In a Press Conference held on 25/03/03 the Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Tony Blair, made comments which some people understood to be the opinions of Dr Hany El Banna, President of Islamic Relief. While Dr Hany has spoken in the past about the severe humanitarian crisis in Iraq, he has never attributed the deaths of innocent civilians to any particular government or individual.
Islamic Relief is a non-Governmental organisation whose sole concern is to alleviate the poverty and suffering of the world’s poorest people. It has no political affiliations, and its concern in Iraq is solely with the welfare of the Iraqi civilian population.
In the past nineteen years, Islamic Relief has gained a well earned reputation for its commitment to helping the world’s poorest people. Throughout the world the organisation is respected as a steadfast worker in the field of humanitarian relief.