Introduction
Al Muqtataf was a monthly review specialised in scientific matters. Its founders Yaqub Sarruf[1] and Faris Nimr[2] were active members of the intellectual circle centred on the Syrian Protestant College open in 1866 with a class of 16 students. This institution was to become the American University of Beirut in 1920. Such a publication belongs with the initiatives associated with the Nahda[3] movement developing around Beirut, Cairo and Alexandria and spreading to Arabic speaking elites. The choice of a specialisation was all at once deliberate and dictated by circumstances. Under the reign of Sultan Abdul Hamid II[4], it was easier to report on scientific matters than to pursue any other activity of a political nature that would have been narrowly controlled and censored. The idea of addressing scientific and industrial issues was firmed up in the1860s when cultural renaissance pioneers became aware of the gap growing between the Middle East and powers such as the United Kingdom and France, organisers of the first world fairs.
