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In the Name of Allah, the Most Kind, the Most Merciful
SIJPA Constitution
ARTICLE I: TITLE AND FUNCTIONS
1. The name of the corporation shall be KHOJA SHIA
ITHNASHERI JAMAAT OF PENNSYLVANIA and shall herein after be referred to or
known as THE JAMAAT.
2. The principal place of the Jamaat shall be within the
county of Lehigh, Allentown, Pennsylvania.
3. The Jamaat shall be a non-profit, religious
organization registered under the statutes of the State of Pennsylvania.
4. The Functions and Objects of the Jamaat shall include
the following:
A. To pursue the religious, educational and cultural
activities of the Shia Ithnaasheri Religion.
B. To serve as a center for Shia Ithnaasheri Moslems in
Pennsylvania.
C. To assist in performing any religious and social
ceremonies such as marriage and funeral arrangements.
D. To perform charitable works for needy families in the
United States of America Canada and elsewhere irrespective of their being
Shia Ithnaasheri.
E. To endeavor to assemble and procure all writings in the
English language about the Shia Ithnaasheri Religion and to make the same
available for circulation.
F. To give financial assistance to scholars of the Shia
Ithnaasheri Religion for the purpose of encouraging the translation and
compilation into English of publications relevant to the need of the Shia
Ithnaasheri Community.
G. To raise funds through membership subscription and/or
otherwise, to accept donations, gifts, legacies and bequests, for use in
promoting the objectives and carrying out the activities of the Jamaat.
H. To manage, acquire, own, buy, sell, lease, mortgage or
otherwise deal in and with real property suitable for the above-stated
objectives.
I. To establish and support or to assist in settlement of
displaced people, refugees, and undertake all such activities, and in so
doing, to cooperate and collaborate with other similar organizations
throughout the world.
J. To carry on, and or organize development of aid or
relief projects or disaster relief to provide humanitarian aid with any
organization throughout the world with similar aims and objects.
ARTICLE II: STATEMENT OF BELIEFS, RELIGION PRACTICE
The members of this Jamaat will follow the Shia
Ithnaasheri school of Law.
ARTICLE III: PROCLAMATION
The members of this Jamaat recognize that all meetings and
business shall be operated and conducted as provided by the Shia Jaaferi
Belief. The members shall recognize that the Prophet of Islam has given
the members of the Shia Ithnaasheri Religion two (2) valuable things for
guidance in this world. They are:
1. The Book of Allah, Quran-e-Majid
2. The Ahl-al-Bait (the specified relatives of the
Holy Prophet)
Based on this, the members subscribe to the belief that
all men are born and created equal, and that fanatical beliefs against any
religion or faith are unacceptable to them.
This Jamaat shall not involve itself in political
activities of any nature, or make any contributions for a similar purpose
within or outside the United States of America.
ARTICLE IV: MEMBERSHIP AND DUES
A. Any Muslim follower of the Shia Ithnaasheri faith who
is of full age of 18 years and over and earning, shall be eligible to
apply for membership. Application on a prescribed form available from the
Secretary accompanied with annual subscription and other dues, if any,
shall be submitted to the Jamaat who shall place the same before the next
meeting of the Management Committee of the Jamaat. Voting upon the
admission shall take place at the said meeting and a majority shall elect
to membership.
B. The annual subscription and other dues may be
prescribed by the Jamaat from time to time proposed by the Management
Committee and passed by a resolution at a general meeting by simple
majority shall be payable to the Jamaat.
C. The annual subscription shall be paid in advance before
30th April of each year.
D. If a member has not paid his dues by 30th
April for that year, an additional twenty five percent or a specific late
fee passed by a resolution at a general meeting will be levied for that
calendar year.
E. Any member who cannot meet the dues deadline may
request an extension of another three months from the Management
Committee.
F. Any member in arrears after 30th April of
each year shall automatically forfeit their voting rights and other
privileges like nikah ceremony, majlis request and shall not receive any
circulars until the dues are cleared.
G. A delinquent member may request a majlis/nikah at a
scheduled program of the Jamaat by paying special charges prescribed in
the by-laws passed by a resolution at a general meeting.
H. Any one joining membership after 30th April
shall pay only one-half of annual dues for that year.
I. A full time student over 18 years of age and not
employed shall pay only one-fourth of the subscription in yearly dues.
J. Any Lehigh County resident, or a former bonafide member
over the age of fifty-five and not earning shall be exempt from dues and
shall enjoy full privilege of membership.
K. Any new member shall be designated as a 'provisional
member' for the first six months and shall not have the voting privilege.
L. Any member opting out of membership while being a
Pennsylvania resident shall be denied re-instatement until all dues are
cleared up and the Management Committee is satisfied of a just cause to
consider re-instatement.
M. No member, officer or trustee of this Jamaat shall,
personally or otherwise, be liable for any debts, liabilities and/or
obligations of this Jamaat.
N. Members who are in arrears for one year or more shall
automatically forfeit their voting rights at any meeting unless all dues
are cleared thirty days prior to any meeting.
ARTICLE V: OFFICE BEARERS
A. The office bearers of the Jamaat shall be a president,
vice president, a secretary, a joint secretary, a treasurer and two (2)
committee members, who shall be elected at general meeting and shall form
the Board of Directors, herein after also referred as the Management
Committee of the Jamaat for a term of TWO years.
B. A member may be elected to the Management Committee by
proxy, provided a written notice of consent is submitted by the said
member to the President or the Secretary prior to the meeting.
C. The Management Committee is authorized to increase the
number of committee members as necessary to serve the Jamaat during that
particular term of TWO years.
D. The management committee shall be considered dissolved
at any time if more than four members including the three office bearers
like the president, secretary and the treasurer, submit their resignation.
At that time, the Board of Trustees will assume the temporary powers of
the Management Committee and shall within thirty days call for a general
meeting to elect new office bearers.
E. The Management Committee shall be empowered to relieve
any office bearer of his duties if an office bearer is convicted of a
criminal offense.
ARTICLE VI: DUTIES OF THE OFFICE BEARERS
In addition to being responsible for the administration of
the affairs of this Jamaat the Officers shall hold not less than four
committee meetings every year. The Chairman shall given one week notice
prior to any meeting.
No officer or director of this Jamaat will either be a
salaried employee or receive any kind of monetary compensation for his
services.
The Committee Members will conduct the following duties:
A. Transact the general business of this Jamaat.
B. Establish major administrative policies governing the
affairs of this Jamaat.
C. Maintain funds, buildings, property, materials and
equipment belonging to the Jamaat.
D. Act upon all applications for individual membership in
the Jamaat.
E. Decide upon all meetings to be held.
F. Represent the Jamaat in all matters relating to the
proper functioning of the Jamaat.
G. The management committee soon after its election may
appoint a sub-committee to help supervise the affairs of the Jamaat in
various fields. The term of a sub-committee will be the period prescribed,
in this case, a two year term.
All sub-committees will be responsible to, and answerable
to the Management Committee, which, shall also have the powers to dissolve
any sub-committee if necessary.
Duties of the Officers:
President - The President shall represent the
Jamaat at all such occasions as may be necessary or appropriate, shall be
ex-officio member of all standing committees except the nomination
committee and shall be responsible to carry out the decisions of the
general body.
The President of the Jamaat shall forthwith and with
immediate effect forfeit his office in the following circumstances:
1. if he ceases to be a Shia Ithnasheri;
2. if he resigns;
3. if he is convicted of a criminal offense;
4. if he is adjudged to be of unsound mind, insane or
senile;
5. if he suffers from an incapacity because of prolonged
illness;
if the office of the President becomes vacant as a result
of any one of the above circumstances, the vice president will carry out
all the functions of the Jamaat and, in the meantime, make arrangements
for electing a new president by convening a general meeting convened for
the purpose within thirty days.
The award of any medal, citation or decoration from the
Jamaat shall be the prerogative of the President.
Vice President - In the absence of the president,
the Vice President shall assume the duties of the President. The Vice
President shall also assume such other duties as may be assigned to him by
the Committee Members or the President.
Secretary - The Secretary shall keep a complete
record of all general and other meetings and maintain all files and
correspondence as well as membership record and perform all other services
incidental to the office of the Secretary.
Joint Secretary - The Joint Secretary shall assist
the Secretary.
Treasurer - The Treasurer shall be responsible for
maintenance of all funds of the Jamaat and shall submit his accounts to
the Committee.
One committee member shall assume the duty of a MUKHI and
shall be responsible for looking after the Jamaat's facilities and shall
be in charge of all program coordination.
ARTICLE VII: ORGANIZATION OF CHAPTERS
The Board of Directors may authorize a local chapter to be
organized in any city upon receipt of a petition signed by ten or more
persons who subscribe to the Shia Ithnaasheri Religion.
Each chapter shall appoint a coordinator who shall
exercise the powers of a chairman of the chapter subject to the by-laws of
the Jamaat.
No chapter shall have the authority to represent the
Jamaat unless authorized by the Committee in writing.
ARTICLE VIII: FINANCES
All expenses of the Jamaat shall be paid by check signed
by any two of the following officers:
the Treasurer, the President or the Secretary.
The Committee Members shall determine:
1. The bank where the deposits of the Jamaat are to be
kept.
2. Checks drawn on the accounts shall be signed by:
1. President
2. Secretary
3. Treasurer.
3. Individual members of the Jamaat shall not solicit
funds or involve in any kind of fund-raising within the community and its
members without specific written permission from the Management Committee.
4. The fiscal year of the Jamaat shall end December 31.
ARTICLE IX: ANNUAL MEETING
A. The Jamaat shall hold its Annual General Meeting within
two months of the end of its fiscal year, that is, by the end of February
of the following year for the purpose of:
1. Receiving the Management Committee’s report and
Accounts including the Income Statement and Balance Sheet.
2. Election of officers and Trustees, on completion of
their term of offices, as prescribed in these by-laws.
3. Transacting any other business specified in the agenda
of the meeting.
B. The President of the Jamaat or in his absence, the Vice
President shall chair all general meetings and in the absence of both, a
chairman elected ad-hoc by the members present at the meeting, shall
chair. In case of an equality of votes, the Chairman shall have a casting
vote in addition to a deliberative vote.
C. A special general meeting the Jamaat may be called at
any time by the President, Management Committee or upon written request by
fifty-one percent of the members of the Jamaat. The purpose of the meeting
shall be convened within thirty days of the receipt of the requisition,
falling which, the requisitioners may ask the Board of Trustees to call
such a meeting giving the prescribed notice to members of the Jamaat
stating agenda of the meeting.
D. Notice of all general meetings shall be sent to members
at least 14 days prior to the date of the meeting. In case of emergency, a
general meeting called by the President or Management Committee, a notice
of Five days prior to the date of meeting shall be given to members.
E. All or any proceedings at any given meeting shall be
carried out by ballott if requested a a meeting and seconded.
ARTICLE X: AMENDMENTS
A. These by-laws shall become effective immediately on
their adoption. Amendments of these by-laws shall become effective
immediately on their adoption unless the members in adopting them provide
that they are to become effective at a later date.
B. Amendments or alterations to the by-laws shall be
considered at any general meeting of the Jamaat and shall become effective
if passed by a majority vote provided that the notice of the proposed
amendment is mailed by the Secretary to the eligible members of the Jamaat
at least fourteen days before the meeting is held.
C. The original copy of the By-laws, as amended or
otherwise altered to date, certified by the Secretary of the Jamaat, shall
be recorded and kept properly which shall be held in the custody of the
Secretary.
ARTICLE XI: ELECTIONS:
A. Every member shall be entitled to one (1) vote at
Annual and General meetings. Voting by proxy shall not be allowed.
B. The privilege of voting and holding office shall belong
to all eligible general members.
ARTICLE XII: QUORUM:
At all General Meetings, twenty-five members shall form a
quorum, if within one-half hour from the time appointed for the meeting a
quorum is not present, then seventy-five percent (75%) of the attendees at
the second meeting will make up the quorum.
ARTICLE XIII: TRUSTEES:
A. The Jamaat may decide at any time at its discretion to
establish a Trust Board. When such decision is made, three Trustees shall
be elected at a general or special meeting, among members and officers of
the Jamaat, for a term of FIVE years and the properties of the Jamaat
shall then be vested in the Trustees.
B. The Jamaat shall cause to prepare a deed of trust to be
signed by the Trustees declaring to hold such properties upon such trusts
and subject to such conditions as to management or otherwise and with such
powers of disposition for the purpose of sale, exchanges, mortgages,
leases or otherwise as members of the Jamaat may by resolution permit and
direct the acquisition or disposal of any property required or not
required for the purpose of the Jamaat.
C. The Trustees shall adopt their own rules of procedure
in relation to the conduct of their meetings which shall be held once
every year before the end of February. Notices of meeting shall be given
by ordinary mail 30 days prior to the scheduled meeting date and shall
keep a proper record thereof.
D. A Trustee shall vacate the office if the said Trustee
ceases to be a Shia Ithnaasheri, resigns, certified or otherwise adjudged
to be of unsound mind or insane, convicted of an offence involving moral
turpitude or dishonest, adjudged bankrupt, fails without good cause to
attend two consecutive meetings of the Board of Trustees.
E. Vacancies in the council of Trustees shall be filled by
a majority of votes at a general meeting.
F. The trustees shall concur in and do all acts necessary
to enable the Management Committee to exercise their powers unless the
matter in which the Trustees are requested to concur involves or is in the
opinion of any of the Trustees likely to involve the Trustees in any
liability unacceptable to any of the Trustees.
G. The decision of the Trustees shall be made by a simple
majority of votes of the Trustees present and voting.
ARTICLE XIV: RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS
A. At any event if the Jamaat has to obtain a lajaza or
permission from a Mujtahed to raise funds or become an agent to collect
khums, that proposal shall be put to the general body and shall specify
the amount and the time period for which it shall remain valid.
B. If the services of a resident aalim is sought, he shall
be recruited through the good offices of NASIMCO or The World Federation,
and the contract offered shall not exceed one (1) year at a time.
C. No individual, at any time, shall be allowed to solicit
or pursue services of an aalim.
ARTICLE XV: MISCELLANEOUS:
A. To the extent permitted by law, each Office Bearer or
Trustee, now or hereafter serving the Jamaat, and the respective heirs,
executors and administrators of each of them shall be indemnified by the
Jamaat against all costs, judgments, and liabilities, including
attorneys’ fees, reasonably incurred by or imposed upon him or her in
connection with any action, suit or proceedings, civil or criminal in
which he or she is or may be made a party by reason of his or her having
been such officer of the Jamaat. Such indemnification shall be made with
respect to adjudication other than on the merits and shall extend to
settlements and compromises.
B. If any provision of these by-laws shall be determined
to be invalid pursuant to applicable law, the said provision shall be
severed from these by-laws, while the remaining by-laws shall remain in
full force and effect.
ARTICLE XVI: DISSOLUTION:
A. The Jamaat shall only be dissolved at a general meeting
called for such purpose. The dissolution shall only be valid if a
resolution is passed by such meeting supported by at least 90percentum of
the total membership of the Jamaat.
B. Upon the dissolution or winding up of this Jamaat, its
assets remaining after the payment of, or provision for the payment of,
all debts and liabilities of this Jamaat shall be distributed to SHIA
ITHNASHERI JAMAAT OF NEW YORK, if it is then in existence and exempt under
Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, but if not then in
existence or exempt, to another organization which is organized and
operated exclusively for religious or charitable purposes and which has
established its tax exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code.
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The foregoing Constitution with amendments and By-Laws
were adopted by the membership of the Jamaat at a meeting held at the
Imambara, 1335 Chew Street, Allentown, Pennsylvania on Friday, 3rd
April 1992.
President _____[Official Signature]___________ Hon.
Secretary ______[Official Signature]_____
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