The Kurdistan Chronicle has received the prestigious Award of Excellence from the Religion Communicators Council (RCC) in the Written Works – Magazine category. 

The award recognizes the magazine’s outstanding coverage of stories that highlight the deeply rooted culture of peaceful coexistence in the Kurdistan Region. 

This achievement by Kurdistan Chronicle marks the first time in the 70-year history of the award that a print publication from the Middle East has won.

According to the RCC’s classifications, the Award of Excellence is granted to submissions of exceptional quality that are deemed unquestionably worthy of recognition. 

A delegation from Kurdistan Chronicle attended the award ceremony on April 25 in Salt Lake City, Utah, where they accepted the honor and delivered remarks on behalf of the media foundation.

The recognition was for an article published in Issue 20 of Kurdistan Chronicle magazine titled “The Prophet Nahum: A Symbol of Religious Coexistence in Kurdistan,” by Hemn Baban. 

“We are thrilled to receive the Award of Excellence from the Religion Communicators Council and proud to become the first print magazine from the Middle East to earn this distinction,” said Botan Tahsin, publisher and founder of Kurdistan Chronicle.

“Our magazine is dedicated to telling untold stories from Kurdistan. We strive to be a voice for all and to build bridges among communities — regardless of religion, ethnicity, or belief,” he added.

Founded in 1929, the RCC is a U.S.-based association of communications professionals working with a diverse range of faith-based organizations across media, public relations, advertising, and development. The council’s mission is to promote excellence in religious communications across all platforms.

“We are very excited to have Kurdistan Chronicle with us tonight. They are receiving an award for their excellent journalism, and they represent interfaith relations in their country, from which I understand, is a beacon of interfaith connectivity,” Kathy Williams, a Board Member of RCC said during the award ceremony. 

“We are so happy to have Kurdistan Chronicle presenting their wonderful work. And I’m so proud as a Kurdish-American to see them receive the Award of Excellence with their story on Prophet Nahum. We look forward to see their work, their future projects,” said Ibrahim Anli, a Board Member of RCC who also attended the award ceremony. 

RCC has presented Wilbur Awards annually since 1949. They honor excellence by individuals in secular media – print and online journalism, book publishing, broadcasting, and motion pictures – in communicating religious issues, values and themes. Winners receive a stained-glass trophy.