Membership Drive and AGA 2011

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Assalamu'alaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh,
Brothers and Sisters, as some of you know, every year IMAAM is required to conduct our Annual General Assembly (AGA), also known as MUSTA (Musyawarah Tahunan). Based on the bylaws of IMAAM, in this AGA we do the followings:
1. The evaluation and the approval of the annual program.
2. The election of Trustees.
3. The amendment of these Bylaws of IMAAM.
4. The arbitration of grievances or disputes, as needed.
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1. The evaluation and approval of Annual Program
The Executive Committee delivered the preview of the report on 2/27/2011 and will deliver the final report on 3/27/2011.

2. The election of trustees
The Board of Trustees has requested that the AGA be divided into two parts, Part I on 2/27/2011 and Part II on 3/27/2011.
As the Executive Committee mention, until now IMAAM doesn't have a solid membership system. In the meantime, a solid membership system is needed as IMAAM becomes bigger and do other activities and services. Membership system also defines how a member can vote, as well as being nominated as BoT. 

Therefore, between 2/27/2011 and 3/27/2011, IMAAM is doing "Membership Drive", which involves the process of re-registering everybody as one of the membership status as mentioned in the bylaws, which are "Regular Member", "Life Member",  "Associate Member", or "Honorary Member". Based on the members that registered, those who qualify as Regular Member will be eligible to be nominated and vote. The nomination is done through Nomination Form that is submitted to the AGA Committee.

The current BoT members whose terms expiring are Br. Firdaus Kadir (currently Chairman of the BoT), Br. Syafrin Murdas (Regular Trustee, overseeing Fundraising), and Sr. Sarah Locke (Regular Trustee, overseeing Women Affairs/Sunday School).

3. The amendment of Bylaws of IMAAM
The following amendment to the Bylaws of IMAAM were also requested, to make adjustment to the current Bylaws. Proposed changes are in bold.

3.02 - A Regular Member shall be a Muslim of at least eighteen (18) years of age, living in the Greater Washington  DC/ Annapolis/ Baltimore area, who files an application with the required dues, as may from time to time be set by the Board of Trustees, and agrees to abide by the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws of IMAAM. All applications are subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees.

3.04 - An Associate Member shall be any Muslim who is not eligible to be a regular member or does not wish to be a regular member, or any non-Muslim interested in learning about Islam and Islamic activities in America. An Associate Member shall be ineligible to vote in the election or hold any office of IMAAM. Only the Board of Trustees can confer Associate membership.
3.08  The Annual General Assembly Meeting (hereinafter “Annual Meeting”) of the members shall be held no later than March. The purposes of the meeting shall be:
1. The evaluation and the approval of the annual program. 
2. The election of Trustees.
3. The amendment of these Bylaws of IMAAM.
4. The arbitration of grievances or disputes, as needed.
    The Board of Trustees may postpone the Annual Meeting for a maximum period of thirty days due to extenuating circumstances. Newly elected Trustees take office immediately upon election, at which time the term of outgoing Trustees automatically ends.

3.11 - Written or printed notice stating the place, day, and hour of the meeting, and, in the case of a special meeting, the purpose or purposes for which the meeting is called, shall be delivered not less than fifteen (15) nor more than thirty (30) days before the date of the meeting, either personally or by mail, or electronically. The Board of Trustees or Executive Committee, may designate any person(s) to call and inform each Member, who is entitled to vote, for such meeting. If mailed, such notice shall be deemed to be delivered when deposited in the United States mail, with postage prepaid, addressed to the member at his/her address as it appears on the records of IMAAM. Each Member shall be responsible for informing IMAAM promptly of any change of his/her mailing or email address.

3.14 - Each Member, who has been in good standing for the immediately preceding twelve (12) months, shall have one vote. Whenever any action is to be taken by vote of the Members, except as otherwise required by law or by the Articles of Incorporation, it shall prevail by a majority of the votes. A member may vote by absentee ballot by requesting an absentee ballot (email, mail, or personally) from the current election commissioner no later than one week before elections. Absentee ballot must be emailed, mailed or personally delivered back to the election commissioner no later that two days before the scheduled vote. Proxy voting is not allowed. 

4.05 – To be eligible for election as Trustee, a person must:
Have been an active member in good standing of IMAAM for the past twelve (12) months and nominated by at least three (3) other active members;
have legal status in the United States;
Never have been convicted of a felonious offense;
Be at least 25 years old;
Be a consistent follower of the Quran and Sunnah

For more details about this process and get the membership/nomination forms, please visit this page