Umm Kulthum and her story with Al-Mawed magazine

When the editor-in-chief of Al-Mawed magazine, Muhammad Badih Serbey, published the first issue of the magazine on January 1, 1953, it was a bimonthly publication, issued every fifteen days. During one of his trips to Cairo, Muhammad Badih Serbey met with the Star of the East, Umm Kulthum. Bonds of friendship and affection had tied them together since he entered the world of journalism. Umm Kulthum would regularly read Al-Mawed and would discuss with him and ask him about many topics and news stories. She told him that Al-Mawed had achieved great success in the world of journalism, that readers awaited it eagerly across the entire Arab world, and that the time had come for it to be published every week — she even specified Thursday of each week as the day it should hit the market.

Muhammad Badih Serbey's response was that this step was a gamble, as it required a great deal of financial and organizational resources for the magazine to reach its readers every week. Umm Kulthum replied that she was confident this step would be crowned with success, saying: "Put your trust in God, Muhammad."

Muhammad Badih Serbey returned to Beirut and began expanding the magazine's offices, increasing the number of staff, upgrading the printing presses, and arranging with Middle East Airlines to ship the magazine to every Arab country on Thursdays.

When the preparations were complete, Al-Mawed became a weekly magazine, and the first congratulations came from Umm Kulthum, who would grant Muhammad Badih Serbey exclusive interviews and news.

This photograph of Umm Kulthum reading Al-Mawed magazine is from a set of photographs in an exclusive photo session, through which "the Lady" declared her love and appreciation for the pen of Muhammad Badih Serbey — in an era of giants, in the golden age of journalism — and that Al-Mawed was born as a weekly at her hands.

— May Muhammad Badih Serbey