Overview
Al Arab was the first Arabic daily newspaper following the independence of Qatar. It was printed between 1972 and 1995 and was relaunched on 18 November 2007 as an e-newspaper which is based in Doha, Qatar.
Al Arab was first published on 6 March 1972 as a weekly tabloid and became Qatar's first post-independence Arabic publication. The newspaper is also the first political paper of the country.
The founder and the first editor-in-chief of Al Arab was Qatari intellectual Abdullah Hussein Nemma, known as "Dean" of the Qatari press. Al Arab was converted into a broadsheet daily on 22 February 1974. It was closed down in 1995. And was relaunched on 18 November 2007 as an online newspaper. Abdulaziz Al-Mahmoud who also contributed to the foundation of the daily was named as editor-in-chief and served in the post until November 2009. Abdullah bin Hamad AlOthba is the current editor in chief, and the Chairman of Board of Directors is Thani Bin Abdullah Al Thani. Al Arab newspaper includes news national, Arab and international news, as well as economy and sports.