Marie Ajami & Al-Arous Magazine

“I present my magazine, not as a stranger to burden your shoulders, but rather I present it as an offering to those who desire honor and hopes for themselves.”

- Marie Ajami in Al-Arous, 1(1), Dec. 1910, p. 2.

About Marie Ajami (1888-1965)

Marie Ajami founded the first feminist magazine in Syria titled al-Arous [The Bride] in 1910, independently producing and financing the magazine.[2] She was an active member of the Arab nationalist movement against Ottoman rule and dedicated her feminist magazine to mobilize women “from their chains” and to liberate men “from ingratitude.”[3] After the onslaught of the French occupation in Syria in 1920, “Marie Ajami continued in her resistance against the colonial [French] mandate just as she resisted against the Ottomans.”[4] She faced ruthless attacks by the French colonial Government in Damascus and Beirut who, until 1952, had full control over the media in Syria and Lebanon.[5]

Marie Ajami (1888-1965) was born in Bab Touma Damascus to a Christian Orthodox notable family with nineteen siblings, living most of her life with her sisters. Marie Ajami completed her schooling at the Russian and then the Irish schools in Damascus; she wrote her first article at the age of 13. While she owned their birth house along with her sisters, after the death of their father, Marie Ajami’s uncle (who also became her guardian) took control of her father’s fortune and spent it. Marie Ajami and her sisters were thus required to work to earn a living. Her sisters took care of the house duties and Marie Ajami was responsible for the finances. [6]

Before the age of 18, in 1903 and 1904, Marie Ajami worked as an Arabic literature teacher in a school in the east of Lebanon, Bekaa Valley, and she was also a tutor. In 1906, she got a job as a teacher at the Russian school in Damascus, where she studied as a child.

Between 1906 and 1910, she worked as a correspondent for the big newspapers in Syria and Lebanon such as al-Muqtabis (Damascus), al-Mathhab (Zahle), al-Akhaa (Hamma), al-Hasnaa’ and Lisan al-Hal (Beirut). In 1909, Marie Ajami moved to Alexandria (Egypt) for one year and worked as a school principal at the Young Coptic Girls school (Madrasat al-Banat al-Aqbat). According to Emilie Fares Ibrahim, Marie Ajami directed young girls towards a “deep love and awareness of their strong revolutionary position in the nationalist struggle”. [x]

In 1910, she returned to Damascus and founded her magazine al-Arous which was in operation from 1910 until 1914. Marie Ajami stopped its production during the first world war before resuming operations in 1918 and permanently halting in 1925.

Marie Ajami lived her life primarily between Damascus and Beirut and pursued teaching in cities across the region. While her poems have been printed in an anthology first published in 1969, “the majority of her article, plans and speeches remain uncollected, dispersed between the covers of newspaper and magazines that she used to write in.”[6] Marie Ajami spent the later years of her life in isolation, seeing only her close friends and sisters, “living as if secluded in the house which was for a period of time a club for many writers and poets.”[7] She died at the age of 77 on December 25th, 1965.[8] The Syrian women’s association organized a memorial service in her honor in April of 1966.[9]

Despite Marie Ajami’s many contributions on the development of Arab journalism and feminism, her place in this history requires deeper investigation.

Marie Ajami at the age of 22 (1910). [1]

‘Some say women are born to serve their husbands, others say women are born to serve their fathers, I say her rights exist for herself”

- Marie Ajami in Al-Arous, vol. 6 August 20, p.6

Image Gallery

This gallery offers photographs related to Marie Ajami collected from magazines, articles, and historical sources. Portraits of Marie Ajami included here are the only recorded photographs we were able to find of her. 

Clipping showing Marie Ajami in an article written about her by Emile Mirqad (Feb, 1966). [x]

Photograph of Marie Ajami with her sisters. This photograph is found in an article written by Marie Ajami’s relative, Sabine Mohasseb Saliba. Saliba conducted an oral history interview with her grandmother, Laurice (seen touching Marie Ajami’s arm in the photo). Laurice lived with Marie Ajami during the 1920s. Top row: Zakiyya holding her baby Lily, Rose, Adele, Laurice (Zakiyya’s daughter), and Marie Ajami. Bottom Row: George Sarrouf (Zakiyya’s son), and Helene. [X]

Photograph of Marie Ajami (third from the right) with a group of Arab nationalist poets and journalists in 1921. From the right: Fawzi Maalouf, Salah Al-Babidi, Marie Ajami, Yousef Yazbek, Maarouf Al-Rusafi, Nadra Alouf, Habib Zahlawi, Jawdat Haidar. [x]

An illustration inspired by the image of a school sign in Syria. The school which has been named after her in George Khoury’s Square in Damascus. [x]

“Marie Ajami with Nature and reflections” Location and date unknown. [x]

Mirqad, Emile “The pioneer of women’s literature in the Levant” in al-Maarifa magazine, February 1966 p. 126-131. This was published two months after Ajami’s death (December, 1965) and includes a literary and social profile of Ajami, and photos of her. Digitzed by al-Sharekh

Collage showing Images of Marie Ajami’s family home, located in the Bab Touma (Bottom of the hill) neighborhood in Damascus. The photos included here were taken by Rania Kataf (2017). Ajami’s childhood home, and where she lived until her death in 1965 was a meeting spot for the feminist movement in Syria during the 1920s and 1930s. Ajami was known to host many literary and feminist salons at her home, helping mobilize revolutionaries in Syria. [x]

Photo of Marie Ajami on the wall of the AUB’s Jafet Library entrance. The photogarph was displayed as part of the “Women Pioneers in the Arab Press” exhibit. Taken by Mariam Karim in May 2024. Date and location of original portrait is unknown.

About Al-Arous Magazine

Marie Ajami’s purpose in life and her production of al-Arous were geared towards two battles: first, her battle “for the emancipation and education of women in her country”; second her battle for “the liberation of the Arab nation.”[1] Marie Ajami considered these two battles, the emancipation of women and the nation as “linked together since she attributes the political declines of her country to the absence of the role of women.”[2] In line with an Arab feminism that is committed towards total liberation, that is not limited to women’s rights but rather political economic and social justice, Marie Ajami’s feminist practice from the early twentieth century is similarly reflected in Syrian Ghada al-Samman’s writing decades later: “the liberation of women and respecting her abilities is a national and nationalist duty.”[3]

Al-Arous magazine includes poems, articles, short stories, speeches and translations of different topics, including science, health, humour, literature, and politics. During its course, al-Arous (The Bride)  moved its publication between the cities of Homs, Damascus, Alexandria and Beirut, due to threats of closure from the Ottomans and the French Governments (respectively) and due to circumstances relating to lack of resources.[4] Al-Arous operated from 1910-1914 and 1918-1925.[5] Between 1910 and 1914, Marie Ajami released three volumes and nine issues of al-Arous, totalling more than 1500 pages; each issue averaged 32 pages. Between 1918 and 1925, seven issues were published, totalling 5400 pages; each issue averaged 64 pages.[6] al-Arous magazine was circulated in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Egypt and Jordan.[7] The magazine also had a presence in the United States, Canada, Brazil, and Argentina.[8] Due to the anti-colonial nature of Marie Ajami’s media work, during the beginning of the French colonial mandate period, Al-Arous ceased operations in 1925 “because of her [Marie Ajami’s] loud resistance.”[9]

Greatness is not measured by the services people do for themselves,

but by what they do for others.

There is no victory without war.

Those who fear struggle are not worthy of victory.

- MarieAjami, 9(3) p. 132 (July,1923).

Illustration used on the opening pages of al-Arous, 1(3). The Arabic motto says “Women have been given the honour of adorning the land with flowers (of the heavens/sky).

Excerpt from Marie Ajami’s speeh delivered at the Women’s Literature Club of Damascus , 9(3) p. 132 (July, 1923). The date on the cover of this issue is marked in pencil as April (the word July is scratched, unclear why).

“ I present to you “the bride”. So, welcome her without demanding to take anything away from her, welcome her so she can with great pleasure reveal to you the ingredients of her heart and the pillars of her convictions.

She [the magazine] is a bride with no other bridegroom except for the people who walk with freedom, who demand a virtuous homeland beneath the sky of knowledge and flag.

Her marriage contract is penned with the ink of both reason and heart, crowning heads with blossoms of hope and love. […]

to those who believe that there is power in a woman’s soul that kills the germs of corruption,

to those who believe that in her hand is a weapon that tears apart the gloom of oppression, and that in her mouth is a consolation that eases the burden of human misery

to those who have suspicion and zeal,

to those who extend their hands to save others like themselves from amid the abyss that is distorted by the spread of illusions,

I present my magazine, not as a stranger to burden your shoulders, but rather I present it as an offering to those who desire honor and hopes for themselves.  ”

- Marie Ajami,  translated excerpts from the opening pages of issue 1 vol. 1 of al-Arous, see for below original Arabic. 

Title of al-Arous magazine, consistent design throughout the years. al-Arous, 9(1), February 1923. The original paper is beige, this is edited for aesthetic effect.

Issues of Al-Arous magazine are housed at the American University of Beirut’s Jafet Library. The following includes digitized selections from the magazine. They were digitized by Dr. Mariam Karim in May of 2024. We are indebted to the librarians and caretakers at Jafet Library for ensuring that this history is accessible and available for us.

Outline of below digitized pdf:

  • Front cover of 1(1), December 1910

  • Introduction to the magazine by Marie Ajami (pg. 1-4 in original)

  • Article titled “Al-Arous” by Marie Ajami (pg.4-9 in original)

  • Article titled “Forward” by Felix Fares, owned of Lisan Al-Itahad Magazine (pg.12-13 in original).

Photo of the author, Mariam Karim, with photo of Marie Ajami (bottom right) at the AUB exhibit titled “Women Pioneers and Arab Press”. Photo taken by Jamila Ghaddar, with Ghada Dimashk (May, 2024)

View from the American University of Beirut’s Jafet Library (2024). Photo by Mariam Karim. Marie Ajami studied Nursing at AUB in 1905 but did not compete the program due to poor health. Ajami had chronic pain in her legs.

Stack of Ajami’s periodicals at AUB. Photo taken by Mariam Karim (2024)

100+ year old Banyan tree at AUB (2024) Photo by Mariam Karim.

The first world war significantly impacted Marie Ajami’s political trajectory. In 1914, Ottoman governor Jamal Pasha imprisoned 14 Arab journalists in Beirut due to their nationalist activism.[1] Already a part of the Arab nationalist movement, Marie Ajami writes that she was the first person to heed the call of the prisoners, and the only woman able to get authorization to visit the prison.[2] One of the 14 political prisoners was Marie Ajami’s fellow freedom fighter and fiancé Pedro Paoli who was also the agent for al-Arous in Beirut.[4] She visited the prisoners regularly, delivered messages and reported on the inhumane conditions of the Ottoman prison in the Arab press[5]. Emilie Ibrahim writes that Marie Ajami expressed great determination and bravery when dealing with the prison guards during her visits.[6] For example, she used her cane[7] to tell-off any guard that disrespected her. Additionally, she used a water pipe in order to deliver vocal messages to the prisoners through the closed prison doors.[8] Paolo spent the last two years (1914-1916) of his life in prison and Marie Ajami visited him often while continuing her activism against the Ottoman Government through her writings and education. In 1916 the Ottoman Governor, Jamal Pacha ordered the public execution of the political prisoners in Beirut and Damascus[11]. Paoli was among the 14 journalists who were publicly executed by hanging on May 6th 1916 in what is now known as Martyrs Square in Beirut.[13] In a letter to Paoli, Marie Ajami wrote: You are in your prison freer than millions of men under this sky... holy is this rocky cave that you live in... let Jamal Bacha know that your home is a slender tower whose summit can only be reached by eagles.[9] And in another letter to Paoli, she writes: My imprisoned brother, I am writing to you in the light of the nightlight, a light that cannot enlighten an oppressed heart. I see you on your long chair, your new throne in the kingdom of criminals... I have forgotten the world since I saw you like this... take, if you wish, my freedom, and give me the prison that is yours.[10]

Ajami, Marie. “Life in the prisons” al-Arous 4(10), October 1918, p.38-339. Article penned by Marie Ajami, commemorating Pedro Paoli and Arab journalists and writers that were imprisoned and executed by Jamal Pasha on May 6, 1916.

بعد أيام قليلة انقضت على استيلاء فرنسا على دمشق، جاءني شرطيّ برقعةٍ يدعوني فيها رئيس الوزراء الجديد إلى اجتماعٍ أراد عقده، فكتبتُ عليها كلمة (تبلّغت) وأبيتُ أن ألبّي الدعوة، وبعد انعقاد الاجتماع، سألتُ عن القصد منه، فقيل لي أنّ مدير إدارة المطبوعات الفرنسية خطب في الحضور وهم من الكتّاب، وعلّمهم كيف يكتبون، ووزّع عليهم ورقًا بلا ثمن، ووعدهم بالمساعدة، ولم يمرّ ردحٌ طويلٌ على ذلك، حتّى طفق أحد معارفي يتردّد عليّ كل مساء محاولًا إقناعي بأنّني إذا هتفت لفرنسا وأنشأت الفصول متعددة الإصلاحات التي تقصد والتي قام الانتداب علينا من أجلها فزتُ بأجرٍ شهريّ ضخم من الذهب الوهّاج، وفاجأته يومها بقولي: ما هي تلك الإصلاحات التي تريد أن أكتب عنها؟ قال: عليّ أن آتيك بقائمتها مرّة بعد أخرى، وعليكِ إقناع القوم بها شفاهًا وخطابةً وكتابةً، قلت له: لِتنجِز فرنسا أوّلًا ما تعدنا به من إصلاحات؛ فأترنّم بذكرها مجّانًا، وكان جوابي هذا له آخر عهدي به

After the onset of the French colonial adminstration in Syria and Lebanon, Marie Ajami was threatened by French officers who attempted to force her into using her dissident voice to benefit French crimes; something she continued to fight against her whole life. The deployment of press censorship by the French in Greater Syria was implemented so heavily that, only a few days after the Battle of Maysaloun, French officers approached Marie Ajami asking her to “stop attacking them in her magazine” and to, instead, use her platform to circulate French propaganda.[3] Marie Ajami strongly rejected their proposals which led to the closure of al-Arous on multiple occasions between 1920 and 1925.[4] Marie Ajami documents that it was in fact a large group of journalists and writers who were approached to serve French interests.

“A few days after France took control of Damascus, a policeman came to me with a piece of paper in which the new prime minister invited me to a meeting he wanted to hold. I replied with a note stating ‘I have been informed’ and I refused to accept the invitation. After the meeting was held, I asked about its purpose. I was told that the director of the French Publications Department addressed the audience, who were writers, and instructed them on how to write, distributed paper to them at no cost, and promised them help. It did not take long until one of my acquaintances began coming to me every evening, trying to convince me that if I cheered for France and published welcoming the French reforms in my paper, I would receive a huge monthly wage the worth of large sums of gold. I surprised him when I responded one day: What are those reforms that you want me to write about? He said: I will bring you lists of topics each time and you must convince the people of them through your conversations, speeches and in your writings. I told him: Let France first accomplish the reforms it promises us. When it does so, I will be glad to do this free of charge, this was my last promise to him.”

Destruction of Damascus by French forces (c.1925)

من ذا الذي يقول إننا أمة لا يليق بها أن تُمنح الاستقلال، لا تعرف أن تحكم ذاتها بذاتها؟ وأسفاه! حتى الآن لا تزال الأغراض تلعب بنا، والضعف يكم الأفواه، والتحزبات تمثل بنا، فلنسدل على الماضي حجابًا كثيفًا، ولنعمل معًا على إحياء الوطنية في قلوب أبناء سورية وبناتها، لأنه إذا استولت علينا فرنسا لا تجعلنا فرنسيين، ومحال إن حكمتنا بريطانيا أن نصير بريطانيين

ماري عجمي -

Who has decided that we are a people that do not deserve to self-determination? Who said that we do not know how to govern ourselves? […] Let us work together to revive the sense of nationalism in the hearts of the children of Syria. If France occupies us, this does not mean that we are French. Similarly, if England occupies us, this does not mean that we become English. [1]

- Marie Ajami

“The Women’s Movement in Syria and Lebanon” by Marie Ajami (1933)

Marie Ajami’s Refused Elitist & Foreign Manifestations of the Women’s Movement in Syria.

In her essay “Al-nahda al-nisai’yya fi Suriyya wa Lubnan”[2] “The feminist renaissance in Syria and Lebanon”, featured below, Marie Ajami advocates that women’s struggle mustn’t be isolated to a few superficial women’s organizations guided by Western missionaries whose work does not reach the majority of people and whose influence is intellectually limited.[3] Marie Ajami wrote the article when she was 45 years old, and the article was published on April 5, 1933. Marie considered the charitable and missionary-based activities of upper-class Syrian women who held themselves as representatives of the feminist movement and who did not care to educate themselves (in that they don’t see value in intellectualism) as counterproductive and “a waste of time.” She considered the lack of interest in educating one’s self in the women’s movement in Lebanon and Syria as detrimental to the feminist struggle: “the country does not need civil servants but workers”, and that “ignorance in slavery is better than ignorance in independence.”[1] Here, Marie Ajami brings attention to the dangers of following foreign women’s direction and establishing women’s organizations in Syria that lack intellectual women, and are foreign-run and charity-based.

In the article, Marie Ajami critiques the lack of intellectualism within a women’s group that only “read novels” and focuses on charity giving. Her critiques on the state of the women’s movement of the early 1930s can be directly tied to her stance on the dangers of foreign education systems in the country and the significance she held on education as vital for revolutionary success. Marie Ajami’s criticism is directed specifically at, what Ahlam Muhtaseb may call “native informant”[6], Syrian elite women who organize book clubs or charity groups without fully committing their efforts to supporting the full needs of their society. The reason for this problem, according to Marie Ajami, is that the women who present themselves as the leaders and who run these organisations are not well-educated and lacked understanding of the significance of sincere intellectualism. This involves demonstrating a dedicated intellectual commitment to advancing national industry and actively utilizing knowledge and skills in the constructive development of society. These are necessary preconditions for the feminist movement to be effective in supporting the needs of the masses, namely the workers. Marie believed that the Syrian women’s movement’s duty to serve workers must be understood as a fundamental responsibility that should be approached with urgency. During the time she wrote the article, the worker’s movement was at the forefront of anti-colonial struggle in Greater Syria.[7]

يستنتج مما تقدم أن الدعوة إلى تأييد الصناعة الوطنية من جمعية لا تقصر ما تبتاع على المأكل والملابس الوطنية، وأن الدعوة إلى التهذيب والأدب من جمعية لا تقوى عضو فيها أن تثير العاطفة أو تخاطب العقل، وأن الدعوة إلى الإصلاح الاجتماعي من جمعية لا تقدر أن تتلمس إليه طريقًا غير الذي ترشدها المبشرات الأجنبيات إليه، وأن الدعوة إلى رفع مستوى المرأة وإصلاح شؤونها بتعديل ما تئن منه من الشرائع من جمعية لا تغامر بشيء في سبيل الإرغام على وضع تشريع جديد يضع حدًا للشكاوي والمظالم. أجل أن هذه الدعوات كلها الملقبة بالنهضة النسائية ما تزال ضعيفة خائرة لضعف القائمات بها ولخور في عزائمهن، ولأن أكثرهن ينتحي بها طريق الشهرة لا طريق التضحية والنكران والمغامرة بالوقت والدرس والمفاداة بالمال والنفس.

[Writing about elite women’s clubs] the call to support national industry is from an association that does not limit what it purchases to national food and clothing, that the call for refinement and etiquette is from an association whose members are unable to arouse emotion or address the mind, and that the call for social reform is from an association that is unable to reach the People. They only know how to connect with society through the path that foreign missionary women have instructed them on. The call to raise the status of women and to reform women’s affairs by amending the laws is from an association that does not risk anything in order to force the development of new legislation that puts an end to complaints and grievances. Yes, all of these calls, known as the women’s renaissance, are still weak and exhausted due to the weakness of those who carry them out and the weakness of their resolve, this weakness is because most of them follow the selfish path of fame and the gain of money, not the path of sacrifice, refusal, risk of time and self.[5]

Ajami, Marie. “al-Nahda al-nisa’iyya fi Suriyya wa Lubnan” in al-Thaqafa al-Suriyya vol. 1 (April 5, 1933): 64-66. Digitzed by arsheef al-Sharekh [x]

Writings About Marie Ajami

While little has been written in English on Marie Ajami, Arab writers and feminists have carried Ajami’s voice forward throughout history. Below you will find a selection of articles written about Marie Ajami. These sources have been instrumental for us to learn more about Ajami’s steadfast legacy and her life.

Fatouh, Issa, “Marie Ajami” in Diwan Marie Ajami, Damascus: al-Hai’a al-amma al-Suriyya lil-ktiab. (2016)

عن مجلة العروس

لا أعتقد أن مجلة نسائية عربية تحملت من الأعباء، مثلما تحملته العروس وقليلات هن اللواتي خرجن إلى ميدان العمل السياسي ، ومواقف النضال المشرف كماري عجمي ، فحاضرت وخطبت في الجماهير، وتنقلت بين سورية ولبنان وفلسطين ومصر والعراق ، تارة تنشر آراءها الثورية عن طريق القاء الدروس في المدارس ، وتارة عن طريق الكتابة ، توزع مقالاتها على الصحف والمجلات التي كانت تحثها على المزيد ، وظلت هكذا حتى شهدت جلاء آخر جندي فرنسي عن أرض الوطن في السابع عشر من نيسان عام ١٩٤٦ ونعمت سورية بالاستقلال والحرية في ظل الحكم الوطني

Issa Fattouh, Syrian writer

On Al-Arous Magazine

I don't think any Arab women's magazine has shouldered as many burdens as Al-Arous did. Few women stepped into the realm of political work and honorable struggle like Mary Ajami, who lectured and addressed crowds, moving between Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt, and Iraq. At times, she spread her revolutionary ideas through teaching in schools, and at other times through writing, distributing her articles in newspapers and magazines that encouraged her to continue. She remained active until she witnessed the departure of the last French soldier from the homeland on April 17, 1946, and Syria enjoyed independence and freedom under national rule.

Khoury, Colette. “Marie Ajami” in Diwan Marie Ajami edited by Issa Fatouh. Damascus: al-Hai’a al-amma al-Suriyya lil-ktiab. (introduction dated 2000) (2016) p.21-25.

Colette Khoury (1937-), Syrian writer

:عن ماري عجمي

لا شك في أنها حتى هذه اللحظة لم تأخذ حقها من التاريخ.. ولم تحتل المكانة التي تليق بها في سجل المجد... ماري عجمي.. واحدة من أهم نساء القرن العشرين السوريات العربيات.. لا لأنها كانت أديبة كبيرة فحسب والجدير بالذكر ان آثارها الأدبية من شعر ونثر وترجمة - وما أكثرها - لم تجمع حتى اليوم في كتاب.. فيما عدا الكتاب الذي طبعته تكريماً لها الرابطة الثقافية النسائية في دمشق وكان ذلك في أواسط الأربعينات أي إبان حياتها. ولا لأنها مثقفة كبيرة “وأستاذة في الأدب العربي متميزة

بقلم الأدبية كوليت الخوري (2000)

On Marie Ajami:

“no doubt, she has, until now, not received what she is owed in history […] Marie Ajami is one of the most important Syrian Arab women of the twentieth century. Not because she is a great writer only […] not because she was a great multilingual intellectual and teacher[…] not because she led and bore the great burden of a al-Arous magazine […] Marie Ajami is a great woman because along with all these achievements, and on top of all what I have just described, she was a true steadfast fighter who struggled and put the entire nation on her shoulders.”- Colette Khoury (2000)

Sakakini, Widad. “The writer of the Sham (Levant)” in Diwan Marie Ajami edited by Issa Fatouh. Damascus: al-Hai’a al-amma al-Suriyya lil-ktiab. (Skakakini’s foreward is undated) (2016) p.15-19.

Widad Sakakini (1913-1991), Lebanese Writer

About Marie Ajami:

And perhaps the most notable characteristic of our esteemed writer is her frankness, which does not pretend politeness or evasion. Many have distanced themselves from her because of this frankness, even though she has remained loyal to them in both good times and bad. Despite the criticism she faces, she has not lacked appreciation from those who value and recognize her worth and contributions.

:عن ماري عجمي

ولعل أبرز ما عرفت به أدبيتنا الجليلة هو صراحتها التي لا تصطنع فيها مداراة ولا مداورة، وقد جافاها من جرائها كثير ممن كانت جفية بهم وفية لهم في الحل والترحال، ولئن تجني عليها من تجني فإنها لم تعدم من أهل الأدب والوفاء من يقدرها قدرها ويذكرها فضلها

Editors. “Pioneers: Mary Ajami” in Al-Raida Beirut: Institute for women’s studies in the Arab world 11/(7) (1979) 4

Here, the Editors suggest that the first issue was published from Alexandria, athought the records show that he first isse was published from Homs, Syria. It may be that Marie Ajami annouced plans for her magazine during her time in Egypt. The date of birth listed here contradicts other sources, which write that Ajami was born in 1888.

Cover of al-Raida Magazine, 11/3(7).

:عن ماري عجمي

من بين مواهبها العديدة، قدرتها على المحادثة وسهولة إدارتها للاجتماعات الأدبية التي كانت تعقدها كل أسبوع في منزلها والتي جذبت عددًا كبيرًا من الصحفيين والأدباء.

On Marie Ajami:

Among her many talents, her conversational ability and the ease with which she directed the literary meetings that she held every week in her house and which attracted a large number of journalists and men of letters

List of References

1] Image of Marie Ajami: Source: Laurice Sarrouf Khoury’s Archives (1), found in Un Figure Saillante Du Journalisme Syro-Libanais: Marie Ajami” Ibid.
[2] Khoury, Colette. “Marie Ajami” in Diwan Marie Ajami” Damascus: al-Hai’a al-amma al-Suriyya lil-ktiab. (introduction dated 2000) (2016) 22.
[3] Kawkash, “Mary Ajami” Radio Orient

[x] image of Marie with Men

[x] image of school named after ajami from North Press Agency.

[4] See: Yousef, Dalir. “Lamhat min hayyat Marie Ajami”. Syria Untold. (November 6, 2021). https://syriauntold.com/2021/10/26 
[5] Khoury, “Marie Ajami” in Diwan Marie Ajami” 23.
[6] See also: Ajami, Mary. “Al-Arous”. First issue, December, 1910. “Women pioneers in Arab press – journals”(2023): https://online-exhibit.aub.edu.lb/exhibits/show/women-pioneers-in-arab-press/ajami-biography/alarus

[2] Thompson, How the West sole democracy, 122. In 1922, Marie Ajami joined a delegation of women protesting Shabandar’s arrest, many women were arrested in the protest. Ibid.

[3] Ibid,

[4] Editors, “tashyyii abdul-rahman al-shabandar” in Syrian Modern History (March, 12, 2022) https://syrmh.com/2022/03/12 شييع-عبد-الرحمن-الشهبندر/

[5] Circumstances such as these may have very well motivated her to move to Iraq for a brief period that same year. Mohasseb-Saliba considers the political environment and censorship as influencing Maryy’s decision to briefly move to Iraq.  “Prominent Figure in the Syrian-Lebanese Journalism”, 233.

[6] Fatouh, Issa, “Marie Ajami” in Diwan Marie Ajami, 14.

[7] Daghestani, Qasem. Speech delivered at Marie Ajami’s memorial. Quoted from, Mohasseb-Saliba, “A Prominent Figure in the Syrian-Lebanese Journalism”, 237.

[8]Fatouh, Issa, “Marie Ajami” in Diwan Marie Ajami, 14.

[9] Ibid.

Also featuring in the Lebanon-based feminist group, Wlaha wogoh okhra (2018): https://wlahawogohokhra.com/8185/النهضة-النسائية-في-سوريا-ولبنان-مقال-ن. 

Cite this page:

Karim, Mariam “Marie Ajami and al-Arous Magazine.” Nasawiyyah: Arab Media History, 2025, <https://www.nasawiyyah.com/marie-ajami-al-arous-magazine-1>