Our sources in Turkey have revealed that the office of the Violet Organization, affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood in Istanbul, hosted the leading figure in “relief” work for the Muslim Brotherhood, Dr. Hani Al-Banna, on May 31, in an open meeting that lasted for about two hours, at the invitation and in the presence of the head of the movement, Syrian MB member Qutaiba Al-Sayed Issa.
According to the information we received, Al-Banna spoke about his experiences in relief work in South Africa, Chechnya, and various other countries around the world. He emphasized the necessity of “institutionalizing Zakat,” a concept promoted by Yusuf Al-Qaradawi in his doctoral thesis “Fiqh of Zakat,” aiming at “Islamizing relief work.” He also discussed the Islamic Relief Organization, the largest international non-governmental relief and development organization headquartered in the West, which was founded by Hani Al-Banna in 1984 in Birmingham, United Kingdom.
Al-Banna’s visit to the Violet Organization’s office comes as part of his participation in the “Economic Empowerment and Sustainability in Syria” conference held in Istanbul from May 23 to 24. He left Turkey later and participated in the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) conference on June 2.
It is noteworthy that Hani Al-Banna is an Egyptian-British physician who obtained a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery from Al-Azhar University, Cairo, and also received a diploma in Islamic Studies in 1976. Some reports suggest that he is the grandson of the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan Al-Banna, although he denies this and states that he does not belong to Hassan Al-Banna’s family.
