Alan Henning was a taxi driver from Salford, Greater Manchester, not far from where I live in Bolton.
Last year Mr Henning and his group of Muslim friends drove from Bolton to Syria to deliver aid to civilians.
They raised money to purchase medical equipment, including defibrillators, stethoscopes and oxygen, and former NHS ambulances, for a hospital at Idlib, in north-west Syria.
After helping to raise the funds, he is said to have insisted on joining the convoy rather than spend Christmas 2013 with his wife and two teenage children at their home in Eccles in Salford.
Last month, one of the organisers, Kasim Jameel, a taxi driver from Bolton, Greater Manchester, said "Alan is a man who is full of compassion and we are just praying to Allah that he is released safe and sound.
"We are liaising with the authorities and we do not want to say anything which might put him in any further jeopardy or which will inflame the situation. I could tell a lot of stories about the good that Alan has done and about how, as a non Muslim, he has helped Muslims who have suffered in the conflict.
"He is motivated to help others – not just by helping the convoy but by loads of other things as well.
"He is the nicest of nice guys who has done so much to help other people. He is just a normal bloke, an everyday taxi driver who wanted to do good. We are thinking about him all the time and praying that he will be allowed home to his family."
Kasim Jameel, left, with a group of the volunteers, including Alan Henning, before they set off for Syria from Bolton on 20 December 2013
The convoy set off from Bolton on 20 December, last year, with Jameel
telling his local newspaper, the Bolton News, that they had been inspired by the death of
Abbas Khan, an orthopaedic surgeon from London, who died in Syrian government custody earlier that year.
It was the second convoy organised by the same group: the previous March its members joined a group of Muslims from Scotland to take seven ambulances, medical equipment and baby milk to Idlib.
A BBC journalist who met Henning while making a documentary about aid convoys to Syria described him as a likeable and amusing man.
Catrin Nye said he told her that he had been deeply moved by his first trip to Syria. "It had been a life changing experience," she said.
"He had handed out the goods. He described holding the children ... and how that really affected him. He told me he had to go back."
The vehicles were halted by masked gunmen after crossing the Turkish border and Henning, 47, was separated from his friends, according to accounts they gave to journalists after they were released by the group and able to return to Britain.
During his capture, the Bolton Council of Mosques organised mass prayers for the town's Muslims to pray for Alan's safe return.
Before his murder, Mr Henning tells the camera:
'I am Alan Henning. Because of our Parliament's decision to attack the Islamic State I as a member of the British public will now pay the price for that decision.'
If IS think that this beheading will stop the British military's attack on them they are completely and utterly deluded. All this is going to do is step up Britain's military campaign against ISIS and could well lead to British troops on the ground.
Alan Henning | Newslines - News Timelines & Biographies
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/10895378.Convoy_in_mercy_trip_to_war_torn_Syria/
'We will bring these brutal and repulsive killers to justice': David Cameron leads international condemnation of ISIS following beheading of Alan Henning
David Cameron vows to hunt down terrorists behind Mr Henning's killing
Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband also condemn video posted on social media
Muslim leaders dub Henning a 'British hero' and say murder is against Islam
Alan Henning, 47, a father-of-two, has been beheaded in terror group video
PM meeting with officials from the intelligence agencies to discuss the killing
U.S. President Barack Obama this morning condemned the 'brutal murder'
By Chris Pleasance for MailOnline
4 October 2014
Daily Mail
David Cameron has branded Islamic State terrorists who killed British aid worker Alan Henning 'brutal and repulsive' as the Prime Minister led a wave of global revulsion over the murder.
He vowed to 'hunt down' and bring to justice the man who wielded the knife, who has become known as Jihadi John - as Barack Obama, Nick Clegg and Muslim leaders all spoke of their disgust.
Mr Henning, 47, a father-of-two, was filmed being murdered in a video posted on the internet three weeks after he was last paraded in front of a camera.
The Prime Minister has branded the Islamic State 'brutal and repulsive' after British aid worker Alan Henning was filmed being beheaded by the terrorist dubbed Jihadi John
In a strongly-worded statement, Mr Cameron said: 'We will do all we can to hunt down these murderers and bring them to justice.'
He added: 'My thoughts and prayers tonight are with Alan’s wife Barbara, their children and all those who loved him.
‘Alan had gone to Syria to help get aid to people of all faiths in their hour of need.
'The fact that he was taken hostage when trying to help others and now murdered demonstrates that there are no limits to the depravity of these ISIL terrorists.
David Cameron received a security briefing this morning before calling the slaying of Alan Henning 'completely unforgivable'
Aid worker Alan Henning, 44, a father-of-two, was kidnapped by Islamist rebels on Boxing Day last year
This morning, Downing Street revealed that Mr Cameron was meeting with officials from the intelligence agencies, the military and the Foreign Office at his official country residence Chequers, in Buckinghamshire, to discuss the killing.
Later this morning, he called the slaying 'completely unforgivable' adding that there was 'no level of depravity to which they will not sink'.
'No appeals made any difference,"Mr Cameron told Sky News.
'The murder of Alan Henning is absolutely abhorrent, it is senseless, it is completely unforgivable. Anyone in any doubt about this organisation can now see how truly repulsive it is, and barbaric it is,' he said of IS.
When asked whether he believed the extremists would kill more of their Western hostages, Cameron suggested the only way to stop them was through military action.
'The fact that this was a kind, gentle, compassionate and caring man who had simply gone to help others, the fact they could murder him in the way they did, shows what we are dealing with,' he said.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg took to Twitter to praise Mr Henning, saying he worked to 'selflessly help those in need'
'This is going to be our struggle now. ... We must do everything we can to defeat this organisation. We must take action against it. We must find those responsible.'
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg praised Mr Henning on Twitter, saying: 'Sincere condolences to Alan Henning's family. Barbaric actions of ISIL are held in complete contempt.
'We are resolved to defeat this evil. Alan Henning was a man moved to selflessly help those most in need and we should remember that above all else at this difficult time.'
Labour leader Ed Miliband said: 'The murder of Alan Henning by ISIL is appalling and barbaric.
'He was an aid worker, helping those in need. Those who killed him have revealed only their lack of humanity and brutality.
'My thoughts and deepest condolences are with his wife Barbara, his children and all those who knew him.
'We will do everything we can to support the efforts of the Government to bring those guilty of this terrible act to justice.'
U.S. President Barack Obama said: 'The United States strongly condemns the brutal murder of United Kingdom citizen Alan Henning by the terrorist group ISIL.
'Mr Henning worked to help improve the lives of the Syrian people and his death is a great loss for them, for his family, and for the people of the United Kingdom.
'Standing together with our UK friends and allies, we will work to bring the perpetrators of Alan's murder - as well as the murders of Jim Foley, Steven Sotloff and David Haines - to justice.
'Standing together with a broad coalition of allies and parteners, we will continue taking decisive action to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL.'
The American ambassador to the UK Matthew Barzun said this morning: 'Today, we stand with the UK in joint determination, resolve and commitment to achieve justice for Alan Henning.'
Imams had joined forces before Mr Henning's execution to appeal to the terrorists to release the former taxi driver from Salford, who left his job to travel to Syria to take help to victims of its civil war.
Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, a Muslim charity, called Henning 'a British hero.'
His 'barbaric killing is an attack against all decent people around the world,' Shafiq said.
Dr Shuja Shafi, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, said: 'This reported murder is a despicable and offensive act, coming as it does on the eve of the Muslim festival of Eid Al-Adha.
'It is quite clear that the murderers of Alan Henning have no regard for Islam, or for the Muslims around the world who pleaded for his life.
Barack Obama condemned the killing, and reiterated his promise to 'degrade and ultimately destroy' ISIS
'Alan was a friend of Muslims, and he will be mourned by Muslims. In this period of Hajj and this festival of Eid, Muslims remember the mercy of God and the emphasis God places on human life.
'Alan Henning's murderers have clearly gone against that spirit of Islam. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.'
Hanif Qadir, founder of Active Change Foundation – the organisation behind the #Notinmyname campaign said: 'The fact that they have chosen to commit this barbaric act on the eve of the Eid al-adha, a global expression of forgiveness and mercy among Muslims, only demonstrates the extent of the evil and barbaric nature of these criminals.
'They have not shown any ounce of mercy or compassion and are therefore totally against Islam and are hell-bent on killing innocent individuals and must be stopped.
Mr Henning worked to help improve the lives of the Syrian people and his death is a great loss for them, for his family, and for the people of the United Kingdom.
Barack Obama
'As a British Muslim I urge every other Muslim in the UK to stand up and refute these terrorists and distance themselves from this brutality and false Islam.'
In footage released on social media, Mr Henning is shown being beheaded by Jihadi John, the Islamist fighter who was also behind the killings of U.S. journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and British aid worker David Haines.
Former Foreign Office minister Baroness Warsi, the first Muslim woman in the Cabinet, tweeted her condolences, saying the Mr Hennning was the 'true martyr.'
Liberal Democrat party president Tim Farron said: ‘Alan Henning should be remembered for what he was - a kind hearted, selfless man who wanted to help others. My prayers are with his family.’
Inspire, an anti-extremist campaign group of British Muslim women, described Mr Henning's death as 'an affront to all Muslims across the world'.
Co-director Sara Khan expressed her 'heartfelt condolences' to the family of the aid worker, who she described as an 'amazing man, a man of courage, a man of dignity, a man of integrity'.
She said: 'The only thing that the killing of Alan has achieved is greater revulsion for ISIS and the fact that more people from across our world, within our communities, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, are united in their stance against their barbarity and inhumanity.
Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, a Muslim charity, called Alan Henning (pictured) 'a British hero.'
'The murder of Alan Henning is a brutal and criminal act of terror that is an affront to all Muslims across the world.'
Read more: 'We will bring these brutal and repulsive killers to justice': David Cameron leads international condemnation of ISIS following beheading of Alan Henning | Daily Mail Online
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