evil and return Islam to its true path. The Kingdom, prospering and developing into a modern nation, was deemed evil by Al-Otaibi, Al-Qahtani and his followers. Thus began one of the bloodiest
Thus began one of the bloodiest battles the Holy Mosque of Makkah has seen in centuries. The unbelievable events that unfolded are still difficult to believe, as many of our sources recounted.
including women and children.
For the first few days, the Saudi forces pushed into the mosque and a battle ensued. The events played out like a scene from an action movie, with the Saudi forces forcing the religious extremists back. Faced with the final assault, Al-Otaibi and his followers barricaded themselves in the basement, making it more difficult for the Saudi forces to reach them. During the battle, Al-Qahtani was killed, alone with more than
Nov.20,1979 A group of religious extremists led by Juhayman Al-Otaibi, a former corporal in the Saudi National Guard, seizes the Grand Mosque in Makkah.
The ulema issues a fatwa authorizing force against the militants on holy ground if they reject an opportunity to surrender and lay down their arms.
The search for answers never stopped. It was only when Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman vowed to return the country to "moderate Islam" 2017 and referred to pre-1979 Saudi Arabia in his CBS interview, that it began to make sense.
Although Saudi Arabia — religiously conservative, yet peaceful — rejected Al-Otaibi's violent call for the "return to the true religion of Islam," many felt pressured to conform to changes taking place in their communities. The search for answers never
Rawan Radwan, regional correspondent for Arab News based in Jeddah, has a keen interest in Saudi history. For more than 15 years, she has carried out research into the siege of Makkah, and for the 40th anniversary in 2019, she was lead reporter on an Arab News Deep Dive that recreated the event in detail [ https://www.arabnews.com/juhayman-40-years-onl].
Nov.24
for their attack is prime proof of the false nature of their call. We can only describe them as a gang of brainwashed religious fanatics, trained to believe in society's deviation from Islam in the existence of their 'expected Mahdi' who they claim would bring justice to the world."
Dec.3
At the start of the final assault.
Dec.5
anged
The conflict between the Cold War powers turned the country into a terrorist breeding ground
The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
RAHIMULLAH YUSUFZAI PEBHAWAR
However, the mujahideen's failure to restore peace and stability due to their infighting offered the Taliban a chance to seize power. Though foreign fighters including Arabs such as Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden, had o Afghanistan to take part earlier Afghan jihad aga Soviet forces, the Taliba allowed them to stay for real reasons. The Soviet invasion n
'F' VIENNA and from the lower Alps, and Alps Bryssel
come to in the northeastern regime ideolog-
DEC.24,1979
triggered events with far-reaching consequences in the region and beyond.
HOW WE REPORTED IT
VIPMNA, Fax: 11.349 - Counselor/personal maintainer (resident counselor) in front of the Rev. Katherine Kidman for public service out of Afghanistan. Information to Moderate Minister and Adj. Vice-President American representative Broadway Sunday.
intentions due to past hostility in their relations. In the wider Middle East, the Soviet invasion caused uncertainty as Arab countries traditionally close to the US tried to figure out Moscow's next move. This was the first time the Soviet Union had invaded a country outside the European bloc and signalled a new aggressive trend of Soviet expansionism. There were also worries the presence of Soviet forces in Afghanistan could embolden communist and radical elements in the region. Except for the pro-Soviet
alarmed neighboring countries, particularly Pakistan, which feared it would be invaded next since the Soviet Union could attempt to intervene in its Balochistan province and reach the warm waters of the Arabian Sea. Meanwhile, Iran, which was seeking to consolidate its February 1979 Islamic Revolution, was apprehensive about Soviet intentions due to past hostility in their relations.
For Middle East nations a worrying development was the radicalization of citizens inspired by the call for jihad in Afghanistan.
For Middle East nations, a worrying development was the radicalization of citizens inspired by the call for jihad in Afghanistan.
restore the relationship to near normalcy.
SUMMARY
The conflict, which became a proxy war between the Soviets and US, had dramatic geopolitical consequences. Arguably, it hastened the breakup of the Soviet Union, which collapsed in 1991. It also created a breeding ground for terrorism, leading to the rise of Osama bin Laden, who fought alongside the mujahideen.
Soviet forces. Among them was the billionaire Bin Laden, who not only joined the fight, but also devoted his considerable wealth to funding the mujahideen. In time, the term Afghan-
D
ey ates
In time, the term Afghan Arabs was coined to describe the mostly Arab veterans of the war in Afghanistan. Those who returned home after the Soviet forces' pullout or at other times tried to recruit and organize others to wage war against governments in their native states.
April 27,1978 Afghan President Mohamad Daud Khan is killed in a Sovietbacked military coup that installs a modernizing communist government, triggering an Islamic insurgency.
The defeat of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan and its subsequent breakup in 1991 reinforced the perception among jihadists that if one superpower could be humbled, so could others. It was this belief that encouraged militant fighters to take on the US and its allies after the coalition invaded Taliban-ruled Afghanistan in October 2001 to avenge the Al-Qaeda-directed 9/11 attacks.
Dec.5,1978 Coup leader and Afghan president, Nur Muhammad Taraki signs a friendship treaty with the Soviet Union.
Sept.11,1979 Taraki is deposed by a rival communist faction led by former ally Halizullah Amin. Taraki is murdered the following month on Amin's orders.
Dec.27,1979 Russian special forces storm the presidential palace in Kabul, killing Amin.
Dec.29,1979 Soviets install Babrak Karmal the exiled leader of a faction of the Marxist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan as head of government.
Twitter: @rahimyusufzai
anged
TOMORROW The Iran-Iraq War For more events in our '45 moments that changed the Middle East' celebrating Arab News' 45th anniversary, go to www.arabnews.com
SEPT. 5,1980
Saudi Arabia's Aramco takeover
The Kingdom's gradual acquisition of the oil company guaranteed its future success
FRANK KANE DUBAI
The 1970s was the decade in which, in the words of one of the leading policymakers of the era, Saudi Arabia became "masters of our own commodity"—the owner and operator of its gigantic oil industry.
with all that meant for the economic development of the Kingdom and the well-being of its citizens.
The decade began with the Arabian American Oil Co. a consortium of four US oil giants, holding an exclusive concession to develop Saudi Arabia's most precious resource; it ended with an agreement to create Saudi Aramco, owned and operated by the Saudi government as the leading force in Middle East and global energy markets.
But and this is crucial to understanding the events of the 1970s the process by which the Kingdom acquired ownership of Aramco was unlike many of the fractious confrontations in the Middle East oil industry in that era.
Ali Al-Naimi — then a rising star in the Aramco establishment, who later became its first Saudi president encapsulated the era in his autobiography "Out of the Desert": "The fact that the transfer didn't involve an overnight nationalization of assets, as happened in several oil-producing countries, was a tribute to the sound judgment and good negotiating faith on the part of the country as well as the oil company owners."
Whereas countries such as Libya, Iraq and Iran had simply confiscated American assets without compensation, leading to instability in global energy and geopolitics, Saudi Arabia negotiated the purchase of shares from the US owners in a gradual process that ensured good relations between the two countries. In the case of the Kingdom, the process was called "participation" rather than nationalization
By the early 1970s, Saudi Arabia was a strong weight in the global energy balance.
author of the "masters of our own commodity" quote was petroleum minister in 1968 when he told an oil conference in Beirut
By the early 1970s, Saudi Arabia was a strong weight in the global energy balance. Demand for oil was booming, and American oilfields were not able to meet it. Saudi Arabia was spoken of for the first time as the "swing" exporter, the most important producer with capacity and reserves to help meet global demand at the turn of a pump wheel.
was in the best interests of Saudi Arabia and what he (Yamani) could convince the Americans was in their interest as well."
that it was the Kingdom's ambition to acquire 50 percent of Aramco from its American owners. The number would change as the decade wore on, but the
decade wore on, but the ambition remained the same: To get control of Aramco.
At 8 a.m.yesterday Saudi Aramco was a $1.7 trillion company. Thirty minutes later the oil giant was worth nearly $1.9 trillion as it made its debut on the Tadawul, the Saudi stock market in Riyadh.
HOW WE REPORTE
DIT
From a story by Rashid Hassan on the front page of Arab News, Dec. 12, 2019
Arab countries, led by the largest oil producer Saudi Arabia, hiked the price of oil dramatically - to more than double the $5 per barrel it had been selling at previously. More significantly, it cut production and imposed an embargo on countries, including the US, which were supplying Israel with military equipment to fight the war.
Aramco began the 1970s as an American-owned company, but by the end was fully owned by the Kingdom, and was a vital part of its economy and the global energy industry. The transformation - achieved without the upheaval that many other Middle East countries suffered through oil industry nationalization - was the start of the process that culminated in last year's successful initial public offering as the most valuable company in history. It has proved to be a defining event in Saudi history.
A 2019 billboard in Riyadh advertises the Aramee IPO, AFP
SUMMARY
Da
ey
away from the independent oil companies to the producers, led by Saudi Arabia. At a meeting in Panama that year, Yamani was in no mood to delay any longer. The Kingdom wanted a commitment from the Americans to sell all their remaining shares. By mid-March the deal was done, effective 1980, and Saudi Arameo was officially renamed eight years later. The price that the Kingdom naic
Wald told Arab News: "The real reason Aramco was able to become the successful company it is today is that once it became a Saudi firm, the oilmen continued to control it and its money, as opposed to government bureaucrats. This was unique among national oil companies."
May 1933 Saudi Arabia signs an oil concession with the Standard Oil Co. of California (SOCAL), and its subsidiary CASOC begins to survey for oil.
Jan.31,1944 CASOC's name is changed to Aramco (Arabian American Oil Co.).
anged
TOMORROW The founding of the GCC For more events in our 45 moments that changed the Middle East celebrating Arab News 45th anniversary, go to www.arabnews.com
Iran Winge after
Iraq ar's ering math
SEPT. 22,1980
SIR JOHN JENKINS LONDON
I joined the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office in September 1980. two weeks before Iraq invaded Iran and started the bloodiest war in modern Middle Eastern history. Perhaps a million combatants
combatants and uncounted civilians died. Four decades later, we still live with the consequences.
HOW WE WROTE IT
Only a few weeks ago, observers were wondering whether Iraq and Iran would soon be fighting a border war. Today, with this question answered, another one arises: Will such a war remain a limited one, or will it grow into an all-out conflict? From an editorial in Arab News on Sept. 23, 1980
neither successful
Khomeini's heterodox reimagining of Islamism, based on a mythical past and deriving legitimacy from a reactionary interpretation of clerical authority. Both systems were harshly repressive. And each had their true believers.
The end of the war in 1988 left Iraq with massive debts to other Gulf states, particularly Kuwait, and widespread damage to essential infrastructure, particularly in the south. Saddam decided to recoup his losses by bullying Kuwait, which refused to buckle. That led him to invade on Aug. 2, 1990. He may have thought he could do a deal that would have left him in control of Kuwait's northern oil fields. Instead, he suffered a catastrophic defeat that left his military aspirations in tatters, his weapons programs subject to international supervision and the economy crippled by sanctions, which tore apart the fabric of Iraqi society. The uprisings that followed in the Shiite south and the Kurdish north —
For much of this period, I had a ringside seat as a young diplomat in Abu Dhabi. The impact on the Arab states of the Gulf was huge. They feared the expansion of the Iranian revolution into their territories. This was the most serious challenge these states
On Sept. 22, 1980, Iraqi aircraft bombed 10 air bases in Iran, launching a brutal war that would drag on for eight years. The immediate trigger for the war was Saddam Hussein's fear that the 1979 Iranian Revolution would be exported to Iraq. In 1991, the land war escalated into what became known as the Tanker War
SUMMARY
Iranian soldiers prepare a mortar launch onto Iraqi soil during the Iran-Iraq War on Dec. 9, 1980. Getty Images
ROLACO Chemical, Food Recycling Littering
when iraq began attacking ships bound to or from Iranian ports. Iran reciprocated, attacking oil tankers from neutral countries and leading the US Navy to introduce a convoy system to protect shipping. By the time the conflict ended in stalemate and a UN-brokered peace deal in 1988, it had cost the lives of up to 1 million people.
Da
eyates
Saudi soil to confront the invasion. It was this that led elements of the so-called Sahwa to confront the government and set Osama bin Laden irrevocably on the path to 9/11.
March10,1980 Following anti-government riots inspired by Iran's Islamic Revolution, Iraq demands Iran withdraws its ambassador.
The overthrow of Saddam in 2003 was widely seen as a belated sequel to 1991, when coalition forces had failed to follow the fleeing Iraqi army all the way to Baghdad and had instead allowed Saddam and his loyalists to regain domestic control outside the Kurdish areas. But 2003 was, in practice, a victory for Iran - as was the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001. And this story isn't over. The
Iraq attacks 10 bases; Iran strikes back at 2
April 9,1980 Iraq executes Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir Al-Sadr,a supporter of Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini,and his sister.
Sir John Jenkins is a senior fellow at Policy Exchange. He served as First Secretary at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi from 1983 to 1986, Head of Chancery at the British Embassy in Kuwait from 1995 to 1998, Ambassador to Iraq from 2009 to 2011 and Ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 2012 to 2015.
If Khomeini had not been expelled from Najaf in 1978; if the shah had not had cancer; if Saddam had reacted more calmly to Iranian provocations in 1979; if Khomeini had agreed to a cease-fire after the recapture of Khorramshahr; if Saddam had not then gambled on an invasion of Kuwait; if Iran had become a more normal country, then we should be living in a different world. But we're not. More's the pity.
Sept.17,1980 Saddam announces Iraq is withdrawing from the 1975 Algiers Accord, under which Iraq and Iran agreed to resolve their border disputes.
Sept.23,1980 Iraqi troops cross the border into Iran.
July 3,1988 The US warship USS Vincennes accidentally shoots down an Iranian airliner, killing all 290 people on board.
April 14,1988 US frigate the USS Samuel B. Roberts hits a mine laid by Iran in the Gulf.
Aug. 61988 Under pressure from the UN, US and Arab allies such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq finally agrees to cease-fire.
anged
Sheikh Zayed, right, then leader of the UAE, welcomes Saudi King Khaled to Abu Dhabi for the 1981 GCC conference. Sheikh Rashid, then ruler of Dubai, is on the left. National Archives
1976, he formally called for the establishment of the GCC during a visit to the UAE, whose President Sheikh Zayed strongly supported the idea. In November 1976, in Muscat, a security framework that would have also included Iraq and Iran was discussed but abandoned because of fundamental differences over the concept, especially between Iran and Iraq.
The founding of the GCC
ABDEL AZIZ ALUWAISHEG RIYADH
The first step was the formation of the UAE. During the three years between the British announcement of its impending withdrawal and the actual termination of its protectorate and military presence in the Gulf on Dec. 16,1971,six emirates succeeded in forming the United Arab Emirates, which was founded on Dec.2,1971.Ras Al Khaimah, the seventh emirate, joined a few months later.Bahrain and Qatar contemplated joining the union for a while, but in the end bowed out, despite efforts by Saudi Arabia,Kuwait and Britain
several steps ending with the formation of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on May 25,1981.
HOW WE WROTE IT
MAY 25,1981
Optimism expressed recently about the goals and achievements expected to accrue from the deliberations of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) during its summit in Riyadh has proven to be well founded.".
In October 1979, in a meeting held in Talf, Saudi Arabia, the general framework of the GCC was agreed, but differences remained on some issues. Some favored focusing on security and military integration even a formal military alliance while others wanted the new organization to emphasize soft power and economic integration. In 1980, Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal was given the task of bringing the different views together and leading the exercise of drafting
opposed, but progress continued especially after the revolution in Iran in February 1979 produced a clerical regime explicitly seeking to export its brand of revolution and undermine the security of its neighbors. The new regime in Tehran formed armed groups in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia to carry out its agenda, making it imperative to close ranks to meet the new threat. In October 1979, in a meeting held in Taif, Saudi Arabia, the general framework of the GCC
Today, the GCC Secretariat
employs more than 1,000 staff from the six member states and hosts the main policymaking divisions of the organization. Its work is aided by about 30 specialized entitles that deal with specific issues. There are economic
the charter, supported by Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah (the current emir of Kuwait), Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Mubarak, and others. A flurry of meetings of ministers and experts took place in the early months of 1981, in Kuwait, Riyadh and Muscat, to finalize the draft, which was adopted by the heads of state on May 25,1981,in Abu Dhabi, in the first formal meeting of the new organization.
SUMMARY
Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf was created at a conference in Abu Dhabi, bringing together the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait in the conviction that 'coordination cooperation and integration between them serve the sublime objectives of the Arab Nation.' The six-member Gulf
Over the four decades since it was founded, the members of the GCC have not always seen eye to eye - in 2014, a rift opened between the GCC and Qatar.
Da
eyates
But the raft of economic, legal, security and political agreements, securing collaboration across fields ranging from energy, agriculture and telecommunications to customs, education and judicial cooperation, stand as testament to the value of an organization that, in the words of its original charter, continues 'to effect coordination and integration between member states in all fields, leading to their unity.'
Nov.11,1981 GCC leaders sign a unified economic agreement at their second summit in Riyadh.
May 25,1981 The charter of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf is signed by the heads of state of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait at a conference in Abu Dhabi.
achievements were also made including the establishment of the unified military command in November 2018 and the GCC police force in 2014.
However, a lot remains to be done to reach the goal of "unity" cited in the charter. The 40th summit, held in Riyadh last December, identified several areas that need to be re-energized to enable the organization to reach that goal. One area that was referred to in the 40th summit was the reform of the GCC's institutions, including the GCC Secretarial and the 30-odd other entities in its orbit. Governance in particular needs to be overhauled to provide more transparency, accountability and efficiency. The emerging and almost existential challenges that the region faces require new ways of doing things. Business as usual is no longer adequate. King Salman's vision for the GCC, which was adopted by all leaders in December 2015, started that process, but the pace of change has not been fast enough.
Jan.1,2008 Introduction of the GCC common market.
anged
TOMORROW When US Marines were bombed in Beirut For more events in our '45 momenta that changed the Middle East' celebrating Arab News' 45th anniversary, go to www.arabnews.com.
SEPT.16,1982
The Sabra and Shatila massacre
EYAD ABU SHAKRA LONDON
The Beirut atrocity shed light on the complex regional dimensions of the Lebanese Civil War
The shocking scene of the Sabra and Shatila massacre in Beirut in September 1982. Getty Images
The Sabra and Shatila massacre of 1982 was one of the most significant milestones in Lebanon's recent turbulent political history. In that massacre, a force from a Lebanese Christian right-wing militia entered the south Beirut neighborhood of Sabra and the nearby Shatila Palestinian refugee camp and murdered hundreds of people (some sources claim more than 3,000), mostly civilian Palestinians and Muslim Lebanese.
Some sources have recorded that, from approximately 6 p.m. on Sept.16 to 8 a.m.on Sept.18 the mass murders were carried out in plain sight of the Israeli forces. Indeed, sources have also claimed that the Christian militias were even "ordered" by the Israelis to "clear out" the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) fighters from Sahar and Shatila camps.
The militiamen entered the neighborhood — where many Palestinian leaders resided — and the camp when the Israeli occupation forces were already in control of the Lebanese capital following the invasion of 1982. Some sources have recorded
Sectarianism has almost always been at the core of the conflicts that guided the changing maps and power balance in Lebanon. Even before the First World War defeat of the Ottoman Empire — of which present-day Lebanon was a part — the area of Mount Lebanon went through scattered sectarian confrontations, beginning in 1840 and culminating in 1860 in massacres that led to a French military intervention. However, the reaction of the Ottomans was decisive in containing the French advance, and so were the joint efforts of major European powers.
Coming at the height of the Lebanese Civil War, the massacre summed up several elements and shed light on the complex regional dimensions of the war.
The political outcome was the creation of the autonomous Mount Lebanon district in 1861. It was governed by a Christian Ottoman official, whose appointment would be ratified by the European powers. But, after the defeat of the Ottomans in the First World War, the Paris Peace Conference of 1920 annexed several areas to Mount Lebanon including Beirut, as well as putting the new enlarged Lebanon under French Mandate.
of their advance into predominantly Muslim west Beirut. Later reports suggested that, while the Israelis had received reports of the atrocities, they took no action to prevent or stop
HOW WE WROTE IT
cities and areas. However, the Christians felt that the French Mandate would be enough for them to dominate the political scene. That assumption was proven wrong, however especially following Lebanon's independence in 1943. By then, the three Muslim sects (Sunnis, Shiites and Druze) had become, by many estimates, a clear majority. Furthermore, the tide of Arab nationalism rose as a result of the Palestinian "Nakba" in 1948, which rapidly radicalized Arab politics. The Palestinian refugee problem added to grievances in host countries like Lebanon and Jordan.
Pope John Paul II, his voice cracking with emotion, condemned the 'ruthless' massacre of Palestinian refugees. From a story on Arab News' front page, Sept. 20, 1992
Radicalization was further enhanced by the Arab defeat of June 1967, which gave rise as well as enormous credibility
Lebanese Muslims, Arab nationalists and leftist leaderships stood by the Palestinians and made common cause with them. On the
The Israeli invasion in June 1982 was intended to finish off the Palestinian military and political infrastructure, and establish a "friendly" regime in Beirut. This was done by militarily forcing the Palestinian resistance movements out of Lebanon and handing the Lebanese presidency to Bachir Gemayel, leader of the Lebanese Forces, the most powerful Christian militia, in August 1982. Gemayel, however, was assassinated on Sept. 14, before taking the oath of office. His
SUMMARY
assassination in a major explosion in Beirut shocked the Christians and enraged their militias, which retaliated by attacking Sabra and Shatila just two days later.
as the Israeli troops that had invaded Lebanon three months earlier looked on, blocked exits and illuminated the scene at night with flares embarked on a 36-hour massacre of Muslim men, women and children that left it
Da
ey
violence, and that the massacre was a form of genocide.
and children that left hundreds dead and shocked the world. Independent witnesses, including Western journalists, were horrified to discover that many victims, including babies, had been mutilated before they died. Estimates of the number of dead range from more than 400 to several thousand, but exactly how many died will never be known. Many corpses were
Jun, 6,1982 Israel invades Lebanon and lays siege to Beirut.
Eyad Abu Shakra is managing editor of Asharq Al-Awsat. Twitter: @eyad1949
The reaction against the massacre was strong, even in Israel itself. Also in 1983, the Kahan Commission was appointed to investigate the incident. It found that Israeli military personnel, despite being aware that a massacre was in progress, had failed to take serious steps to stop it. The commission also deemed Israel indirectly responsible, and that Defense Minister Ariel Sharon bore personal responsibility "for ignoring the danger of bloodshed and revenge," thus forcing him to resign.
Sept.1,1982 Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) fighters withdraw from Beirut under supervision of international peacekeeping force.
Sept.11,1982 International peacekeeping force withdraws from Beirut.
Sept.14,1982 Phalangist president-elect Bachir Gemayel is assassinated.Muslims are blamed, but it later emerges that the killer is a fellow Maronite, motivated by factional Christian infighting.
Dec.16,1982 UN General Assembly condemns in the strongest terms the large-scale massacre of Palestinian civilians in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps' as 'an act of genocide.'
anged
TOMORROW Olympic gold for El-Moutawakel For more events in our '45 moments that changed the Middle East' celebrating Arab News! 45th anniversary, go to
NAJIA HOUSSARI BEIRUT
The south was witnessing armed resistance against the Israeli occupation by Lebanese fighters who were involved in leftist parties and previously in Palestinian factions. The multinational forces, including the Americans, French and Italians, were still stationed in Beirut in the wake of the withdrawal of fighters and the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization as a result of the Israeli aggression on Lebanon and Israel's occupation of Beirut in 1982.
A suicide attack on a troop compound signalled Iran's emerging role in Lebanon's conflict
SUMMARY
About 48 hours after the bombing, the US accused the Amal Movement and its splinter, the Islamic Amal Movement, led by Hussein Al-Moussawi, of being
No party claimed responsibility for the bombings that day, but the As-Safir newspaper published a statement it received a few days later, in which the "Islamic Revolution Movement" claimed responsibility. About 48 hours after the
The bombers were associated with Iran and a movement that called itself the Islamic
The two explosions came at a time when Lebanon was witnessing a civil war in light of an Israeli occupation that reached Beirut and the entry of multinational forces into Lebanon to protect its capital. The withdrawal of the American and then the French forces after the two attacks left Beirut open to the chaos that brought with it more killing and destruction.
This suicide bombing was the second of its kind witnessed by the Lebanese capital after the first suicide bombing in April that year that targeted the American Embassy and killed 63 people, including 17 Americans at the embassy and its surroundings.
The US Marines barracks after the attack, above; a US Marine on guard outside the US Embassy after it was bombed in April that year, below. AFP
Amal Movement. Its Lebanese leader, Hussein Al-Moussawi, affirmed his association with the Iranian revolution and that the ties of the movement with the Iranian revolution were like the ties of "a nation with its leader."
OCT.23,1983
As-Salir newspaper quoted a diplomatic source as saying that "relations with Iran have worsened due to the illegal interventions, practices and activities it carried out on the Lebanese scene, despite the many warnings." The October bombings were
responsible for the bombing. According to information published by local newspapers at the time, "The bombing arrangement took place in Baalbek, and the truck used for the explosion was seen parked in front of an Amal Movement center."
Amal Movement center." The American vice president, George H.W. Bush, visited Lebanon the day after the attack and said: "We will not all terrorism to dictate or cl foreign policy." Syria, Iran and the Amal Movement then denied
now range our all involve-
HOW WE WROTE IT
"Before 1982, Beirut embraced all kinds of opposition, the educated elite, that is, the velvet opposition, and the armed opposition whose members were being trained in Palestinian camps or training camps in the Bekaa and the south," strategic researcher Walid Nouqib told Arab News.
Acts of violence in Lebanon, not matter how sanguinary and heartsickening, have become almost routine for that country. From an Arab News editorial, Oct. 24, 1983
Wahi Nouredded told Alab News. "The Iranian opposition to the Shah was one of these. Beirut was an oasis for the opposition with regional and international consensus until 1982, when Israel invaded Lebanon and besieged Beirut and pushed toward the exit of the Palestine Liberation Organization, according to an international agreement that required Israel not to enter Beirut in exchange for the Palestinians leaving Lebanon."
D
ey ates
who were part of the PLO in Lebanon did not. Most of them were Shiites who formed the reservoir of Lebanese leftist parties.
He said that "the bombings of the Marines' headquarters and the French paratroopers led to the withdrawal of the multinational forces from Lebanon, and Beirut became, for the second time, without protection. New resistance force increased according
operations increased according to ideologies unrelated to the left. The Islamic Amal Movement and its slogans to confront Israel came out into the open."
Aug.24,1982 A multinational US, French and Italian peacekeeping force is sent to Beirut to oversee withdrawal of Palestine Liberation Organization fighters.
In 1985, Hezbollah announced its birth, defining itself as "a jihadi organization leading a revolution for an Islamic republic." This party received support from parties on the Lebanese and Palestinian left, especially after the collapse of the Soviet Union. "We began to witness the liquidation of national resistance symbols, and we thought that the intention was to exclude all forces from the resistance field and limit it to one party, that is, Hezbollah," Noucheh said.
Sept. 10,1982 US Marines withdraw.
Sept. 16-19, 1982 Christian militia; assisted by Israeli troops, massacre hundreds of Muslims in Sabra and Shatila refugee camps.
Sept.29,1982 US Marines return to Beirut.
May 30,2003 A US court rules that the truck bombing was ordered by Iran and carried out by Hezbollah.
anged
TOMORROW
First Arabsat satellite launched For more events in our '45 moments that changed the Middle East' celebrating Arab News' 45th anniversary, go to www.arabnews.com
AUG.8,1984
El-Moutawakel's Olympic win
The athlete was the first Arab Muslim woman (and Moroccan) to win a gold medal
Moroccan athlete Nawal El-Moutawakel celebrates her gold-medal win at the Los Angeles Olympic Games in August 1984. Arab News published her winning picture on its front page. Getty Images
LINA ALMAEENA JEDDAH
Before the recent suspension of int flights, specifical March 1, I was to the Olympic Mus in Lausanne with Riyadh United women's basketball team by invitation of the former Swiss President Ueli Maurer.
international ly on uring eum the
I was also a student in Saudi private schools, which meant that I had opportunities to practice sports. But I found my passion in basketball. My uncle Tariq was my first basketball coach; he
bought several rims and placed them in all family garages. In 2003, I gathered my high school teammates to form a local basketball team. It led me to establish the Jeddah United Sports Co., which became the first accredited
Saudi women began accomplishing their own milestones in sport. In 2008, Arwa Mutabagani was appointed the first female board member of the Saudi Equestrian Federation. Her daughter Dalma Malhas won a historic
Even though I was very young to remember that event, her legend is a landmark in the accomplishments of Arab and Muslim female athletes. When she won, King Hassan II of Morocco called her to congratulate her, and he declared that all girls born that day were to be named in her honor. As I reflect on my own experi-
It was 1896 in Athens when the first modern Olympic Games took place, with 14 countries but no female competitors. In the next Olympics, in Paris in 1900, women were allowed to participate for the first time, in ankle-length skirts, but were limited to a few sports: Sailing, golf, tennis and croquet.
HOW WE REPORTED IT
It was not until 1928, at the Olympics in Amsterdam, that women were allowed to compete in track and field. Fast-forward more than 55 years to the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, where Nawal El-Moutawakel won the 400-meter hurdle, becoming the first Arab Muslim woman (and Moroccan) to win a gold medal. Newspapers around the world marked this milestone, with Arab News publishing her winning picture on its front page. Even though I was very young
bronze medal at the Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore in 2010.
Saudi Arabia's ambitious Vision 2030 was announced on April 25, 2016. Among its strategic objectives is the promotion of sports
With golden run in 400m hurdles Arab girl makes history
prevention and treatment. And in June 2012, Saudi Arabia joined the rest of the world in sending female athletes to the London Summer Olympics: Wojdan Shaherkani participated in judo, and Sarah Attar ran the 800-meter sprint. Attar may have been the last runner, but she got a standing ovation from 80,000 people.
In May 2012, I made it to the base camp of Mount Everest with 10 Saudi women headed by Princess Reema bint Bandar, the current Saudi ambassador to the US, in an effort to raise awareness of breast cancer and the importance of physical activity for prevention and treatment. And in June 2012, Saudi Arabia
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 9 (Agencies) — Nawal Ei Moutakwai of Morocco ran her way into Olympic history here by winning the Games' first ever 400-meter hurdles for women, momentarily eclipsing further at dominance of track and field on the 11th day of competition.
SUMMARY
The 22-year-old from Casablanca, tears in her eyes, ran a lap of honor waving her country's flag handed to her from the crowd after a victory in 54.61 seconds, just outside the world record. From a story on the front page of Arab News, Aug.10,1984
In 2017, the Ministry of Education approved a physical education program for girls in public schools,and in 2018 women were allowed to attend sports events in stadiums, once limited to men.
Da
ey
In March 2019, another milestone of inclusion took place in the Special Olympics in Abu Dhabi, when Saudi Arabia's Special Olympians won 18 gold medals in various sports. For the girls' basketball team, the Saudi Olympic Committee collaborated with the renowned Help Center, a nonprofit organization that empowers supports and trains girls and boys with intellectual disabilities.
In the Ancient Olympic Games in Greece, athletes competed in one event: A foot race for men. Who could have imagined then the course of development leading to an Arab Muslim female runner winning gold at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics? Now as we are in lockdown due
Women are allowed to participate in the Olympics for the first time at the Paris Games; Switzerland's Helene de Pourtales becomes the first female gold medalist (her team won for sailing); Britain's Charlotte Cooper is the first individual champion (for singles tennis).
Now, as we are in lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics have been postponed along with many other sports events, we must maintain high spirits and look at the glass half full, with another extra year for preparation and training for 2021. May God protect humanity and the universe at large.
Later that year, Saudi women made a historic appearance at the sixth GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) Games in Kuwait, winning two gold medals in fencing.
June 2012 For the first time, Saudi Arabia sends female athletes to the Olympics, held in London: Wojdan Shaherkani (judo) and Sarah Attar (track), who receives a standing ovation as she crosses the finish line.
Aug.10,2016
April 25,2016 Then-Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launches Vision 2030 which includes widespread participation in sports.
March 20,2019
October 2019 Saudi Arabia sends its first female national teams to participate in the sixth GCC Women's Games in Kuwait.
anged
TOMORROW
Prince Sultan in space For more events in our 45 moments that changed the Middle East' celebrating Arab News' 45th anniversary, go to www.arabnews.com
FEB.8,1985
The Arab world's first satellite
Arabsat-IA launched into orbit, marking the start of the region's burgeoning space age
NIDHAL GUESBOUM SHARJAH UAE
The first Arabsat satellite launches aboard an Arlane rocket in French Guiana on Feb. 6, 1985. Supplied
The current Arab space age can be credited to Arabsat, the pan-Arab satellite communications organization. In February 1985, Arabsat launched the first of a series of satellites (16 over the next 35 years). By 2020, the Arab world had at least six space agencies, dozens of satellites (some replacing others over the
years), three astronauts who have spent time on space stations, and a probe that will soon go to Mars.
In the three decades that followed, Arab states established space agencies (from Morocco in 1989 to the UAE in 2014) and launched many satellites, for either collective or country specific purposes, mainly telecommunications or remote sensing. Iraq was the first Arab state to launch a satellite for itself (in December 1989), becoming the 10th nation in the world to have one in orbit.
Arabsat is known mostly for satellites that carry hundreds of television and radio channels covering the Middle East, half of Africa and most of Europe. But in addition to the various space communications services it provides (including satellite telephony and broadband internet). Arabsat should be known as a pioneering and hugely influential organization. It was founded in 1976 by Arab League states and it started to launch geostationary telecommunication satellites in February 1985. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait hold slightly more than half its shares [36.7 and 14.6 percent respectively]. while the rest is
hold by 19 other Arab states.
The Arab world must pool its financial and human resources to pursue and execute next-generation space projects.
achievements, albeit smaller have been made in the region Universities and research institutes have built CubeSats and had them sent to space; Saudi
Space science and technology has become an essential field for countries seeking to develop their infrastructures and human resources in various areas including academic, technical and economic. Arab states have understood the strategic nature of space and have invested millions or even billions of dollars in various programs.
Shammas, inaugurated HadrSat the first Saudi satellite owned by the private sector.
HOW WE WROTE IT
Arabsat orbits earth after perfect launch
The Arabsat system will provide improved communications to all 22 Arab countries with over 8,000 telephone circuits and eight regional and domestic television channels, including a community television channel.
From a story by Arab News' Washington bureau on the front page, Feb. 10, 1985
military actions.
The next major milestone that the Arab world, especially the Gulf region, will need to reach is the building of a launch facility from where rockets carrying satellites and probes can take off.
Da
ey
SUMMARY
On Feb. 8, 1985, the first Arabsat satellite launched into orbit aboard a French rocket, marking the Arab world's entry into space. While Arabsat-1A malfunctioned, it was soon followed by Arabsat-1B, deployed by Saudi Prince Sultan bin Salman on his historic trip to space aboard NASA's Discovery shuttle.
Arabsat's telecommunications satellites now carry hundreds of television and radio channels to the region, while the region's space programs play essential roles in urban planning and military surveillance. With billions of dollars in investment, the field of space science and technology has become an essential field for growth in the region, as Arab countries plan missions that will reach across from the international space station to Mars.
While six Arab states have established space agencies or institutions and some of them (Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and the UAE) operate their own satellites, none have space rocket launch capability or astronaut training facilities. Such efforts and facilities could
Such efforts and facilities could be set up regionally. Indeed calls have been made for the creation of a pan-Arab space agency - similar to the European Space Agency - to coordinate and operate new, ambitious and collective programs. Such a regional agency would help reduce the costs of satellite and probe construction, launch and operation, as well as train astronauts and young experts. The Arab world should follow
Space programs (technology and exploration) have much to offer to the Arab world at this juncture of its scientific technical, economic, educational, and cultural development. Space programs now play essential roles in urban planning land observations and uses military surveillance, etc. More intangibly, space programs give a nation geopolitical prestige and quite importantly inspiration and education avenues for its youth.
Arabsat was a big success in various ways. Now is the time for the Arab world to follow up that achievement by collectively setting a clear, multi-faceted and future-looking space strategy.
Nidhal Guessoum, an Arab News columnist, is a professor of physics and astronomy at the American University of Sharjah, UAE. Twitter: @NidhalGuessoum
Feb.14,1976 Arabsat, largely funded by Saudi Arabia, is founded by 21 member states of the Arab League, with its headquarters in Riyadh.
Feb.8,1985 Arabsat-IA, Arabsat's first satellite, is launched by a French Ariane rocket from a base in French Guiana.
June 17,1985 Arabsat-IB launches aboard NASA space shuttle Discovery along with Saudi Prince Sultan bin Salman,the first Arab Muslim and royal in space who successfully deploys it a day later.
April 11,2019 SpaceX launches Arabsal- 6A with the world's most powerful rocket. Falcon Heavy, in what is the rocket's first commercial launch.
anged
Sau print jour in spa
di ce's ney to ace
TOMORROW
The first Palestinian intifada For more events in our '48 moments that changed the Middle East' celebrating Arab News' 45th anniversary, go to www.arabnews.com
JUNE 17,1985
MOHAMMED NASSER AL-AHBABI DIRECTOR GENERAL UAE SPACE AGENCY
On June 17, 1985, Saudi Prince Sultan bin Salman became the first Arab and Muslim to travel to space, spending seven days in orbit and helping to deploy a satellite for Arabest with
Long after the Islamic Golden Age, Arabs have reclaimed their tradition in astronomy, reviving the space sector in the region.
NASA. The prince served as a great inspiration making a mark in the region and the entire world.
Arabs and Muslims have a great legacy in astronomy, with a large number of astronomical works available to date.
In the late 8th century Muhammad Al-Fazari was the first astronomer to build an astrolabe as an aid to finding the qibla; in the 9th century, Muhammad Al-Khwarizmi developed the book "Zij Al-Sindhind," which contains tables for the movements of the sun, moon and planets; and in the 11th century, Omar Khayyam documented the most accurate year length.
the importance of exploring space for the benefit of humanity.
for the benefit of humanity. In 1988, Sheikh Zayed met with Prince Sultan following his return from space, and asked about the smallest details of the prince's journey. Sheikh Zayed saw incredible potential in exploring space and also had a far-sighted vision of the UAE's capabilities in the space sector. The UAE, proud of Sheikh Zayed's avant-garde thinking embraced his vision of exploring space.
The UAE has made major achievements in the space sector which include establishing the UAE astronaut program, launching 10 satellites, signing more than 30 agreements to support the space sector, and attracting investments worth $6 billion in the space economy. Among the UAE's great
Among the UAE's great milestones was the launch of the first Emirati astronaut into space. Hazza Al-Mansouri traveled to the International Space Station (ISS) in September 2019, carrying out
HOW WE WROTE IT
Sheikh Zayed's vision and Prince Sultan's historical milestone were the stepping stones for driving the UAE and the region's enthusiasm in exploring space. Since then, the UAE has been working on ambitious space projects, establishing a leading position for the region within the global space sector. The UAE has made major
Prince Sultan bin Salman, now orbiting the Earth aboard Discovery, said today he was doing just great.' The view of Earth is 'fantastic,'he remarked.
Prince Sultan bin Salman, the first Arab, Muslim and royal in space, blasted off on NASA's Discovery shuttle, below. Supplied
SUMMARY
Royal Saudi Air Force pilot Prince Sultan bin Salman,28,the son of Saudi Arabia's King Salman,spent seven days conducting experiments in space as part of an international crew of seven.
Since then, Al-Mansouri has been pursuing his dream of exploring space. He was not only the first Emirati and third
between Arab nations. After the space shuttle touched down at Edwards Air Force Base in California, Prince Sultan, having inspired a generation of Arabs to turn their eyes toward the stars, returned to a hero's welcome in Saudi Arabia and the wider Arab world.
Da
ey ates
experiments and inspiring UAE youth to become future space pioneers.
program has also gained interest among people from different backgrounds and various age ranges, with the youngest applicant just 17, while the oldest is 60.
- Following the success of Arab astronauts, the UAE is continuing its work to enhance the Arab world's leading position in space, and is planning to launch the Emirates Mars mission this year to help gain a better understanding of Earth and its atmosphere. As part of its efforts to
Following Prince Sultan's footsteps in space is essential for driving innovation, raising people's awareness of the space sector, and inspiring youth to follow the same path - a key to having more Arabs join the world's best astronauts.
and enhance the region's contribution to science research and development. The UAE and Saudi Arabia
April 1.1985 Prince Sultan and his Saudi Air Force backup, Major Abdul Al-Mohsin Hamad Al-Bassam arrive in the US to begin intensive training for the space shuttle mission.
June 17,1985 Prince Sultan blasts off from Cape Canaveral on board the Discovery, becoming the first Arab in space.
June 18,1985 Discovery's crew deploys the Arabsat-III satellite.
The UAE and Saudi Arabia share a mutual interest in the space sector and an eagerness to share knowledge and experience. Recently, the UAE Space Agency signed an agreement with the Saudi Space Commission, chaired by Prince Sultan to further cooperation in space activities for peaceful purposes, building technical and scientific capabilities, and exchanging knowledge and expertise. Following Prince Sultan's
June 24,1985 After orbiting Earth III times and traveling more than 4.6 million km.Discovery lands at Edwards Air Force Base, California.
Dec.27,2018 Prince Sultan is appointed chair of the new Saudi Space Commission.
July 22.1987 Syrian Muhammed Faris becomes the second Arab in space, flying to the Soviet Mir space station.
anged
TOMORROW
Naguib Mahfouz's Nobel For more events in our 465 moments that changed the Middle East' celebrating Arab News' 45th anniversary, go to www.arabnews.com
DEC.9,1987
Palestine's first intifada
Nonviolent resistance lay at the heart of the movement for self-determination
DAOUD KUTTAB AMMAN
The intifada (Arabic for "shaking off") was introduced to the English lexicon by many of us Palestinian journalists working with the foreign media in the Middle East.
What was being shaken off was the status quo of living under occupation.
Before the intifada began, I was much too young to agree to the job offer that was made to me. With a BA in business from the US, the American-Palestinian owner of Al-Fajr, Paul Allouny, thought I could do a good job in bringing business sense to running the Jerusalem-based family newspaper. I did not, and I hated the job.
The big story at the time was the assassination attempt against nationalist Palestinian mayors
But while I was busy making ends meet, an English-language sister publication, Al-Fajr English, was being created by Ajlouny's relative Hanna Siniora. At the young age of 25 and still a bachelor, I enjoyed proofreading and was mesmerized seeing Al-Fajr go to press each week. Eventually, I would write my first article and was fascinated to see my byline in print.
It was in this nationalist atmosphere that my cousin Mubarak had also returned from the US and started the Palestinian Center for the Study of Nonviolence. Along with my brother Jonathan, co-founder of the independent Palestinian human rights organization Al-Haq, they educated people in the occupied territories about how nonviolent resistance works.
The man who became known as the Palestinian Gandhi lost his case in Israel's High Court and was deported, despite being born in Jerusalem, on orders from right-wing Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir. But the literature he distributed, and his ideas about nonviolence and boycotts, lingered.
But while Mubarak's work had not yet become mainstream, it was not long before the Israelis realized what was happening and started tracking him. They arrested him despite the fact that he had a US passport, and despite many protests that were held in Jerusalem on his behalf.
were taking place a couple of times per week, often with important results.
HOW WE REPORTEDT
Demonstrators who stoned Israeli troops, hurled petrol bombs, barricaded streets and burned tires over the last week had an average age of about 15.
From a Rebutter story on Arab News' front page, Dec. 14, 1987
SUMMARY
The series of protests that began on Dec. 9 exploded after years of frustration provoked by Israeli oppression in the occupied territories. The uprising cost the lives of 2,000 Palestinians and more than 200 Israelis. The intifada led to peace talks that ended the conflict in Palestine.
On Dec. 8,1987,a tank transporter being driven by an Israeli soldier crashed into a car in the Jabalya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, killing four Palestinians and triggering what became known as the first intifada. The series of contests that
An iconic sign of nonviolent resistance was the decision not to follow Israel when it changed its clocks in April due to summertime. I remember covering stories about Israeli soldiers outside Damascus Gate in Jerusalem stopping young Palestinians and looking at their watches. If they had not changed the times on their watches, the soldiers would use batons to smash them while on the youths' wrists.
The intifada led to peace talks that saw the creation of the Palestinian Authority and recognition by the Palestine Liberation Organization of Israel's right to exist. Peace, however, proved elusive.In 2000, a second intifada began following the visit of Israeli opposition leader Arial Sharon to Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam.
soldiers with stones, it was the nonviolent actions throughout Palestine that fascinated me.
Palestinians throw stones at Israeli soldiers during the first intifada. Getty Images
represented at the conference by Shamir, who had deported Mubarak. The Israeli delegation's spokesman was current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Palestinian delegation's spokeswoman was Ashrawi. Nothing harpooned as a result
But that achievement, and the hope of peace that many had suffered for, was wiped out when an extremist Jewish settler assassinated Israel's then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, paving the way for Netanyahu's first term as premier. Things have gone backward for Palestinian rights and aspirations ever since.
Dec.8.1987 An Israeli truck crashes into a car in the Jabalya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, killing four Palestinians.
June 1988 The Arab League announces that it will support the intifada financially.
anged
Pan Am bombing For more events in our '45 moments that changed the Middle East' celebrating Arab News' 45th anniversary, go to www.arabnews.com
Naguib Mahfouz's Nobel Prize in Literature
OCT.13,1988
The author's most important work was banned by Egypt's religious authorities
ABDELLATIF EL-MENAWY CAIRD
Naguib Mahfouz in his Cairo home, above, a few days after the Nobel announcement. Below, his funeral procession in 2006. AFP
In 1901, the first Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the French poet Sully Prudhomme. More than 80 years later, on Oct.13,1988,the Swedish Academy awarded the prize to Egyptian writer Naguib Mahfouz. It was the first time it had been awarded to an Egyptian, and also the first time the winner's mother tongue was Arabic. The award is:
The time I spent with him was of special value. It was an opportunity to
most important figures in Arabic and international literature. However, I do not claim to have known him deeply; he was by nature very reserved, so I only knew him to a limited extent. I understood why Mahfouz did not want to share his personal life with the public, instead preferring to keep it away from the spotlight. He only got married in the period after he stopped writing following the revolution of 1952. He was able to hide his marriage for 10 years.
The academy's statement noted that: "To date, Mahfouz has been writing for about 50 years. He is still indefatigable."
I used to pass by his house in Al-Agouza in the morning and we would walk together to Tahirir Square to sit in a small cafe called All Raba. We would then
At the eastern and western approaches to the Qasr El Nil Bridge, next to Cairo's Tahrir Square, are four famous large bronze lion statues that enthrall me every time I cross the bridge. I used to make this journey twice a week in the early 1990s, and accompanying me was Mahfouz. At that time, we had agreed to jointly write eight articles for Al-Majalla magazine.
It went on: "Mahfouz's great and decisive achievement is as the writer of novels and short stories. His production has meant a powerful upswing for the novel as a genre and for the development of the literary language in Arabic-speaking cultural circles. The range is, however, greater than that. His work speaks to us all."
Mahfouz's life is itself worthy of literary fiction. He was born on Dec. 11, 1911, in Cairo's old city, and was named after the obstetrician who helped deliver him.
SUMMARY
HOW WE WROTE IT
On Oct.13, 1988, Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz became the first Egyptian and the first writer with Arabic as his native tongue to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
By then, Manhouz, 76 had produced a rich and complex body of work including more than 30 novels and 350 short stories, many of which were adapted for film. For many years, he also
wrote a weekly column for Egypt's leading newspaper, Al-Ahram.
Newspaper. Anthony
The Nobel citation said that, "through works rich in nuance — now clear-sightedly realistic, now evocatively ambiguous" — Mahfouz had created "an Arabian narrative art that applies to all mankind."
to focus on literature. However, because literature was not a profession that could provide him with a monthly salary, but was rather a hobby, he worked in several government positions.
Mahfouz began writing in the mid-1930s and his short stories were published in Al-Risala magazine. In 1939, his first novel, "Abath Al-Aqdar" (Mockery of the Fates), was published. It presented his concept of historical realism and was followed by "Radabis" (Rhadopis of Nubia) and "Kifah Tibah" (Thebes at War)
retelling of the stories of the three Abrahamic faiths, was banned and, in 1994, he survived a knife attack by a religious extremist.
to complete a historical trilogy set in the time of the pharaohs.
K Da
ey
Many classify "Children of Our Alley," which was translated into English as "Children of Gebelawi," as Mahfouz's most important work. It began to be serialized in Al-Ahram in September 1958, but this was suspended on Dec. 25 the same year due to objections by religious organizations. It was this novel that brought Mahfouz into conflict with Egypt's religious authorities. After its serialization in Al-Ahram, Cairo's religious university, Al-Azhar, refused to allow the work to appear in book form. It took another eight years for it to be published in Beirut. Many years later, this book was the motivation
for a 1995 attack on the author's life, in which he was hospitalized with a wound to the neck. This left him partially paralyzed in his right arm.
Dec.11,1911 Naguib Mahfouz is born in Old Cairo,the seventh and youngest child of Abdul Aziz Bahhim,a civil servant.
1939 Publishes his first full-length novel, 'Mockery of The Fates,' which is translated into English in 2003 as 'Khuufir's Wisdom.'
"Ahlum Fatrat Al-Naqaha" (Dreams of the Period of Recovery), published in 2004, was a series of writings dictated to his friends. He passed away on Aug. 30, 2006, after receiving myriad well-deserved honors, awards and accolades. His name was given to a number of squares in Egypt, while a museum was last year opened in the writer's honor near his home neighborhood.
Behind the scenes of his Nobel Prize award in 1988, it is said that this novel as well as some other works ensured he outdid his peers who were also nominated for the award at the time. "Ahlum Fatrat Al-Naqaha"
Publishes 'Bayn Al-Qasrayn' (Palace Walk), the first book in the 'Cairo Trilogy,' his most famous works, which follow the fortunes of a Cairene family over three generations from the time of the 1919 revolution. Qasr Al-Shawq (Palace of Desire) and Al-Sulkarlyya' (Sugar Street) follow in 1967.
Oct.13,1988 Wins Nobel Prize in Literature.
anged
Except the Saudi monarch was King Fahd, the Israeli prime minister was Yitzhak Shamir, and another report on the page tells you this was not 2020 but Dec. 23, 1988. Two nights before, Pan Am Flight 103 from Frankfurt to Detroit via London and New York had been blown up by a terrorist bomb as it crossed the border between England and Scotland.
Few events resonate all the way from a small Scottish border town to the White House. This was one such event, Lockerbie, with its 4,000 souls, joined that list of places in the UK and elsewhere Aberfan, Munich, Srebrenica My Lai forever associated in the public consciousness with cruel and senseless loss of life.
A policeman surveys wreckage near the cockpit on Dec. 22, 1988, the day after the Pan Am airliner exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 259 passengers and crew. AFP
ROSS ANDERSON JEDDAH
The truth about the deadliest terror attack in UK history may never be known
With some narratives, paradoxically, it can make sense to work backward — from when Abdelbaset Al-Megrahi, a Libyan intelligence officer and former head of
When a terror attack was confirmed, the perpetrator identified by Washington was inevitable. The US and the regime of Muammar Qaddafi in Libya had been in a state of undeclared war for years, and American airstrikes in April 1986 appeared only to have incarced him.
DEC.21,1988
SUMMARY
How linked was Libya to Lockerbie?
On Dec. 21, 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 crashed on the Scottish town of Lockerbie, killing all 259 passengers and crew. An investigation found the aircraft had been downed by a bomb in the luggage hold. An alleged Libyan intelligence officer, Abdelbaset Al-Megrahi, was sentenced to life imprisonment for the bombing, serving eight years before he died in 2012.
security for Libyan Arab Airlines died at his home in Tripoli on May 20,2012,at the age of 60.
20, 2012, at the age of 60. More than 11 years earlier, i January 2001, three Scottish judges sitting at a special court in a former US air base in the Netherlands had sentenced Al-Megrahi to life imprisonment on 270 counts of murder for the Lockerbie bombing.
HOW WE REPORTED IT
embroiled in civil conflict. For the rest of us, airline and airport security have intensified on an apparently endless upward trajectory, and we can at least be grateful that an unaccompanied suitcase with a bomb inside can never again travel from Malta through two airports to the skies over Scotland. Perhaps most significantly
Perhaps most significantly. Lockerbie may have marked the beginning of a collapse in public trust in what our governments tell us. Authorities in the US and the UK insist that Al-Megrahi was guilty, and that he acted alone or with a single accomplice. Few believe that. Major world events -the assas-
the Palestinians; it was Mossad; it was the Stasi; it was apartheid South Africa.
What makes Lockerbie different is that one of the "theories" is
D
Key ates
And that, surely, for the victims of Pan Am Flight 103, for their still-grieving families and for the people of Lockerbie, was the final insult.
Dec. 5,1988 The US Federal Aviation Authority issues a bulletin warning of an anonymous tip that a Pan Am flight from Frankfurt will be blown up in the next two weeks.
Swire, now in his 80s, has devoted his life to finding the truth about Lockerbie. He met and questioned Al-Megrahi. He met and questioned Qadkafi. He has been a thorn in the side of UK and US authorities for more than 30 years, and he believes to this day that the case against Al-Megrahi was a travesty and a tissue of lies, to cover up some ghastly truth that may never be known.
Dec. 21,1988 Pan Am Flight 103 is destroyed by a bomb over Lockerbie.
Alleged Libyan intelligence officers Abdelbaset Al-Megrahi and Lamin Khalafi Phimah (above) are indicted for murder by US and Scottish authorities, but Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi refuses to allow their extradition for trial.
May 3,2000 After a nine-year standoff. Qaddafi agrees to allow Al-Megrahi and Fhimah to be tried under Scottish law in the Netherlands.
March 14,2002 Al-Megrahi (above) loses an appeal against his conviction.
Jan. 31,2001 Al-Megrahi is jailed for life. Fhimah is found not guilty.
anged
TOMORROW The fall of the Berlin Wall For more events in our 45 moments that changed the Middle East' celebrating Arab News' 45th anniversary, go to www.arabnews.com
Then Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal sits between Lebanese Parliamentary Speaker Hussain Al-Hussaini, right, and Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmad Ghassall in Talf in 1989. AFP
This pact was the unwritten agreement between then-President Bechara El-Khoury and Prime Minister Riad Al-Solh that founded independent Lebanon as a multi-confessional state. It was a power-sharing arrangement between Christians and Muslims, whereby the president was always required to be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of parliament a Shiite. The powers handed down were of particular benefit to Lebanon's
Saudi Arabia's determination and diplomacy helped bring an end to the Lebanese Civil Wa
Other parties included Syria's Hafez Assad, the US administration, and the various Lebanese factions fighting in the war. Saudi Arabia wanted to find a solution involving all these players to stop the war and bring about an improvement on the 1943 Lebanese National Part.
RANDA TAKIEDDINE PARIS
The Talf Agreeme the outcome of a concerted attempt by Saudi Arabia to bring about an end to the Lebanese Civil War.
OCT.22,1989
ular benefit to Lebanon's Christians. The civil war required an adjustment in this equilibrium. It also required an adjustment in Lebanon's relations with the Arab world in a period where Assad was getting more powerful,with the aim of more influential and heg in Lebanon.
Leha
being hymonic
HOW WE WROTE IT
Hariri. The agreement covered political reform, giving full power to the Council of Ministers and greater power to the Muslim prime minister, as opposed to previously, when all powers were concentrated with the Christian president. It established special relations between Lebanon and Syria and a framework to begin Syria's withdrawal from the country. Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Al-Sharaa later denied there was a commitment made to Prince Saud to withdraw from Lebanon. It was only after the assassination of Prime Minister Hariri in 2005 that Syria finally pulled out. Saudi Arabia had, since the late
We have extricated the tumor from the Arab body and stopped the bleeding which was painful and interminable. Lebanese MP in Arab News, Oct. 23, 1889
When Saudi Arabia pushed for the peace conferences in Geneva and Lausanne in 1983 and 1984, respectively, but failed to stop the war, it continued to mediate with the involvement of the Arab League Tripartite Committee to Lebanon, under the chairmanship of Prince Saud. The representatives from Morocco and Algeria were former foreign ministers Abdellatif Filali and Sid Ahmed Ghozali, respectively, and they were joined by the Arab League's Special Envoy to Lebanon Lakhdar Brahimi. The last committee meeting in Rabat before Taif in 1988 was when these three ministers summoned Al-Sharaa and warned him that they had proof of Syria's
Efforts to end the war did not stop and Saudi Arabia worked through two negotiators. Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin
(Rafik) Hariri was shuttled between various world capitals to organize a conference in the Kingdom to agree on reform and the election of a president.
arming of both then Prime Minister Michel Aoun's army and the Lebanese Forces headed by Samir Geagea. Aoun had been appointed interim prime minister by outgoing president Amine Gemayel.
SUMMARY
Multi-sectarian Lebanon had been plunged into a brutal conflict in 1975 partly because the allocation of parliamentary seats along religious lines, established during the French mandate from 1923 to 1946, had not been adjusted to take account of a shift in demographics in favor of Muslims.
D
eyates
Abdul Aziz and Hariri. This was the outset of Hariri's political involvement on the Lebanese scene. King Fahd entrusted Prince Bandar to direct efforts for a solution in Lebanon, and Hariri was shuttled between various world capitals to organize a conference in the Kingdom to agree on reform and the election of a president. Hariri managed to persuade the Lebanese deputies to come to Saudi Arabia, where
April13.1975 Fighting between Maronites and Muslims in Lebanon begins when suspected PLO gunmen attack a Christian church in East Beirut, killing four. Phalangists retaliate, killing 30 Palestinians on a bus, triggering widespread fighting.
became president. One unforgettable sentence uttered by a brilliant French diplomat, having served in Lebanon, still rings true in view of the disastrous situation currently prevailing there:"The political class who made the civil war in Lebanon is still in power, but it cannot succeed in ruling the country."
Randa Takieddine is a Paris-based Lebanese journalist who writes for Arab News. She covered the last committee meeting in Rabat before Tafil in 1988 for Al-Hayat and headed its bureau in France for 30 years.
Oct.16,1976 The Arab League summit in Riyadh calls for an end to the civil war and creates the peacekeeping Arab Deterrent Force.
Feb.7,1978 Start of the Hundred Days' War in Beirut between Christian militias and the mainly Syrian troops of the Arab Deterrent Force.
June 6,1982 Israel invades southern Lebanon to halt attacks over the border by the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Aug.23,1982 Christian phalangist Bachir Gemayel, former leader of Lebanese Forces Maronite militia, is elected president. The next month, he is killed by a bomb planted by a Maronite Christian.
Sept.22,1988 Outgoing president Amine Gemayal defies precedent and appoints a fellow Maronite Christian, Gen. Michel Aoun as prime minister.
anged
TOMORROW
The Invasion of Kuwait For more events in our '45 moments that changed the Middle East' celebrating Arab News' 45th anniversary, go to www.arabnews.com
NOV. 9,1989
The fall of the Berlin Wall
The dismantling of the Soviet bloc symbol was a sign that the Cold War's days were numbered
ROSS ANDERSON DUBAI
I have a piece of the Berlin Wall. Don't we all? If every "piece of the Berlin Wall" were genuine, the edifice itself would have encircled the globe three times with enough left over to separate the US from Mexico. Nevertheless, no one will persuade me that my chunk of crumbling concrete, stained with the
On Nov. 11, 1989, West Berliners watch East German border guards, above, demolish a section of the wall. Below, two days before, a woman chips away at it. AFP
On Nov.11, 1989, no such insular myopia afflicted Arab News which devoted a large chunk of its front page to events in Germany
fading paint of a long forgotten graffiti artist, is anything other than the real thing.
a far away country, certainly but one where the Cold War played out every day in a single city, with profound implications for the Middle East and the whole world.
If the fall of the wall was inevitable, so too was its construction which began in August 1961 amid the division of Europe after World War II. Within four years of the conflict ending, the Soviet Union had installed puppet communist governments throughout Eastern Europe, including the new German Democratic Republic, or East Germany.
Tensions simmered for 12 years, exacerbated by the original "brain drain" of the young, the bright and the ambitious from East to West. In June 1961, East German leader Walter Ulbricht declared: "No one has the intention of erecting a wall." It was the first clue that this was precisely the intention.
wearing only underwear. In September 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain described Adolf Hitler's annexation of the Sudetenland as a "quarrel in a far away country, between people of whom we know nothing." A year later, Britain was at war with Nazi Germany. On November 10, 1939, no such injurie
Of less dubious provenance are my East German border guard's fur hat and lapel pin, purchased at an impromptu trestle-table market set up by enterprising Berliners near the Brandenburg Gate. These have a back story.
When it became clear that the wall would fall, many of the communist guards (not the
نُشر أصلاً على Arab News. لقراءة النص الكامل في موقع المصدر:
اقرأ على Arab News ↗
