Al-Manār (Arabic: المنار; 'The Lighthouse'), was an Islamic magazine, written in Arabic, and was founded, published and edited by Rashid Rida from 1898 until his death in 1935 in Cairo, Egypt.[1][2] The magazine championed the superiority of Islamic religious system over other ideologies and was noteworthy for its campaigns for the restoration of a pan-IslamicCaliphate.[3]
History and profile
Al-Manār was founded by the Sunni scholar Muhammad Rashid Rida in 1898,[2] and his brother, Salih Rida, was also instrumental in the establishment of the magazine.[4] They were both members of the Decentralization Party.[4] Their goal in establishing the magazine was to articulate and disseminate reformist ideas and preserve the unity of the Muslim nations.[5] The magazine was based in Cairo.[1][6] It was started as a weekly, but later its frequency was switched to monthly.[1]
In addition to championing the beliefs of the Arabian Muwahhidun movement, Al-Manar also popularised the treatises of major Salafi theologians of Yemen. These included Nayl al-Autar & Irshad al-Fuhul by Al-Shawkani and Subul al-Salam by Ibn al-Amir Al-San’ani. Outlining the religious orientation of his magazine, Rashid Rida wrote:
“since its inception, al-Manar has been preaching the pure oneness [of God] and the views of the early pious generation (madhhab al-salaf) in matters [related to] the dogmas and guidance of Islam. As for matters relating to governance and power, it [i.e., al-Manar, has been advocating] the arts of the age and the laws of nature (funun al-asr wa sunan al-khalq)"[11]
Al-Manār was one of the earliest Arab publications which called attention to the Zionist threat against Palestine.[12] The magazine claimed in 1898 that the Zionists were attempting to occupy Palestine.[12] It repeated the same fears in 1902.[12]
Following the death of Rashid Rida in 1935, Al-Manār was irregularly published until 1940.[8] In October 1939 it was temporarily banned by the Egyptian government.[13] Two issues were published by the heirs of Rida, and from 1939 to 1940 the Association of Muslim Brotherhood was the publisher of Al-Manār.[8]
Legacy
Al-Manar advocated for a fundamentalist revival of the methodology and doctrine of the Salaf al-Salih based on the writings of classical Hanbali theologian Ahmad ibn Taymiyyah (728 A.H/1263 C.E); communicating these ideas in such a way that mobilised the Muslim masses both culturally and politically.[14] The intellectual heritage of Al-Manār has been adopted and championed by Islamic religious movements and organizations in Arab world, including the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and the Association of Algerian ‘Ulama’ in Algeria.[8] Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hasan Al Banna, praised Al-Manar as one of "the greatest influences in the service of Islam for this age in Egypt and in other areas."[15]
Al-Manār inspired various journals, including Shura, a Turkic language magazine published in Orenburg between 1908 and 1918.[16][17]
^Fakhry, Majid (2006). A History of Islamic Philosophy: Third Edition. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 358. ISBN0-231-13220-4.
^ abEliezer Tauber (1990). "The Press and the Journalist as a Vehicle in Spreading National Ideas in Syria in the Late Ottoman Period". Die Welt des Islams. 30 (1/4): 166. doi:10.2307/1571051. JSTOR1571051.
^Samir M. Seikaly (2009). "Appropriating the Past: Twentieth-century Reconstruction of Pre-Modern Islamic Thought". Configuring Identity in the Modern Arab East. Beirut: American University of Beirut Press. p. 11. ISBN978-9953-9019-6-1.
^Roy Bar Sadeh (Summer 2020). "Between Cairo and the Volga-Urals: Al-Manar and Islamic Modernism, 1905-17". Kritika. 21 (3): 525–553. doi:10.1353/kri.2020.0036.