Mufti Serif’s wife Celile Serif laid to rest
Celile Serif, the wife of Gümülcine Elected Mufti Ibrahim Serif, was laid to rest on Sunday following a funeral ceremony in Yenice neighborhood in Gümülcine.
Celile Serif, born in 1958, died on Saturday, Aug. 15, at a hospital in Edirne, Türkiye, where she had been receiving treatment. Her death caused deep sorrow among her family, friends and the Turkish Muslim minority community in Western Thrace.
Farewell ceremony held
A funeral ceremony for Serif was held outside her home in Yenice neighborhood, Gümülcine following the afternoon prayer.
Mustafa Trampa, Mufti of İskeçe and chairman of the Western Thrace Turkish Minority Consultative Council, led prayers during the ceremony and delivered a short address.
Ibrahim Serif thanked those who attended the funeral, as well as relatives, neighbors and friends, and asked them to grant their blessings to his late wife.
Funeral prayer led by her husband
The funeral procession then moved to Yenice neighborhood cemetery, where Ibrahim Serif led the funeral prayer for his wife.
Celile Serif was buried with prayers and the participation of family members, community representatives and local residents.
Large community turnout
Türkiye’s Consul General in Gümülcine (Komotini) Aykut Ünal and his wife İlayda Ünal, İskeçe Mufti Mustafa Trampa, Rodopi MP Özgür Ferhat, Edirne MP Fatma Aksal, Ipsala (Türkiye) District Governor Hayrettin Buğra Güzel and Ipsala Mayor Mehmet Kerman attended the funeral.
DEB Party Chairwoman Çiğdem Asafoğlu, Yassıköy Mayor Caner Imam, Kozlukebir Mayor Erdem Hüseyin, members of the Consultative Council, representatives of minority institutions, religious officials from the Gümülcine and İskeçe muftiates, and many members of the Western Thrace Turkish minority also attended.
Condolences expressed
Following Serif’s death, the Gümülcine Elected Mufti’s Office, the Turkish Consulate General in Komotini and the İskeçe Mufti’s Office issued condolence messages expressing sympathy to Ibrahim Serif and his family.
