Al Qibla

Al Qibla was the official gazette of the Kingdom of Hejaz. The paper was backed by the British. It was in circulation between 1916 and 1924 and headquartered in Mecca. The paper was a four-page broadsheet and published twice a week, on Mondays and on Thursdays. The slogan of Al Qibla was the following verse taken from Quran: History and profile Al Qibla was first published on 15 August 1916, five weeks after the capture of Mecca by Sharif Hussein. The founders of the paper were Muhib Al Din Al Khatib and Fuad Al Khatib. They were tasked by the British to start the paper to address the whole Arabic-reading public. It was published by Wilāya Press in Mecca on a semi-weekly basis. Muhib Al Din Al Khatib was also its founding editor-in-chief. Tayeb Al Sassi also served in the post. Shortly after its start Sharif Hussein became the King of Hejaz, and the coronation ceremony held in October 1916 was fully covered in Al Qibla. The paper featured international news based on the official communiques from Cairo, local news and writings of leading Arabic writers concerning ethical and social virtues. It also published reports from European and other foreign newspapers and periodicals. The British agents in the region helped the distribution of the paper.