Co-chair of the Raqqa Civil Council receives Secularism Prize in France for her contributions in defense of secularism

RAQQA – The co-chair of the Raqqa Civil Council, Laila Mustafa, received a prize for her contribution to the defense of secularism from a French organization. The Republican Secularism Committee in France awarded the Secularism Prize to a number of French and international personalities, including the co-chair of the Raqqa Civil Council, Laila Mustafa, for their contributions to the defense of secularism. 

The ceremony took place in Paris, where the city’s mayor handed the award to the representative of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, Khaled Issa, who received the award on Mrs. Mustafa’s behalf in the presence of the French Minister of State for Citizenship and Equality and a number of other political and social leaders.

In a speech during the ceremony, Representative Issa said, “Granting this award is an acknowledgment of the lives of more than 13,000 martyrs, more than 23,000 wounded people, and the health workers who struggle to treat them.”

He further stated that while some believe that the Islamic State (ISIS) terror organization has been defeated, the Syrian Democratic Forces are still facing active ISIS sleeper cells which receive some degree of regional support. He pointed out that only a day prior a car was blown up in a public square in Raqqa, causing several casualties, and on the same day a Turkish drone bombed a civilian vehicle in Zalin (Qamishli) and killed three civilians.

Laila Mustafa, a daughter of the city of Raqqa, also received last September the International Mayor of the World Award for the year 2021, which is presented by the City Mayors Foundation to the most distinguished mayors of the world in recognition of their exemplary service their citizens with integrity, justice and equality.