April 1995 ISGC Constitution Vote

by Khaled Farag

The Muslim community in central Ohio has grown dramatically in the last few years. The average Jumma Prayer is now attended by at least 450 people. at least 3000 people attended the Eid prayer on March 3. During Ramadan, Omar Mosque was regularly occupied to its fullest capacity. Omar Ibn El-Khattab Children School had 132 children registered this fall. The school administration had to deal with multiple shifts to accommodate the lack of space.

The mosque structure itself is in its old age and the cost of regular maintenance required just to maintain it is increasing. In one year we learned that we need several thousand dollars to repair the parking lot's cracking pavement. Several thousand dollars are needed to change the carpet. Recently, it was concluded that a new roof, which will cost more than $7000, will be needed very soon.

The most serious problem the community is facing today is the dramatic change in the type of services the MSA does for the community at large and the massive demand for services. This is all happening while the number of willing volunteers to do the work is declining.

I told a friend once that I was the president of a student organization called the MSA. He then asked me what type of activities do we do as an organization. When he learned that this small humble "student" organization operates a "church" of 400 professional and student patrons coming from at least 80 different countries, marries people, buries people when they die, mediates family disputes and provides counseling, raises on average $100,000 a year for international relief, organizes every Friday two off-site congregational prayers, conducts at least 4 weekly study sessions "halaqas", operates a weekend school for 132 children... My friend interrupted me and asked, "Whom was I kidding?" He continued to say, "You are obviously not describing a student organization. What you have is a small independent community."

The fact that the community has outgrown Omar Mosque in size and capacity is not new news for many. For that reason, in 1989, the MSA executive committee commissioned a task force to plan and work on long term solutions for the administrative and capacity problems the community is facing. the task force developed a plan to expand the structural assets of the community to accommodate its growth. The task force studied primarily the construction, development and operation of a full time Islamic school and the acquisition of a new Mosque-Community center complex with all the associated administrative and financial needs.

The acquisition of such assets required clear and perfected plans to manage and operate such facilities. The task force recommended to the MSA general assembly the complete restructuring and the overhaul of the existing management style of the MSA. The idea was to reorganize the MSA to accomplish the following goals:

• Preserve all the excellent Islamic characteristics and actions the community has developed and accomplished in Central Ohio over the years.
• Expand the opportunity for the professional members of the community to undertake a more active role in the leadership and service of this community.
• Re-energize and enrich the Muslim activities in the local universities and colleges. Such activities have almost been abandoned due to the work load of the members of the MSA with community projects.
• Provide a flexible and stable platform for the establishment of the full time Islamic school.
  Guard the Islamic assets (waqf) and guarantee that such assets grow and remain in Muslim hands.
• Initiate financial investment plans for the community to financially sustain the operation of the organization.

In early 1994, the MSA General Assembly accepted a proposal to reorganize the MSA under a new name, The Islamic Society of Greater Columbus (ISGC), and approved a new management structure that included an elected board of trustees and an executive committee. The general assembly elected initial members of the board of trustees and made a recommendation that a new detailed constitution of the organization be presented for adoption in the near future.
[ed. note: Those were Ahmed Abdullah, Hany Saqr, Khaled Farag, and Mouhamed Nabih Tarazi. See June 1994 ISGC passes with flying colors By Rached Zantout]

The Board of Trustees of ISGC organized many informal meetings with many of the brothers and sisters to brainstorm and critique several outlines for a proposed constitution. Presentations and seminars were organized for the brothers and sisters to maximize their critique and hear all suggestions.

Many models were initially at hand. After each meeting, the BOT collected the suggestions and critiques of each model. Most of the suggestions were excellent, but many of them contradicted one another and had to be integrated together to form a complete draft constitution and a set of bylaws. The notes were reconciled many times and, slowly, a skeleton of a draft constitution began to emerge.

The draft constitution was debated again in many small groups whose purpose was to eliminate the contradictions and further perfect the proposal. Many participants started with opinions that were later changed by others who debated their points through constructive criticism and mutual respect. The depth and seriousness of the analysis that these brothers and sisters gave to the proposals reflected the maturity of the Muslim community in Central Ohio. The resulting document was a constitution in its embryonic stages. Although it contained many ideas from just about everyone, many people who drafted the constitution will not agree with every detail in it. That indeed reflects the multitude of differing views on some issues and the resulting compromises. The draft constitution was then posted in the Mosque in order to be circulated for further modification and change. Written suggestions were also encouraged. Many suggestions and modification were further debated and critiqued by the BOT and the person making the suggestion before being added to the proposal. After nearly 2500 man-hours of debate, editing and critique, a semifinal proposal was presented to at least 13 members of the MSA (10%) of the number of members to read it and formally presented to the MSA executive committee.
The proposed constitution was mailed to every member with a notification of the special general assembly to be held at 9:15 pm on Friday, April 7, 1995. Since absentee ballots will not be taken, the attendance of all members is critical.

Highlights of the Proposed Constitution:

Continuity of the growth of the Muslim Community in Central Ohio. this will be the result of stable Islamic leadership and will ease focusing on long term community goals.

The restructured MSA under the name ISGC will basically have the community manage its affairs by Shura practiced on every matter. the community will elect representatives to a shura council. The representatives are called General Body Representatives (GBR). The shura council elects a president of the executive committee. The president, once elected, will select the remaining members of the executive committee and seek their confirmation by the (GBR). The executive committee remains the manager of the day to day affairs of the community. The role of the BOT will primarily be the long term planning for the community and protection of the Islamic waqf entrusted to the community.

The new structure of the organization allows the creation of additional affiliate organizations to professionally manage and operate future projects such as a full time Islamic School, day care centers, Islamic cemeteries, and financial investments for the community to sustain its growth.
ISGC structure allows other Islamic Organizations willing to affiliate with or join ISGC by name or by effort to complement and accelerate the developed growth of the Muslim community. the student members of ISGC can focus on Islamic Dawah on the campuses in Central Ohio. Many additional MSAs will be formed while remaining inseparable parts of ISGC.

[Ed. note: Main differences between MSA and ISGC: non-student members, new General Body from which elections are made, Veto Powers to BOT, and Quotas for students]