Egypt’s first non-official journal was actually secretly government-funded

Evidence

In 1867 a weekly journal named Wadi al-Nil, the first Egyptian journal that was not an official organ, was published under the editorship of Abdullah Efendi Abu Saud. Abu Sa ud, however, was an official of the Bureau of Schools, and the journal was actually established and funded by the government. Three years later, in April 1870, another journal appeared, this time issued publicly by the Bureau of Schools, entitled Rawdat al-madaris. This monthly journal was devoted to the spread of modern subjects of knowledge, and was printed and distributed free to all students in the new government schools. It was under the supervision of Rifaa al-Tahtawi, all of whose subsequent writings were first published in its pages. — Timothy Mitchell, Colonising Egypt, 310

Categorization

• SHARE: A perfect anecdote for someone interested in Egyptian intellectual history or the period press — the ‘first independent journal’ being quietly paid for by the state.