The inserts are in yellow. The amendments still need to be labeled.
STRANDFONTEIN ISLAMIC ASSEMBLEY
C O N S T I T U T I O N
PREAMBLE
All praise is due to ALLAAH Who warns :
By the declining day, indeed Man is in loss,
Except those who believe and practice righteous deeds,
In the mutual teachings of patience and constancy;
That only the believers are brethren,
Who know that Mohummud is His Messenger;
Finding in him the finest example,
They hold all fast to the rope of ALLAAH,
And while not dispersing, remember that ALLAAH created man
Weak, ever hasty and an ingrate, but not unalterable,
As long as he prays and struggles and grows
From under the command of his passions to have a
Self-retreating conscience,
To eventually the stage where he pleases only his Lord.
SECTION A: NAME AND
HEADQUATERS
1.
The name of the Organization hereby constituted shall be STRANDFONTEIN ISLAMIC
ASSEMBLY. The organization shall hereinafter be referred to
as S.I.A.
2.
(a) By
“HEADQUARTERS” shall be understood the place
in
which
Meetings of the S.I.A. are held.
(b)
The headquarters of the S.I.A. shall be in the suburb of Strandfontein / Mitchell’s Plain.
SECTION B: AIMS AND
OBJETCS
The S.I.A. dedicates
itself to work in accordance with the Quran and Sunnah and within the framework
of the AHLI-SUNNA-WAL-JAMMA, for the spiritual, educational, social and
economic upliftment of the Muslim people insofar as:
( i
) To consolidate and strengthen Muslim Society;
( ii
) To foster and assert Islamic values;
( iii
) To establish and maintain Islamic Institutions;
(
iv) To assist and guide in all spheres;
( v
) To propagate and advocate Islam;
PAGE 2.
SECTION B (CONTD)
( vi ) To solve and remedy any problem by
consultation and arbitration;
( vii ) To co-operate and affiliate with other
bodies with similar objects;
(viii) To safeguard the
Muslims from acts detrimental to social progress for as Muslims we cannot a
party to chaos and confusion;
( ix ) To acquire in the
name of the S.I.A. by purchase or donations, movable and immovable property and
to employ personnel in furthering the above objects;
( x ) To raise
such funds as required to implement the abovementioned objects;
( xi ) To lease, hire,
sell, dispose of any movable or immovable property.
SECTION C: MEMBERSHIP
1. Any Muslim who satisfies the following conditions
shall be eligible for membership :-
(a) THAT the S.I.A
Constitution be accepted without reservation
(b) THAT the Applicant not
be under the age of 16 years
(c) THAT he/she not be
declared unsound of mind.
2. A member shall lose his/her
membership if he/she violates the principles of this Constitution or in any way
bring disrepute to the S.I.A.
SECTION D: ELECTING OFFICIALS AND THEIR DUTIES
1. (a) The Officials of the S.I.A. shall be :-
( i ) The Honorary President
( ii )
“
“ Chairman
( iii )
“
“ Vice-Chairman
( iv )
“
“ General Secretary
( v )
“
“ Assistant Secretary
( vi )
“
“ Treasurer
(vii )
“
“ Assistant Treasurer
(viii)
“
“ Trustees (7)
( ix )
“
“ Executive Members (7)
(b) The Officials shall be
elected by the majority of the members at the Annual General Meeting and shall hold
office for two years, except for Trustees, who shall hold office for ten years. Should any official position fall
vacant during the period between successive A.G.M’s, that position shall be
filled at the first General Meeting after the one at which the vacancy was
declared. The Officials so elected shall serve until the next A.G.M.
PAGE
3.
SECTION D (CONTD)
(c) Any official who absents himself from (3) Three
consecutive Meetings without a valid
apology shall forfeit
his position.
(d) Any official against whom
a vote of no confidence is passed, shall immediately vacate his position as an
official of the S.I.A. at the meeting at which the vote is taken.
(e) The person who
introduces the motion of no confidence in the official, shall, lodge in writing
to the secretary, the reasons for the motion. The discussion and the vote
on the motion shall take place at the first General Meeting after the one at
which the notice was given
2. DUTIES
THE PRESIDENT
( i ) The President shall preside at
conferences and all other public functions of the S.I.A.
( ii ) The President shall present a Presidential
Report at the A.G.M.
( iii ) The President
shall head the executive and sub-committees and see that the constitution is
upheld, while upholding it himself.
THE CHAIRMAN & VICE –CHAIRMAN
( i ) The
Chairman, or in his absence, the Vice-Chairman, shall preside at all properly
constituted Meetings of the S.I.A.
( ii ) Should the
Chairman or Vice-Chairman be absent from a properly constituted Meeting of the
S.I.A. the members present shall elect from their number a Chairman to preside
over that particular Meeting.
( iii ) The presiding
official at any properly constituted Meeting shall have the authority to
nominate an official or member present at the Meeting to assist him to follow
the constitutional aspects of every discussion.
( iv ) In any
deliberation of which a vote has been taken, the presiding officer shall have
both a deliberative and a casting vote; at no time shall a returning
officer exercise a casting vote under this section of the constitution.
GENERAL SECRETARY AND ASSISTANT SECRETARY
The secretary shall :-
( i ) Keep a
true and accurate record of the proceedings of all the Meetings of the S.I.A.
and of the Executive Committee.
( ii ) Conduct the
correspondence of the S.I.A.
( iii ) Assist the
Treasurer to keep proper books of account of the S.I.A. Finances.
( iv ) Keep a complete
register of the membership.
( v ) Submit
annually at the A.G.M. a report on the Organization’s administration and
activities of the S.I.A. and its Committees.
PAGE 4.
SECTION D : The
Secretary shall : (CONTD)
( vi ) Perform all such duties as are properly
delegated to him by the S.I.A.
The General Secretary shall be assisted in all his duties by the
Assistant Secretary.
TREASURER
The Treasurer shall:-
( i ) With
the assistance of the Secretary keep a complete record of all the Financial
Transactions of the S.I.A.
( ii ) Retain, of
the monies or donations paid to the S.I.A., a sum which shall be determined in an executive meeting for Petty cash. All monies in excess of
the above said amount shall be deposited in a Current Account with a Registered
Bank, elected annually at the S.I.A. Annual General Meeting. This deposit
shall be made on the third available banking day after the receipt of the
money, into the account, which shall be in the name of the S.I.A.
( iii ) Issue a receipt
( In the name of the S.I.A. ) for all monies received.
( iv ) Obtain
authorization for payment of accounts for which the S.I.A. is liable, at
properly constituted Meetings of the S.I.A.
Cheques drawn on Current Account shall be signed by the Chairman and the
Treasurer and shall be countersigned by the Secretary.
Any other form of financial transactions shall be approved by the Executive in
consultation with the Auditor at properly constituted Meetings of the
S.I.A.
( v ) Submit a
Revenue Account at the General Meeting and A.G.M. The Revenue Account
submitted at the A.G.M. shall be checked 30 days before the A.G.M. by an
Auditor, who shall be appointed at each A.G.M. Any member who wishes to
scrutinize the S.I.A.’s books of account may do so at any valid meeting of the
S.I.A.
( vi ) Not be empowered
to commit the S.I.A. to any financial contract without the specific
authorization of the S.I.A.
The Treasurer shall be assisted in all his duties by the Assistant
Treasurer.
TRUSTEES
The Trustees shall form the Board of Trustees ( 7 members ).
The Trustees shall :-
( i )
Institute and defend any legal proceedings for and against the S.I.A., and sign
all necessary documents in connection therewith.
( ii ) Negotiate
and enter into any contracts in furtherance of the S.I.A. aims and objects.
( iii ) Not be empowered
to commit the S.I.A. to any contract without the specific authorization of the
S.I.A.
PAGE 5.
SECTION D : The Trustees
shall : (CONTD)
( iv ) Nominate, from
their number, any two Trustees to have the authority to act on behalf of the
Board of Trustees.
( v ) Shall keep a
complete record of the property of the S.I.A.
( vi ) Shall keep
records of the minutes of all the A.G.M’s and all the minutes of the last three
executive bodies and sub-committees, as well as a complete record of judgments,
religious or otherwise that concerns the modus operandi of it’s Mosque affairs.
The Treasurers, as also the Chairmen, Secretaries and the Trustees
shall not be personally liable
for any debts incurred on behalf of the S.I.A. It
shall at all times be accepted that the
payment of debts contracted by the S.I.A shall be guaranteed, on a
Pro-Rata basis by the
members of the S.I.A. The Administration of the S.I.A. shall
vest in The Executive Committee.
SECTION E: THE
EXCECITIVE COMMITTEE
The Executive Committee
shall consist of the Officials and 7 (seven) executive members elected at the
A.G.M.
( i
)
Meetings of the Executive Committee shall be convened by the Secretary,
instructed thereto by the Chairman.
( ii
)
The Executive Committee shall have a Quorum of 50% of it’s Constituents, of
whom at least 3 ( Three ) shall be Officials.
( iii
)
Constituents shall receive at least three ( 3 ) days notice of any Meeting of
the Executive Committee.
( iv
)
Any Constituent who absents himself without an apology from 3 consecutive
Meetings shall forfeit his position.
( v
)
EXTRA – ORDINARY POWERS :-
1.
(a) Should it for any reason beyond the
control of the S.I.A. not be possible
to hold the normal General Meeting of the S.I.A., the Executive
Committee shall assume the management and control of the affairs of
The S.I.A. and shall discharge all those functions which the General
Meeting would otherwise have discharged.
(b) The Executive Committee, through the
Secretary, shall submit to the
S.I.A. at the earliest possible date after normalization of the affairs of
the S.I.A. a complete report on all it’s Meetings and on any course of action
taken with regards to the matters dealt with by it.
2. Any decision reached on course of action
taken under Clause 1. (a) of
Section E, shall automatically be ratified by the S.I.A. after it has received
the
Executive Committee’s report.
PAGE 6.
SECTION F: MEETINGS
1.A. THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGS
( i ) The
A.G.M. of the S.I.A. shall be held not later than the month of THUL GADJ.
Those eligible to attend are the Officials, the registered members and any
other person who wishes to attend this or any other Meeting of the S.I.A. may do
so only with the permission of the Executive Committee. Such persons,
“observers”, shall have no right to vote. Members who will be allowed to vote shall be Class A and Honorary members and/or Class B members who are proxies of Class A and honorary members. The AGM needs to elect
at least seven members to fill the first seven positions and/or all 21 members
if circumstances allow. The official positions will be determined by normal
meeting procedure at the first executive meeting. Not with-standing Section C,
the SIA membership Classes shall only apply for the purpose of election at The
AGM and shall be:
(a) THAT a Class A member shall be a registered
member whose mosque subscriptions are paid up.
(b) THAT a Class B member shall be a registered
member whose mosque subscriptions are not paid up.
(c) THAT a Class C member shall be an honorary
member as proposed and elected in an AGM.
( ii ) All members
shall be given 14 ( Fourteen ) days notice of the date and place of the A.G.M.
( iii ) The A.G.M., the
first and every adjourned session, shall be attended by not less than 10% of the members who
will be allowed to vote.
B. The Business of the A.G.M. shall be :-
( i ) To read and adopt the
minutes of the previous A.G.M.,
( ii ) To receive and discuss the
President’s Annual Report,
( iii ) To receive and discuss the
Secretary’s Annual Report,
( iv ) To receive and
confirm the Treasurer’s Financial Statement and to consider the report of the
Auditor,
( v ) To deal with
correspondence and to consider amendments and additions to the Constitution,
( vi ) To discuss other
general business which may be tabled for discussion,
( vii ) To elect Officials and
Members of the Executive Committee for the ensuing period.
C. Alterations to the Constitution :
( i ) The Constitution may not
be altered, amended or added to in any way at any time other than at the A.G.M.
( ii ) Notice of
any proposed change, amendment or addition must be given to the Secretary not
later than thirty (30) days prior to the date of the A.G.M.,
( iii ) To become
effective and binding upon the membership of the S.I.A. any change, amendment
or addition to the Constitution must be approved by not less than 75% of the
members present. Once approved, the change, amendment or addition to the
Constitution shall become binding upon the membership immediately after the
A.G.M. is closed.
2. GENERAL MEETINGS
a. General Meetings shall be held once a month,
unless the S.I.A. decides otherwise. This decision may be taken at any
properly constituted meeting.
b. The Quorum for a General Meeting shall consist
of Three (3) Officials and 10% of the membership.
PAGE 7.
SECTION F :
MEETINGS : (CONTD)
3. SUSPENSIONS
A. ( i
) The S.I.A. shall have the authority to suspend from
it’s activities any member for
any flagrant and
willful breach of the articles of this Constitution and for any willful act
that is calculated to impede or to obstruct the S.I.A. in the discharge
of it’s constitutional
function.
( ii ) It shall be competent for the
S.I.A. to suspend or to expel any member at any of it’s General Meetings,
after having given the member opportunity to show cause why the S.I.A. should
not take disciplinary action.
B. No person who
has been suspended by the S.I.A. shall participate in any of the S.I.A.
activities, nor shall such person be eligible to serve as an Official or as an
Executive Member of the S.I.A.
SECTION G: OTHER COMMITTEES
1.
The S.I.A. as the need arises, shall elect at any of it’s meetings :-
( i ) Finance Committee
( ii ) Publications Committee
( iii ) Education Committee
( iv ) Social Welfare Committee
( v ) Orientation Committee
or any other Committee to deal with such business as may be entrusted to it.
2. Whereas the Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer
shall head the Finance Committee, the seven Executive Members shall be heads of
the remaining Sub-Committees respectively.
The heads of the committees shall submit written reports of their
activities to the Executive Committee.
The heads of the Sub-Committees shall elect their own assistants.
SECTION I: BY-LAWS AND DIMUNITION OF AUTHORITY
1. The S.I.A. shall have the authority to enact, at
any of it’s General Meetings, such resolutions as it may deem necessary for the
efficient organization and control of it’s activities.
2. (a) The silence
of this Constitution on general as well as specific matters relating to the
organization of the S.I.A. over it’s members or the relationship between the
S.I.A. and
other organizations shall not be construed to mean that the authority of the
S.I.A. in
these matters is diminished in any other way.
(b) The S.I.A. shall at all times have full
authority to govern it’s internal affairs and to
Regulate it’s
relationship with other organizations.
SECTION J: SPECIAL MEETINGS
PAGE 8.
1. Special Meetings of the S.I.A. may be convened
by the Secretary, instructed thereto by the Chairman or upon requisition from
the Members.
2. The Members that request a Special Meeting shall
submit in writing to the Secretary, the reasons for the request.
3. The Secretary shall give all the Members at
least three ( 3 ) days notice of a Special Meeting. The notice shall
state the business of the Meeting. The meeting shall not be competent to
deal with any other matter.
4. The Quorum for a Special Meeting shall consist
of at least 10% of the Membership and Two Officials.
5. If the attempt to convene a Special Meeting to
discuss the business set-out in the notice to the members, should fail, the
petitioning members, as well as any other members shall be precluded from
requisitioning another Special Meeting to deal with the stated business and
their special business shall then appear on the Agenda of the next General
Meeting.
SECTION K
A. Notice to review and rescind
Notice to review or
rescind in any ruling of the Chairman or other presiding officer or decision or
resolution of the S.I.A. shall be either at the Meeting at which the ruling is
given or the decision taken or resolution passed, or in writing to the
Secretary within 14 days of the adoption of the minutes relating to the ruling
decision or resolution. To be valid, such a notice must be
supported by a fully motivated, written application by the Member/s.
B.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein contained, Clauses
Section A, B, C and
L shall under no circumstances be altered,
amended, repealed or revoked.
SECTION L: DISSOLOTION
1. In the event of the S.I.A. being dissolved such
decision shall require the authorization of 75% of the Membership.
2. The Trustees shall dispose of the assets of the
S.I.A. to any Organization with similar aims.
EPILOGUE
ALLAAH tasks not a soul
beyond its scope. For it is only that which it has earned, and against
it, only that which it has deserved.
Our
Lord! Condemn us not if we
forget, or miss the mark!
Our
Lord! Lay not on us such a
burden as Thou did lay on those before.
Our
Lord! Impose not on us that
which we have not the strength to bear.
Pardon us, absolve us
and have mercy on us, Thou our Protector, and give us victory over the
disbelieving folk.
