I still remember when the General Director of Dar Al-Sharq told me that he chose the name ‘The Peninsula’ for the new English newspaper that the Dar Al-Sharq was planning to publish, which I felt was difficult to write in English without making errors, because in my opinion, it was a long name and a bit difficult to pronounce.
Years passed, and by Allah's will, I became its Editor-in-Chief in 1997 and served until 2001, alongside my position as Editor-in-Chief of Al-Sharq newspaper. This means that I was running the English newspaper ‘The Peninsula’ and an Arabic daily at the same time. It was a difficult task, but it shaped my journalistic experience.
Dealing with two newspapers in two different languages for different audiences, run by journalists of different nationalities and different cultures, was a great challenge. I learned an important thing at that time, which is that an official must carefully choose his assistants as they are the ones who will lift the work pressure from and will make decisions on his behalf.
A group of young people successively worked for the newspaper, and they added a lot to it and the daily added to their experience as well. The newspaper gained its own readers and followers who continued to be loyal to it with the passage of days and years.
Now we are marking the 25th anniversary of The Peninsula as the memories pass quickly to recall friends, journalists, problems, meetings, anger and joy, all of which have passed and will continue to be part of the lives of its workers.
My greetings and respect to everyone who founded the newspaper, managed it, and worked for it as all of them have formed a history that they should be proud of.
