| In the nineteenth century, newspapers and magazines were a novelty in the Arab world; the first Arabic private newspaper was founded in 1855 in Istanbul. Only one year later the first Arabic newspaper was started in Paris. Western Europe (firstly Paris and secondly London) proved to be fertile ground for Arabic journalistic activities; at the turn of the century more then fourty serials have been initiated. These magazines and newspapers are the topic of my study. The standard narrative with respect to these serials is as follows. In the nine-teenth century, Ottoman authorities placed newspapers and magazines under strict censorship. The new media, especially in the Arabic language, were regarded as a threat towards their position. Many Arab intellectuals fled this oppression and started publishing serials outside this sphere of influence, mainly in Egypt and in Western Europe (the epithets of freedom of expression). They used their position to criticize the status quo in their home countries. As a direct consequence of this narrative, the focus of attention always lies on the same newspapers and magazines (namely those that fit the narrative). Nevertheless there were many newspapers that worked along a different line, and that did not have an anti-Ottoman political agenda. The first aim of this project is to come to a better understanding of the ideologi-cal and political arena as expressed in the serials in question. Directly related to this topic is an analysis of the relations and affiliations within Arab émigré circles in Lon-don and Paris. The second aim is to analyze the images and representations in these newspapers vis-à-vis Arabs, Westerners, Turks, Muslims, Christians, and any other group that come to the fore. The focus on the crossroads of identity and alterity is cho-sen because of their special position as Arabs in Europe. Questions that are asked are: how is the identity of Arabs constructed? Negatively, as a victim of foreign (Turkish or Western colonialist) aggression, or positively, as the subject of the modern ex-periment aimed at advancing the Arab world? In a similar vein, one can ask question with respect to the other identities as well. |
