[2] Al Raya was launched by Gulf company for printing and publishing as a weekly newspaper on 10 May 1979.
[3][4] The company which was founded by Ali bin Jaber Al Thani also owns Gulf Times, an English-language daily.
[17] The major rival of the daily is another Arabic Qatari newspaper Al Sharq which has opposite political stance.
[19] Following the 2013 coup in Egypt, Al Raya concentrated on the ongoing demonstrations of supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and ousted President Mohamed Morsi.
[20] In the early 1990s Al Raya had a circulation of 10,000 copies and was distributed in Saudi Arabia and Egypt in addition to its native Qatar.