[7] Sfar's career in politics as an active nationalist reformer began on 2 August 1888 when he founded the newspaper El Hadhira (The Capital),[8] managed by another member of the Khaldounia association, Ali Bouchoucha.

In his articles, he called on his fellow Tunisians, some of whom were fascinated by France, to “prevent themselves from falling into a condition of excess, where they would deny their Muslim Arab culture and lose their identity.” He believed that Tunisian national renewal could only be achieved through education, exposing young people to Islamic culture alongside the sciences, economics, history, geography and modern languages.

[12] In his speech before the Resident General in 1906, Sfar declared: "The Muslim population appreciates, to the proper extent, the useful improvements and reforms accomplished by the Protectorate government.

Professional, commercial and agricultural education, made widely available to the native population; effective training and protection for Tunisian labour; revival of local industries by customs controls and other measures; and finally the preservation of native land rights; these, Mr. Resident General, in our humble opinion, are the many proper measures which will reduce or end the economic crisis which is bearing down on Muslim society today.”[13][14] This speech irked the French colonists who replied in virulent terms in their newspapers, Le Colon français and La Tunisie française.

However, in France, liberals supported Sfar in Le Temps, and said it was necessary to take account of the demands raised by the Young Tunisians, who were imbued with the principles of the French Revolution.