Dr Hany El Banna, President of Islamic Relief, was invited to an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace on 7th July 2004 where he received the award of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) from Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.
The award was given for Dr Hany’s work with Islamic Relief. On receiving the award, Dr Hany stressed once again that the OBE was not for him, but for all those people past and present who had contributed to Islamic Relief’s mission of helping to alleviate the poverty and suffering of the world’s poorest people.
Dr Hany took the opportunity to inform Her Majesty about Islamic Relief's current work in Sudan. He spoke about initiatives to bring together members of the Anglican Church with Muslims, and Government officials with members of the SPLM and SPLA, in a peace conference in the very near future. Her Majesty listened attentively as Dr Hany described the efforts which will hopefully contribute towards a return to normality in this most troubled of countries.
The OBE was presented in recognition of dedicated service to the cause of humanitarian relief and was particularly significant as it coincided with the organisation’s 20th anniversary year.