A Destiny Written in Ink
Mohammed Ali Hafiz was born in the holy city of Madina in 1937. In a remarkable twist of fate, that very same year witnessed his father, Ali Hafiz, and his uncle, Othman Hafiz, publish the maiden issue of Al-Madina newspaper. It was as if he was born with the scent of newsprint in his veins, destined from his first breath to carry the torch of Arab media.
After completing his early education at home, his brilliant mind took him on a scholarship to Egypt, where he earned a degree in journalism from Cairo University. Those Cairo years were foundational. Under the direct, legendary mentorship of Professor Mustafa Amin at Akhbar Al-Yom, young Mohammed didn’t just learn the mechanics of layout and reporting; he absorbed the soul of crusading journalism.
When he returned home in 1960, a brief stint in the civil service at the Ministry of Information couldn’t keep him away from his true calling. By 1961, at the tender age of twenty-five—a time when most are just finding their footing—he and his brother Hisham were handed the reins as Chief Editors of Al-Madina.
The Quantum Leap to Jeddah
In the early 1960s, Al-Madina was a modest weekly operating out of the quiet streets of Medina. The Hafiz brothers, fueled by youth and an unstoppable vision, made the audacious decision to relocate the entire operation to the bustling port city of Jeddah.
By upgrading it into a fully-fledged daily, Mohammed Ali Hafiz shattered the stagnant media atmosphere of the era. He injected a fresh, professional dynamism into the industry, a momentum that culminated in 1976 when he became General Manager of the family-owned Al-Madina Al-Munawwarah Printing and Publishing Company. He proved that youth was no barrier to institutional revolution.
Giving Voice to the Silent Millions
As the historic economic boom of the 1970s transformed Saudi Arabia into a global hub, millions of non-Arabic-speaking expatriates flooded into the Kingdom. While others saw a transient workforce, Mohammed Ali Hafiz saw a community that deserved a voice, a home away from home. In 1975, alongside his brother and lifelong partner Hisham, he co-founded Arab News, the Kingdom’s very first English-language daily. Serving as its first Chief Editor, he created a lifeline of information for the expatriate world. But his empathy didn’t stop there. It was his enduring foresight that laid the groundwork for the birth of regional language dailies like Malayalam News and Urdu News years later. For the millions of South Asians building modern Saudi Arabia, the Hafiz brothers provided an invaluable gift: the dignity of being seen and heard in their own mother tongues.
Shattering Monopolies on the Global Stage
Perhaps the most breathtaking chapter of his career was when the Hafiz brothers decided that Saudi journalism should no longer be confined by regional borders. They looked toward the global stage. With the crucial patronage of King Salman bin Abdulaziz (who was then the Governor of Riyadh and a great lover of culture), they launched the international daily Asharq Al-Awsat. Printed and distributed simultaneously across major global capitals, including London, it became the world’s premier diplomatic Arabic newspaper. In doing so, Mohammed and Hisham completely shattered the historical monopoly that certain other Arab capitals held over regional intellectual discourse, firmly placing Saudi Arabia at the center of global media.
The Gentle Columnist and Educational Seer
Despite building a media empire under the umbrella of the Saudi Research and Media Group (SRMG), Mohammed Ali Hafiz never lost the touch of a writer. To the public, he was the familiar, comforting voice of the daily column “Good Morning” (Sabah Al-Khair), which graced the pages of Al-Madina, Okaz, Asharq Al-Awsat, and Al-Iqtisadiah. Through his elegant, insightful prose, he conversed with kings and commoners alike.
Yet, his vision was too large to be contained by the newsroom. Recognizing that a nation’s true wealth lies in its mind, he became the first to passionately advocate for the establishment of a private university in Jeddah. He rallied intellectuals, financiers, and business leaders to the cause, resulting in the birth of ‘Jeddah Private University.’ Decades later, that very seed grew under state patronage to become King Abdulaziz University—today one of the Arab world’s finest institutions of higher learning.
Mohammed Ali Hafiz’s departure leaves a void that will be deeply felt across the Arab world and far beyond. He leaves us with a reminder of what journalism looks like at its highest peak: a tool for enlightenment, a bridge between cultures, and a mirror to the human soul. As the printing presses roll tonight, they whisper a quiet tribute to a man who taught a region how to read its own history.
