Back from oblivion

By Shaden Shehab
After a two-year legal battle for survival, the revamped weekly newspaper Sawt Al-Umma (Voice of the Nation) hit the newsstands on 6 December. This time, the newspaper has a new, and controversial, leadership. The chief editor is Adel Hammouda, former deputy chief editor of iRose Al-Youssef/i magazine, and currently a writer for Al-Ahram. The board chairman is Essam Ismail Fahmi, previously board chairman of the independent weekly newspaper Al-Destour, the publication of which was suspended about two years ago. Both men were associated with the "success" of their publications, and both men lost their jobs in the process.
Sawt Al-Umma sold like hot cakes because readers had eagerly awaited its appearance. Ibrahim Nasr, chief of the distribution department of Al-Ahram organisation, said: "The 80,000 printed copies of the first issue were sold out in two days. We plan to raise the number in the coming weeks."
Hammouda was reassigned to Al-Ahram in March 1998. Al-Destour, which was launched in late 1995, was shut down at about the same time. Both iRose Al-Youssef/i and Al-Destour had published a dubious statement containing threats against three Coptic businessmen, allegedly issued by the underground Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiya.
The two publications had been accused of sensationalism and of addressing subjects which other newspapers and magazines considered taboo.
Fahmi and Hammouda, backed by others, decided to join hands and buy majority shares of Sawt Al-Umma shortly after its original owner, Adli El-Muwallid, died in October 1998. El-Muwallid had succeeded in obtaining a local publication licence in 1997. "But our names were not good news to then prime minister Kamal El-Ganzouri," Hammouda told Al-Ahram Weekly. "He did not want us to publish a newspaper." Indeed, in February 1999 a decision to revoke the newspaper's licence was taken by the Supreme Press Council, a semi-governmental body authorised to license the publication of newspapers.
The publishers went to the Administrative Court which ruled in their favour in December 1999. But the Supreme Press Council, in a bid to win time, filed appeals with other unspecialised courts. Eventually, the case was sent back to the Administrative Court, which on 8 August again ruled in favour of the publishers. The Court said the constitution gave the press complete freedom and prohibited the confiscation, termination or cancellation of a newspaper's licence.
The newspaper's first issue was a reminder to readers of Al-Destour of Hammouda's blunt criticism of prominent figures. The main headline read: "On video: the downfall of the Kamal El-Shazli legend." Inside, a story by Hammouda, covering half a page, lambasted El-Shazli, state minister for parliamentary affairs, under the title: "The end of the Kamal El-Shazli myth." Also inside was an interview with El-Shazli himself, conducted by Said Abdel-Khaleq, former co-editor of Al-Wafd newspaper. Asked whether the newspaper had received the green light verbally to attack a government symbol such as El-Shazli, Hammouda responded: "This is nonsense. There were no deals with anybody. It just takes courage and a strong belief that the duty of the press is to expose all the facts to the public."
In an attempt to show that the newspaper is a platform for all political and cultural trends, the logo is a caricature by renowned cartoonist Mustafa Hussein featuring the top political and intellectual figures of 20th-century Egypt. They include Egypt's three presidents, pre-revolution figures such as King Farouk, Saad Zaghloul and Mustafa El-Nahhas, and nationalist leader Mustafa Kamel. Contemporary figures include Pope Shenouda III of the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Muslim Brotherhood's founder Hassan El-Banna.
"This is meant to reflect the newspaper's orientation. It is the voice of Egypt -- be it Islamic, secular, or Coptic," Fahmi told the Weekly.
This issue tackles such contentious subjects as the reform of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) and the repercussions of parliamentary elections. It also publishes an interview by renowned writer Mohamed Hassanein Heikal with Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz, who celebrated his 89th birthday last Monday.
Prominent Al-Ahram columnist Salama Ahmed Salama told the Weekly : "[Sawt Al-Umma] is a good addition to the Egyptian press. It addresses taboo subjects that national newspapers do not touch and is less sensational than other independent newspapers." Salama added, however: "I hope the next issues will be as impartial and that a clear distinction will be made between opinion and news."
"This newspaper is trying to please all tastes and is supposed to provide material that will not be outdated the following day," Hammouda said.
He added that the number of reporters on the paper, which operates from a rented villa in Mohandessin, was currently limited but there were plans for future increase. Ibrahim Eissa, former chief editor of Al-Destour, was not a staff member because "Hammouda has his team and it's up to him as chief editor to choose his staff," Fahmi said.
As for his post as a writer for Al-Ahram, Hammouda said that he would keep it. He added: "The man whose support made this newspaper possible is Ibrahim Nafie." Nafie is board chairman of the Al-Ahram organisation and editor-in-chief of the daily Al-Ahram.
Related stories:
'Another time, another place' 22-28 October 1998
Grounded before take-off 20-26 August 1998
Flying undetected 13-19 August 1998
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