Saleem Takla

During this period, Alexandria was “both a bridgehead of European colonialism and a crucible of Egyptian national integration and identity.”[4]: 3  More people were becoming literate, thanks in part to the development of new schools in the city, and conflicts and crises throughout the Middle East piqued public interest in world events.

According to Juan Cole: “In October 1863 the Egyptian foreign minister made it known that Ottoman censorship laws would henceforth be more strictly applied in Egypt, through a special government department overseeing newspapers.

Newspapers were to abstain absolutely from any criticism of governmental actions and avoid any discussion of matters, the mention of which might affect relations with foreign powers.

Furthermore, by allowing newspapers more license, Isma'il Pasha hoped “to use the press to fight off the increasing influence of Britain and France over Egyptian internal affairs” and therefore “allowed a livelier Arabic political press to grow up that had some hope of surviving financially.”[5]: 225 Eventually, the Takla brothers did run afoul of censorship laws.

They first “had their Sada al-Ahram suspended and fined for finding fault with Isma'il, and on its second serious offense the Publications Department simply ordered it out of existence.”[5]: 227  However, the Takla brothers had other newspapers, and this setback did not prevent them from continuing to attempt to exert political influence using their other outlets.