Al Madina had been founded — as a weekly publication, under the name of Al Madinah al Manawarah — in the 1930s by Hisham Hafiz's uncles, as a weekly newspaper by the brothers Othman and Ali Hafiz, on 8 April 1937. Later, it became semi-weekly. Its publication was ceased during World War II, and resumed following the war, renamed as Al Madinah, and its headquarters was moved to Jeddah in the early 1960s, and as of the 21th century function in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam. It has offices in Dubai and Cairo, in addition to 18 branches inside Saudi Arabia. At the beginning of the 2000sAl Madina had a circulation of 46,370 copies; in 2001,its circulation was 60,000 copies. The estimated circulation of the paper in 2003 was 46,000 copies, and as of 2007, had increased to 60,000 copies.
Political approach and contents
Al Madina is pro-government, and one of the most well-known such Saudi newspapers.Every issue begins with the invocation of the name of the God. Although Al Madina is considered to be a pro-government paper, it publishes critical coverage of non-political local news, such as social, health and educational issues. Al Madina has relatively critical columnists, despite restraint in reporting or commenting on national politics. In a similar vein, some modernist or reformist columns have been published in Al Madina. For instance, writing for the editors in April 2010, Basma bint Saud said she could not find Qur'anic, or other Islamic historical, basis for a state institution undertaking to promote virtue and prevent vice; she further argued that the arrests and beatings by religious policemen contribute to incorrect impressions about Islam. On 2 August 2017 the newspaper criticized many Arab states, said to It went on to call on Arab nations to end their hypocrisy, in which they "maintain relations" with Israel but "don’t want anybody to know about them".
The publishing house Al Madina Press that is the owner and publisher of the paper is one of the most prominent companies in Saudi Arabia. Al Madinah was awarded two major prizes in Saudi Arabia in 2010: Makkah Prize of Distinction and Asir Prize "Al Muftaha".
