Ibrahim Bin Mohammed Al Midfa

The ornate and unique circular barjeel at the Ibrahim bin Mohammed Al Midfa House in the Heart of Sharjah. This image was taken prior to its restoration and inclusion in the Al Bait Hotel.

Ibrahim Bin Mohammed Al Midfa was the first journalist in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, producing a handwritten news sheet called Oman newspaper in 1927. A prominent local intellectual at the time, he presided over regular meetings of local writers, poets and political activists at a time when British influence and presence in the Trucial States was beginning to be questioned by local community leaders.

Ibrahim Al Midfa's family originated in Trucial Oman but moved to Sharjah in 1660, where they became wealthy traders in foodstuffs, perfumes and latterly pearling. Born in 1909, Al Midfa built a house in central Sharjah in the same year he launched his newspaper. The house was constructed using the relatively expensive resource of imported teak, a testament to his wealthy background at the time.[1]

  1. ^ "The First of Four Chambers at the Heart of Sharjah". GHM Hotels. 6 May 2021. Retrieved 2023-06-13.