Birjīs Barīs (1859-1866). L’aventure du premier journal arabe à Paris

Abstract

In the nineteenth century, Paris is considered the intellectual capital par excellence to which foreigners flock following the creation of a large European center of oriental studies called the School of Oriental Languages, founded in 1795. In this institution, the Arabic language occupies an important place. Because of this craze for foreign languages, publishers specialize in this field. This is the case of the Challamel publishing house, which published from 1859 to 1866 the first Arab newspaper in Paris, Birjīs Barīs, Anīs al-Jalīs [The Eagle of Paris]. This clearly original journal in both form and substance is founded by a team that shares the same ideas in favor of interfaith dialogue. This collaboration hides an amazing adventure that we propose to discover through this paper. What is the originality of this first Arab newspaper in the context of the Second Empire, a newspaper that wanted to be a “bridge between the West and the East”? What is the contribution of each of its contributors? Finally, what is the role and impact of Birjīs Barīs in France and elsewhere?

Keywords

• The Eagle of Paris
• Arabic press in the nineteenth century
• Soliman Al-Harairi
• François Bourgade