Latifa Ibn Ziaten (Arabic: لطيفة بن زياتين born 1 January 1960 in

Tétouan Tétouan ( ar, تطوان, tiṭwān, ber, ⵜⵉⵟⵟⴰⵡⴰⵏ, tiṭṭawan; es, Tetuán) is a city in northern Morocco. It lies along the Martil Valley and is one of the two major ports of Morocco on the Mediterranean Sea, a few miles so ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

),Ondine Millot
Latifa Ibn Ziaten
/ref> is a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

- Moroccan activist. She is the mother of Imad ibn Ziaten, born in 1981, the first service member in Toulouse killed by Mohammed Merah on 11 March 2012.

Life

She is a practicing Muslim, and arrived in France in 1977 at the age of 17, to join her husband Ahmed who worked for the

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffi ...

. She is the mother of five, four boys and one girl. One son was Imad Ibn Ziaten, sergeant of the 1st paratroop Regiment who was traveling from

Francazal Francazal (; oc, Hranccasau) is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions ...

near Toulouse, when the terrorist Mohammed Merah murdered him on March 11, 2012. She then worked as a supervisor and receptionist at the Museum of Fine Arts of Rouen. After the death of her son, she went to Izards, the underprivileged neighbourhood in the northeast of Toulouse where the murderer lived. where she asked a group of teenagers if they knew Merah. She told the media that they answered: “Don’t you watch TV, Madame? He’s a hero, a martyr for Islam!” Following this meeting, she decided to create the ''Imad ibn Ziaten youth association for peace'' and in April 2012, in order to help young people in deprived areas, and to promote secularism and interreligious dialogue. The association is sponsored by actor

Jamel Debbouze Jamel Debbouze (; ar, جمال دبوز, Jamāl Dabūz; born 18 June 1975) is a French-Moroccan actor, comedian, screenwriter, film producer and director. Best known for his stand-up comedy sketches, he also worked with director Alain Chabat in ...

, and an office is created in Paris 4th district town hall by

Christophe Girard Christophe Girard (born July 21, 1967) is a French former boxer who fought at light heavyweight and cruiserweight. Girard challenged for a world title on three occasions, twice against Dariusz Michalczewski in 1996 for the WBO Light-Heavyweigh ...

. In February 2014, attended by the Interior Minister,

Manuel Valls Manuel Carlos Valls Galfetti (, , ; born 13 August 1962) is a French-Spanish politician who has served as a Barcelona city councillor from 2019 to 2021. He served as Prime Minister of France from 2014 until 2016 under president François Hol ...

, the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF) Midi-Pyrénées honored her association by giving her an award for her work. She also received support from the Ministry of Education which awards an annual grant. In January 2015, she was invited to the Synagogue de la Victoire in Paris, attended by President

François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. He previously was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (PS) from 1997 to 2008, Mayor of Tulle from ...

, to light a candle in honor of the seventeen victims of the attack against Charlie Hebdo and the hostages in the kosher Hyper store near

Vincennes Vincennes (, ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is next to but does not include the Château de Vincennes and Bois de Vincennes, which are attached ...

. On November 19, 2015, with President Hollande, Latifa Ibn Ziaten received the Prize for Prevention Conflict by the

Fondation Chirac The Fondation Chirac was launched by former French President Jacques Chirac, after having served two terms in office between 1995 and 2007. Since 2008, this foundation strives for peace through five advocacy programmes: * conflict prevention * ...

, for her continued promotion of inter-religious dialogue and a culture of peace. In 2016, she received an

International Women of Courage Award The International Women of Courage Award, also referred to as the U.S. Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award, is an American award presented annually by the United States Department of State to women around the world who have ...

Works

* ''Mort pour la France : Mohamed Merah a tué mon fils'', Paris,

Flammarion Flammarion may refer to: * Camille Flammarion (1842–1925), French astronomer and author * Gabrielle Renaudot Flammarion (1877–1962), French astronomer, wife of Camille Flammarion * Flammarion engraving by unknown artist; appeared in a book by C ...

, 2013, 268

Awards

Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

(from 14 July 2015) * 2015 recipient of

fondation Chirac The Fondation Chirac was launched by former French President Jacques Chirac, after having served two terms in office between 1995 and 2007. Since 2008, this foundation strives for peace through five advocacy programmes: * conflict prevention * ...

price for conflict prevention * ''

''.« 2016 International Women of Courage Award »
''state.gov''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ziaten, Latifa Ibn Knights of the Legion of Honour People from Rouen 1960 births Living people Recipients of the International Women of Courage Award Moroccan emigrants to France

Life

Works

Awards

See also

References