Hany Abdel Gawad El-Banna OBE [1] (born 9 December 1950) [2] is the co-founder of Islamic Relief, the largest Western-based international Muslim relief and development NGO, established in 1984 in Birmingham, UK.
Hany Abdel Gawad El-Banna OBE [1] (born 9 December 1950) [2] is the co-founder of Islamic Relief, the largest Western-based international Muslim relief and development NGO, established in 1984 in Birmingham, UK.
Born in Egypt, El-Banna completed his MBBCh Medicine at Al Azhar University, Cairo, where he also obtained a Diploma in Islamic Studies in 1976.[ citation needed ] El-Banna was awarded the Hamilton Bailey Prize in Medicine at City hospital (previously known as Dudley Road) in 1981, Birmingham UK. He then went on to further his medical training and completed a Doctorate of Medicine (MD) in foetal pathology from the University of Birmingham Medical School in 1991.[ citation needed ] A pathologist by education, El-Banna attended a medical conference in Sudan in 1983 during a time of famine in the region. The poverty and desperation he witnessed compelled him to return to the UK and set up Islamic Relief as an organisation to help people in need. [ citation needed ]
Since leaving Islamic Relief in 2008, El-Banna founded the Muslim Charities Forum (MCF), of which he is chairman and The Humanitarian Forum where he is President of the board of trustees. The Humanitarian Forum seeks to foster partnerships and closer co-operation among the humanitarian and charitable organisations from Muslim countries and their Western counterparts.[ citation needed ] More recently he founded the International HIV Fund, an organisation to build and improve networks of HIV organisations and Zakat House, a social enterprise helping new and growing charities. El-Banna has visited over 60 countries on behalf of these organisations.[ citation needed ]
El-Banna is also a Chairman of Muslim Charities Forum (MCF) [3] a registered charity that aims to improve British Muslim charities' contribution to international development by promoting the exchange of experience, ideas and information amongst the members, between networks of NGOs in the UK and internationally, with the Governments, and other bodies with the interest in international development.
The organisation has been the subject of controversy in the United Kingdom. It was stripped of £250,000 in funding from the British government for its alleged ties to extremist organisations, and has been described in the British media as "an umbrella group for a number of leading Islamic charities, some of which allegedly have links to the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and other organisations designated as terrorist by some Western organisations but which designation they dispute." [4] [5]
Some of its members are also members of the Union of Good, an umbrella organisation consisting of over 50 Islamic charities and funds. It has also been named a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the US Department of the Treasury, [6] but which designation the organisation disputes.
According to The Guardian, MCF and its members “fiercely deny any links to terrorism." [7]
In 2014, the Charity Commission announced a change in policy to allow the public naming of charities which were under investigation by the regulator. [8] The announcement was met with concerns of damaging the reputations of charities before any conclusions were reached. [9] Speaking on behalf of the Muslim Charities Forum, El-Banna stated that they welcomed further scrutiny and transparency, whilst also warning of the possible alternative outcomes, writing:
We call for the immediate repeal of this policy. This could damage the reputation of charities that have not committed any wrongdoing, bringing their activities under intense media scrutiny and creating public uncertainty before due process. We are also concerned that disclosing an investigation may damage relationships with donors and partners critical to our work for our beneficiaries in the UK and around the world. [9]
El-Banna was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in the 2004 New Year Honours; [10] [11] in the same year he received Ibn Khaldun Award for Excellence in Promoting Understanding between Global Cultures and Faiths within the UK. It was also in 2004 that the Egyptian Medical Syndicate awarded him for his services to humanity and medicine.[ citation needed ] In 2005 he received the Kashmiri and Pakistani Professional Association Award and in 2006 he was awarded the Asian Jewel Lifetime Achievement Award.[ citation needed ] Acknowledging his worldwide work and influence in 2007, the UK Muslim Power 100 awarded him with their lifetime achievement award and the University of Birmingham has awarded him an honorary doctorate.[ citation needed ]
In January 2013, he was nominated for the Muslim in the Community award at the British Muslim Awards. [12]
He was a Founding Partner and Board of Trustees member and President of the Centre for Interfaith Action on Global Poverty (CIFA) as of June 2010 [update] but as of March 2013 [update] no longer appears to be associated with CIFA. [13]
The Society of the Muslim Brothers, better known as the Muslim Brotherhood, is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings spread far beyond Egypt, influencing today various Islamist movements from charitable organizations to political parties.
Islamic Relief Worldwide is a faith-inspired humanitarian and development agency which is working to support and empower the world's most vulnerable people.
Human Appeal is a British international development and relief charity based in Manchester. It was established in 1991. It runs targeted poverty relief programmes in emergency response and sustainable development.
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The Muslim Charities Forum (MCF) is an umbrella organisation for UK based Muslim-led charities whose primary goal is to provide humanitarian aid and assistance to the poorest and most vulnerable people around the world. It is also an associate member of British Overseas NGOs for Development (Bond), the UK membership body for non-government organisations and a member of National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), an organisation with 11,000 members that champions the voluntary sector and volunteering.
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The Humanitarian Forum is an international network of NGOs, bringing together both Muslim and Western charities.
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City Sikhs is a nonprofit organisation, and a registered charity which describes itself as "A voice for progressive Sikhs". It promotes networking, education and volunteering amongst Sikh professionals and provides a platform for engagement with the British Sikh community.
Muslim Power 100 is a 2007 list published by The Power 100 website compiled of the top 100 British Muslims who have contributed positively to the United Kingdom.
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Al-Khair Foundation (AKF) is an international Muslim aid NGO based in the United Kingdom, and is the third largest Muslim charity in the UK. It was established in 2003, and aims to deliver aid to the poor and vulnerable, as well as education for the Muslim community. It specialises in humanitarian support, international development, emergency aid and disaster relief in some of the world's most deprived areas.
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