Al Amal (Lebanon)

Al Amal was founded in 1939.^[2][3] The paper is headquartered in Beirut,^[4] and had Arabic and French editions.^[3][5] It is the official publication of the Kataeb Party, also known as Phalangist Party, and has a right-wing approach.^[6] In the early period the publisher of the paper was Pierre Gemayel, leader of the Kataeb Party.^[7] Until 1946 Al Amal was distributed with another Kataeb paper entitled Action which was published in French.^[8] From 21 November 1946 Al Amal became an Arabic daily newspaper, and Action was made a separate French-language weekly newspaper on 3 October 1948.^[8]

Its major function is to convey the party's views and ideas.^[2] In the 1940s Al Amal frequently published anti-Israeli news and articles.^[9] From 1945 it also frequently criticized the Lebanese government.^[8] The membership of the Kataeb Party significantly increased following the crisis in 1958 which also increased the significance of the paper.^[10] However, during this turmoil Fuad Haddad, editor-in-chief of Al Amal, was kidnapped on 23 September.^[11] Subscription to the newspaper became compulsory for all Kataeb Party members in 1966.^[2]

The paper had an oppositional stance against the Palestinian refugees in the country in 1980.^[11] In the 1980s Al Amal was published daily,^[12] but later its frequency was switched to weekly. In October 1985 Elie Hobeika, a militia commander, unsuccessfully attempted to suspend the publication of Al Amal.^[13] However, he seized the headquarters of Le Reveil, a French-language daily founded by Amine Gemayel.^[13] Following the control of the party by the Lebanese Forces, namely Elie Hobeika and Samir Geagea, Al Amal was for a time temporarily controlled by the group in 1986,^[14] but now reflects solely the points of view of the Phalange which is its license holder.^[15]

The circulation of Al Amal was 35,000 copies in the beginning of the 2000s.^[16]

The long-term editors-in-chief of the paper were Elias Rababi^[2] and Joseph Abu Khalil.^[17] Both were also the leading figures of the Phalangist Party in the 1940s.^[9] Another editor-in-chief of Al Amal was Fuad Haddad who was abducted while serving in the post on 23 September 1958.^[11] Lebanese caricaturist Pierre Sadek contributed to the newspaper.^[17]