Al Ayam (The Days) is Bahrain's leading liberal daily newspaper. Owned by the former Information Minister, Nabeel Al Hamer, who today also serves as an advisor to King Hamad, it is generally supports the government while providing a voice for the Kingdom's embattled liberals. In Bahrain's ever expanding newspaper market, the paper faces increased competition from the new Al Watan, which has recruited a number of its senior journalists and has set out to establish itself as Bahrain's newspaper of record.
Its support for personal liberty and its criticism of religious extremism mean that Al Ayam has faced a barrage of criticism from Islamists. In 2005, hundreds of Shia Islamists protested outside the paper's offices after it published a cartoon on the victory of Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's election victory; while a concerted campaign by Sunni Islamists from Al-Menbar Islamic Society and Asala in May 2006 against the editor, Isa Al-Shayji, saw the International Federation of Journalists intervene, with the IFJ's Secretary General Aidan White saying: “Journalists are rightly angry at this form of orchestrated bullying of a respected journalist. We want the authorities to speak out against this campaign. If they remain silent, it will only encourage further attacks.” Participants at an IFJ meeting in Beirut condemned the Islamist campaign against Mr Al-Shayji, saying “The vicious and unprovoked attack on a respected and distinguished colleague is an example of the intolerant and undemocratic character of extremist politics that is increasingly being used against the free press."[1]