Latifa Ibn Ziaten

After losing her son in a terrorist attack, Latifa Ibn Ziaten has devoted her life to combating radicalization with tolerance and interfaith understanding. Born in Morocco, Ms. Ibn Ziaten moved to France as a young bride of 18. She raised five children, teaching them to value the education she never had and to embrace their dual cultural identities. In 2012, her life was shattered when an Islamist terrorist went on a killing spree that ended with the death of her son Imad, a French soldier. Desperate to channel her grief into something positive, she founded the Imad Association for Youth and Peace, starting a grassroots campaign to intervene in troubled communities. Ms. Ibn Ziaten crisscrosses France promoting interfaith dialogue and the importance of helping young people develop a positive identity and sense of responsibility. As France deals with terror attacks and reports of rising extremism, Ms. Ibn Ziaten is a brave and uniquely credible voice for hope and coexistence.