International Islamic Relief Organisation of Saudi Arabia (al-Ighata al-Islamiya al-'alamiya) - History

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1978-1979

-1978, Saudi Arabia: under the aegis of Farid Yasin al-Qurashi (1952-2003), its director-general until 1991 and a professor of economy at the King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, the IIRO is created as the relief department of the Muslim World League. Thanks to its status, the organization thus evades budgetary inspection from the Ministry of Religious Affairs and the waqf in Saudi Arabia. Thanks to its flexibility, it also starts projects quite quickly with Sudanese, Afghani and Ethiopian refugees in Chad, Pakistan and Sudan respectively.
 
-1979, Saudi Arabia: a royal decree approves the establishment of the IIRO and allows it to open offices abroad. Formally based in Mecca, the organisation sets up its administrative headquarters in the port of Jeddah for logistical convenience.