Khaled Diab: A rebel without a pause
By Christian Nielsen and Osama Diab
Khaled Diab, The Chronikler’s founder, is the 2014 Anna Lindh Mediterranean Journalist of the Year in the press category.
16 October 2014
Khaled Diab has a new trophy to put in his cabinet following the announcement on 15 October in London that he is the 2014 Anna Lindh Mediterranean Journalist of the Year in the press category.
The award, which was founded in 2006 by the Anna Lindh Foundation and the International Federation of Journalists, rewards exceptional journalistic output which contributes to a better understanding of multiculturalism in the Euro-Med region.
This year, 350 nominations were submitted to the five categories (press, new media, radio, television and special award) and from candidates across the 42 countries that make up the Union for the Mediterranean, plus Syria and Libya.
Past winners include Lebanese journalist Rania Abouzeid for her piece ‘A black flag and a cup of coffee in Raqqa’ in the New Yorker documenting the situation in Syria. Khaled won the 2014 award for his piece ‘Rebels without a God‘ which appeared in The Outpost.
“Papa, make sure you run faster than the others,” was his four-year-old son Iskander’s tip on how to win the prize. Indeed, sometimes journalists need to run and Khaled has been running harder and more doggedly than some for many years.
A cursory glance at his prolific output in such newspapers as the New York Times, The Guardian, Haaretz and The National will reveal a journalist who is sensitive to the complex relationships between East and West, between people and institutions, and between religion and atheism. Much of his journalistic output can be found right here on The Chronikler‘s pages.
At the award ceremony, which took place on Wednesday at the Reuter’s headquarters in London’s Canary Wharf, Khaled noted that the award would help direct much-needed attention to one of the Middle East’s most vulnerable minorities, atheists, and that the situation of atheists also concerned people of faith too, as it touched on questions of tolerance, freedom of religion, freedom of thought and free speech.
As co-contributors to this award-winning site, friend and brother to Khaled, it is with great pride that we are able to hail the chief on this occasion. We look forward to seeing the said trophy (And the broken piece symbolically beside to show that cultural bridges in the Euro-Med still need a bit of mending!) and having a flute of champagne to celebrate.
Christian Nielsen and Osama Diab
