"مجلة الجِنان" ودورها الثقافي والفكري في صحافة القرن التاسع عشر الميلادي في بلاد الشام في الفترة من 1870-1883م

Majeda Imran Abdelmajid; Eman Abdel Rahman Hayajneh

doi:10.35516/Hum.2026.9183

Authors

Majeda Imran Abdelmajid Department of History, Faculty of Arts, University of Jordan. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7152-9396
Eman Abdel Rahman Hayajneh Department of History, Faculty of Arts, University of Jordan. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2639-7133

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35516/Hum.2026.9183

Keywords:

Levantine press, Al-Jenan magazine, Butrus Al-Bustani, reformist ideas, cultural awareness, Ottoman Organizations.

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the role of Al-Jenan magazine in promoting cultural, intellectual, and political awareness during the era of the "Ottoman Organizations." The magazine represented a model of comprehensive journalism in the 19th century and showcased the role of the Levantine press in fostering national awareness. Its coverage of European technological and scientific advancements reflected its contribution to advancing education and culture in the Arab world.

Methodology: The study adopted a historical-analytical approach, focusing on the magazine's objective and temporal scope. Al-Jenan began publication in 1870 and ceased in 1883 following the death of its founder and later editor, Salim Al-Bustani.

Results: The findings revealed that Al-Jenan played a pivotal role in disseminating cultural, educational, social, and political content. It also featured puzzles, mathematical problems, short literary stories, novels, scientific knowledge, and European discoveries in medicine and technical inventions.

Conclusion: Al-Jenan was one of the first comprehensive magazines to promote cultural and civilizational awareness in 19th-century Arab countries. It facilitated the emergence of intellectuals and thinkers who, through newspapers and magazines, presented their cultural and reformist visions in scientific and cultural domains.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Abduh, I. (1949). The history of printing and the press in Egypt during the French campaign 1798–1801 (2nd ed.). Library of Arts, Model Printing Press.

Al-Awdat, H., & Al-Shakour, Y. (1990). Arab press encyclopedia (Syria–Lebanon–Palestine–Jordan) (Part 2). Arab Organization for Education, Culture and Science.

Al-Bustānī, B. (1870). Al-Jinān (Part 14) [Microfilm No. 249]. Archives Department, University of Jordan.

Al-Bustānī, B. (1876). Al-Jinān (Part 12) [Microfilm No. 265]. Archives Department, University of Jordan.

Al-Bustānī, B. (1877). Al-Jinān (Part 22) [Microfilm No. 265]. Archives Department, University of Jordan.

Al-Bustānī, B. (1882). Al-Jinān (Parts 5 & 16) [Microfilm Nos. 273 & 274]. Archives Department, University of Jordan.

Al-Bustānī, B. (1883). Al-Jinān (Parts 4 & 5) [Microfilm No. 274, pp. 83, 136]. Archives Department, University of Jordan.

Al-Bustānī, F. A. (1929). Butrus al-Bustānī: Taʿlīm al-nisāʼ, adab al-ʿArab, dars wa muntakhabāt [Education of women, Arab literature: lesson and selections]. Catholic Press.

Al-Bustānī, S. A. (1870). Al-Insaf. In Al-Jinān (Part 1) [Microfilm No. 249]. Archives Department, University of Jordan.

Al-Jamil, S. K. (1991). Composition of the modern Arabs 1516–1916 (1st ed.). University of Mosul.

Al-Khawaja, M. T. (1870). Al-ʿUlfāʾ. Al-Jinān Magazine, 9 [Microfilm No. 249]. Archives Department, University of Jordan.

Al-Sa’afin, I. (1980). The development of the modern Arabic novel in the Levant (1870–1967) (1st ed.). Ministry of Culture and Information.

Al-Shrani, D. K. (2014). The historical novel in the age of enlightenment: Salim Al-Bustānī as a model. Al-Ma’rifa Magazine, (604).

Al-Zawahra, T. K. M. (1992). History of social life in the Damascus district: 1840–1864. Amman, Jordan.

Bayat, F. M. (2016). Arabic manuscripts in the Topkapi Saray Library in Istanbul. Fikr Magazine, (16). Al-Obeikat Center for Research and Publishing.

Dayeh, J. (1984). Al-Kawakibi journalism: A study of Al-Shahba and Al-Etidal newspapers (1st ed.). Fikr Foundation for Research and Publishing.

Gharāybeh, A. K. (1962). Syria in the nineteenth century (1840–1962 AD). Higher Arab Studies – League of Arab States, Dār Al-Jeel.

Hitti, P. (1991). The Arabs: A brief history (6th ed.). Dār Al-Ilm Lil-Millain.

Khūrī, Y. Q. (1990). Iftitāḥiyyāt majallat al-Jinān al-Bayrūtīyah (1870–1884) / Sālim al-Bustānī (Vols. 1–2). Dār al-Ḥamrā.

Khūrī, Y. Q. (1995). A man ahead of his time: Master Boutros Al-Bustani (1819–1883). Royal Institute for Religious Studies.

Luwis Shaykhu, R. A. B. Y. (1991). History of Arabic literature in the nineteenth century and the first quarter of the twentieth century: 1800–1925 (3rd ed.). Dar Al-Mashreq.

Mufarrej, T. (n.d.). Encyclopedia of Lebanon’s villages and cities (Vol. 16). Noblesse House.

Rustom, A. (1973). Lebanon during the Al-Mutassarifiyyah era. Dar Al-Nahar.

Shālash, A. (1992). The social and cultural framework of the emergence and criticism of the Arabic novel: The unknown area in novelistic creativity. Al-Fāsil Magazine, (184).

Taqoush, M. S. (2013). The history of the Ottomans: From the establishment of the state to the coup against the caliphate. Dar Al-Nafais.

Tarazi, P. D. (1913). History of the Arab press (2nd ed.). Al-Adabiya Press .