Chronikler top 10 of 2014: Jihadists v atheists
In 2014, readers of The Chronikler focused the lion's share of their attention on two polar opposites: Arab jihadists and atheists.
Thursday 1 January 2015
In 2014, readers of The Chronikler were most taken by the rise of the Islamic State (ISIS) and the status of atheists in the Arab world. The year's most popular article was a satricial guide on how to construct a successful caliphate which highlights just how far ISIS's vision is from the actual historic reality of that institution.
ISIS also comes in at number six with an on-the-ground account of the battle for Kobani and at number seven with a piece on how ISIS's conception of the caliphate is an a-historical illusion.
As ISIS's antithesis, the Arab world's increasingly visible but embattled atheist community feature at number two, three and ten.
Completing the top 10, we mix booze with religion and look at the driest month for Muslim drinkers, Ramadan (4), and the surprising status of alcohol in Islam.
On gender issues, readers enjoyed reading about the Arab myth of Western women (5) and the naked prejudice behind Egypt's sexual harassment epidemic (8).
- A successful caliphate in six simple steps
- إعترافات ملحد مصري
- The Arab world's rebels without a god
- Ramadan for drinkers
- The Arab myth of Western women
- The Syrian Kurd who went blind because he'd seen too much
- The caliphate illusion: “Restoring” what never was
- Sexual harassment: Undressing naked prejudice
- A drinker's guide to Islam
- Is atheism Egypt's fastest-growing ‘religion'?
