The New Arab at 7: News that centres people, not power

This article is one in a series to celebrate The New Arab's website relaunch. To read the others in the series click here.

In 2014, I moved back to the UK after nearly nine years in the Middle East to work with a team of journalists on establishing a new English-language, Middle East-focused news and analysis website. 

The New Arab, as it became known, was to complement Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, our Arabic-language sister site, and newspaper, which was already providing ground-breaking commentary and news exclusives from across the Arab world.  

From a small office in central London, the team worked on translating and editing copy from Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, but it soon became apparent there was also a need for original English-language content on the Arab Spring - given the frequent misrepresentations and misunderstandings about the events in the region. 

"The New Arab has documented the opaque and evident counter-revolutionary actors at play in the region, aimed at stifling popular demands for democracy and dignity"

As a result, The New Arab’s news team expanded to include journalists with experience in or direct links to the Middle East, but more importantly, with a commitment to human rights, freedom, and democracy in the Arab world and beyond.  

Since then, The New Arab’s news team has often been the first to report on breaking news events and establishing original angles to stories with content that has been frequently picked up by leading dailies from across the world. 

From when The New Arab was launched to the current day, we have witnessed the struggles of the Arab Spring and the birth of a new generation of activists looking to continue this call. The New Arab has documented the opaque and evident counter-revolutionary actors at play in the region, aimed at stifling popular demands for democracy and dignity in the Arab world.  

This ranges from brutal militia attacks on protesters in Sudan and Iraq to the devastating Russian-backed regime bombardments of opposition areas in Syria. 

Palestine has been another cornerstone of The New Arab’s coverage, amplifying the voices who are struggling for freedom and highlighting the injustices and abuses wrought on Palestinians by Israel. 

Over the past seven years, Israel has continued to expand illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, tightened its chokehold on Gaza, and worked with Arab regimes to further subjugate the efforts of Palestinians to establish freedom. 

With a new administration in the White House continuing to back counter-revolutionary regimes in the region and normalisation agreements, the coming years will be equally critical for the Arab world and US foreign policy, as disproportionately impactful in the Middle East as ever. 

The New Arab will continue to amplify the voices calling for human rights and expose crimes of repression while maintaining unfiltered, accurate, and trustworthy coverage of these events, from MENA and beyond. 

Paul McLoughlin is a senior news editor at The New Arab. 

Follow him on Twitter: @PaullMcLoughlin

Have questions or comments? Email us at: editorial-english@alaraby.co.uk