The Sixth Executive Council meeting for the term 2011 – 2014 took place on Saturday 4th January 2014 in Mumbai, India. With over 60 delegates, invitees and volunteers, it was an opportunity for individuals from around the world to update each other on their work and discuss various matters concerning The World Federation’s activities. This included planning for the Triennial conference which will InshAllah take place in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in May 2014 and the presidential elections later this year.
Welcome address
Brother Shan E Abbas Hassam, Secretary General of The World Federation welcomed all attendees to the Sixth Executive Council meeting and expressed his happiness that the meeting could take place in Mumbai, India. It was noted that Mumbai Jamaat was one of the first Khoja Jamaats set up over 100 years ago. It was also noted that this meeting would not contain Secretariat Departmental reports since these have been discussed at length in the past Executive Council Meetings and would now be presented at Conference. Instead this Executive Council meeting would tie up loose ends, plan for the upcoming Conference and also for the Electoral Commission to highlight the Presidential election process.
The meeting was opened by the recitation of the Holy Quran by Brother Jaffer Panjwani, followed by a welcome address by the President of Mumbai Jamaat, Brother Safdar Karmali on the activities of the Jamaat.
Minutes from the Fifth Executive Council Meeting in Wessex, UK
A review of the minutes from the Fifth Executive Council meeting that took place in June 2013 was undertaken and the minutes were adopted. A discussion on the action points from that meeting also took place and the key issues included:
Migration of Pakistani Khojas
In the meeting in June 2013, it was proposed that Africa Federation would consider with Pakistan Federation the potential of Pakistani Khojas migrating to Africa, Africa Federation committed to helping individuals find jobs and it was confirmed that discussions were still taking place on this matter with the Pakistan Federation.
It was also noted that the common trend in India at the moment is that a number of expatriates who had previously left India were now returning as the employment prospects in India are improving InshAllah a further update on this will be provided at the Conference in Dar es Salaam in May 2014 and the Africa Federation, Pakistan Federation and KSI of Mumbai will work closely to highlight opportunities and to assist community members to migrate.
OCI and PIO
Nawazbhai Molloo, President of the Regional Council of Indian Ocean Islands commented on the importance of gaining the OCI and PIO card for our community. He spoke about the financial benefits, connection to our heritage and also potential future benefits especially in unstable countries. The Secretariat committed to circulate more information on this for our community members InshAllah.
Leadership Development Programme in India
In June 2013, it was agreed that the team would look into the possibility of running the Leadership Development Programme in India. It was confirmed that discussions on this had taken place since the last Executive Council meeting and this programme will InshAllah take place over the coming year.
It was also noted that Leadership Development Programmes in Madagascar and Reunion were to take place soon and two trained facilitators from East Africa would also be attending. The contribution of Africa Federation in ensuring these programmes took place was noted and the Africa Federation team were thanked for their support.
Dr Akber Mohammedali commented that over 1,000 individuals around the world had benefitted from the programme and the target for the next six years is for 10,000 people from our community to go through the programme.
Legacy Giving Programme
In the last Executive Council meeting, Brother Reza Hooda, Hon Treasurer had said that The World Federation would soon be launching its Legacy Giving programme to encourage community members to leave a legacy or bequest in their will for the sustainability of the organisation.
An update on how this was progressing was requested. Brother Reza confirmed that the website is currently work in progress and the team have sought further guidance on the shariah in this area. They were also looking further at the tax and legal implications in each region.
Generation Plan Update
At the meeting in June 2013, it was confirmed that The World Federation will be collecting qualitative and quantitative data from the community with a view to forming a Generation Plan which will tackle the needs of our community in every region and create a strategy, with clear and definitive objectives and an action plan for the next 20 years for The World Federation and Regional Federations.
It was confirmed that the team is currently working on this and considering how such data should be collected. Such information would assist in setting the strategic objectives of the organisation so that there are clear, long term, definitive policies in place centrally. Shan E Abbas Hassam stated that a paper would be presented at Conference as to how to undertake such data collection (Census) and the analysis process therefrom. This work could therefore be implemented in the next Term.
Working with Regional Federations Hand in Hand
Shan E Abbas Hassam also stated that at Conference it would be a good idea to revisit the 2006 Triennial Conference Resolution which delineated the role of The World Federation with that of the Regional Federation. Shan E Abbas had suggested that the Office Bearers had some ideas on what to present strategically at Conference and the methodology for implementation but that it would be best for Regional Federation to co-create this strategy and evaluate the current workings. As such the Secretary General has recommended a Regional Summit to take place prior to the Conference which will enable the leadership to discuss potential long term policies and to also evaluate current workings and potentially look at other models of co-operation. Shan E Abbas stated that in his opinion the alignment between The World Federation Secretariat and the Regional Federation Secretariats could be improved and that this would have a direct impact on the services provided to our community members.
Presidential Address
The President of The World Federation, Dr Asgar Moledina began his address by congratulating Mumbai Jamaat on the first ever Executive Council meeting in Mumbai. He also thanked all of the volunteers for their tireless efforts in ensuring that the Executive Council meeting ran smoothly.
Dr Moledina began by introducing The World Federation and the different departments within the organisation for the benefit of those who were attending their first Executive Council meeting. He also updated all attendees on his activities since May 2013. This involved visiting a number of Jamaats around the world.
(A screenshot from the powerpoint of Dr Moledina’s presentation which showed his visits since May 2013)
He also commented on the current situation of Shias around the world and that we must do everything that we can to help them. Specific burning examples were discussed.
In his address, Dr. Moledina stressed the importance of unity, equality in membership and also the importance of input from all parts of the community. He spoke of the time and efforts he had spent on the community in Gujarat. Although they are not direct members at present, he wanted to ensure that the Gujarati community is not cut off from The World Federation.
Furthermore, Dr Moledina acknowledged the formation of India Federation and thanked Mumbai Jamaat and Kutch Federation for being at the forefront of setting up this organisation. Dr Moledina suggested that this good work was still in process and he hoped for maximum participation from the community in India.
Dr Moledina stated that India has real potential and the opportunities here are infinite. He ended his address by thanking all attendees, in particular the Executive Councillors who have guided the Office Bearers and assisted The World Federation during this term.
Before moving on to the next agenda item, Brother Shan E Abbas Hassam also introduced and thanked the various attendees from agencies around India and neighbouring countries. The work they have done over the years has been immense and he expressed his deep gratitude for their attendance at the meeting.
To view the presentation please click here
Madrasah Centre of Excellence (MCE)
Naushad Bhai Mehrali gave a detailed update on the 4 workstreams of the MCE:
• Curriculum Development;
• Teacher Development;
• Learning Resources; and
• Assessment & Evaluation.
To view the presentation please click here
He stated that the curriculum framework for madrasah education had been drafted and this was a significant milestone that had been achieved. Full and thorough consultation would now take place and feedback would then need to be reflected so that the draft document would be amended.
Further work was being carried out in relation to teacher training and support. A great deal of work has been done on training teacher trainers including in areas such as neuro-psychology so that teachers in our Madrasah are developed by understanding the thinking and the needs of children.
It was also stated that the MCE website would be launched later in the month (January 2014).
(A glimpse at the new MCE website that will inshAllah be launched later this month)
It was commented that there was no formal madrasah system in India at all and Brother Naushad stated that he intended to have discussions whilst in India on this area. He was also visiting a number of different places in India to understand the situation better with the view to then put together a plan for this region.
Treasury Update
Following the presentation at the last EXCO meeting in Wessex regarding a review of how the WF accounts for its direct and indirect costs, the Hon Treasurer, Brother Reza Hooda presented a paper showing a proposal to move towards a direct cost charging policy which would be in line with generally accepted accounting practices and auditor’s advices. Coupled with this, the administration fee could be reduced to represent the true average administration cost of running the organisation. It was proposed that a reduction from 7% to 3% would be manageable based on previous year’s figures.
Following consensus from the house, it was agreed that a resolution is drafted for conference for the change in administration fee to take effect once approved at the upcoming tri-annual conference in Dar es Salaam in May 2014. If passed at the conference later in the year, this change is likely to take immediate effect.
This was then followed by a presentation of the management accounts for ten months for the period from 1 January 2013 to 30 October 2013.The income and expenditure figures for each department were then discussed and it was noted that there was an increase in the funds coming into organisation year on year. Furthermore, compared to other NGOs, the overheads of The World Federation were extremely low coming it at between 3% - 5% over the last five years.
Standard Operating Procedures for Electing the President of The World Federation of KSIMC
Sayed Hassan Naqvi, Head of the Electoral Commission, presented this agenda item and discussed how the elections of the next president of The World Federation will take place.
It was commented that the Electoral Commission was an independent team and all matters relating to the upcoming election would be dealt with by the Electoral Commission with no involvement from The World Federation Office Bearers.
It was proposed that elections around the world for the next President of The World Federation will inshAllah take place from Thursday 27th March to Saturday 29th March 2014.
It was then expected that the results of the election would be announced by 13th May 2014.
One member of the Electoral Commission team recently had to resign due to personal reasons and Brother Murtaza Bharwani from London, UK was appointed as the third member of the team. The three man team is now: Sayed Hassan Naqvi (Tanzania) (Head), Muhammad Merchant (Pakistan) and Murtaza Bharwani (UK).
Update from the Media Committee
Brother Munawer Rattansey provided an update from the Media Committee. He began by announcing the formation of the UK Shia Muslim Council (UKSMC).
He also discussed the current situation of Shias around the world and informed all attendees that The World Federation was becoming more active with regards to the media.
It was suggested that each Regional Federation should have its own media committee which can then work with the media committee of The World Federation.
Shan E Abbas Hassam, responding to comments from Javed Shroff and Mohammed Jaffer, stated that The World Federation NGO status was not being fully leveraged and that the appropriate level of skills and expertise had to be brought in to guide the Office Bearers and the Executive Council on how to fully make use of this status and how to fully leverage the political links available to further the cause of the Shia Community. As such research needs to be conducted and Munawer Bhai committed to presenting a paper at the upcoming Conference as to how this could be done effectively, together with the required budget, so that the external work of The World Federation can be improved.
Women Needs Assessment
It was confirmed that a paper on the women needs assessment would inshAllah be submitted at the conference in May 2014.
The World Federation Foundation Fund
The World Federation Foundation Fund is envisaged to be a strategic investment fund in order to create the necessary income stream for The World Federation’s long term growth and sustainability.
It was stated that over the last few months, Alhamdullilah $500,000 USD has been pledged by donors. This brought the total raised to just under $2m USD.
It was confirmed that the investment process for the Foundation Fund would inshAllah begin within the next few weeks.
Labour Market
Brother Mahmood Dhalla, the Assistant Secretary General of the Education department at The World Federation presented a paper on ‘The Future Labour Market’ which discussed the future of the labour market for reflection and strategic planning.
It was commented that as we enter the year 2014, the world faces a stark reality – one in three workers in the labour force will currently either be unemployed or poor.
A copy of this paper is available on The World Federation website
The whole idea of the paper was to highlight the importance of counselling our community youth so that they are fully aware of the career paths available and so that they branch out and take advantage of today’s economic opportunities.
International Alim Conference
An International Alim Conference was discussed by the Executive Council.
The purpose of this conference would be:
1. To network and build relationships between every Alim/Muballigh of our global community;
2. To understand the needs of the Ulama;
3. To facilitate sharing of best practices and experiences; and
4. To produce a sustainable action plan on how best The World Federation can support the Ulama in executing their responsibility.
It was proposed that this is held in East Africa in May 2014 and all Shia scholars from around the world should be invited. The Islamic Education department of The World Federation would inshAllah look into this further and begin the planning for this event.
Progress on Formation of Regional Federations
Dr Moledina provided an update on the progress of forming other regional federations around the world.
He commented that India Federation was in the process of being set up and that, although there is still work to do, it was a landmark achievement that the KSI Mumbai and Kutch Federation were working so closely together on this project. He also updated us on the potential federation in Asia-Australia. Further information on this would inshAllah be available at the conference in Dar es Salaam in May 2014.
Agenda for the Triennial Conference in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania in May 2014
The agenda for the conference in May 2014 was proposed. It was commented that members are entitled to add items to the agenda up to 45 days before the conference.
Any Other Business (AOB)
The current situation of Shias in Sri Lanka was discussed. Over the years, The World Federation has worked closely with our agency in Sri Lanka to assist the Shias and this is through a number of programmes – including the Ramadhan Relief Fund, Hunger Relief Fund and Sponsor our Seniors.
Various other projects were also discussed during the AOBs and to end Brother Shan E Abbas Hassam, the Secretary General of The World Federation asked each attendee to say what they have appreciated the most about this term and what they really liked about the hospitality of Mumbai Jamaat.
There was also a presentation from World Islamic Network (WIN Channel) which was the first Shia Channel in India and is doing excellent Tableegh work in India and through its network globally.
The Secretary General went across the room and asked each councillor for their feedback on the term and for the meeting. Some of the comments are set out below:
Anwer bhai Rajpar, Elected Councillor for The World Federation commented:
This 2011-2014 term has been the most productive from every point of view. Also, we have seen the Secretariat increase its efficiency for the good of the community and we are thankful to the leadership for that.
You (the WF team) have set a very high standard for others to follow and I hope others are able to follow at the same standard.
It’s difficult to put in to words the hospitality of Mumbai Jamaat but it has been incredible!’
Dr Mohsin Jaffer, Executive Councillor of The World Federation states:
‘I was really taken aback by the degree of hospitality of the volunteers from Mumbai Jamaat. Thank you very much.
And for you (the current WF team), the greatest success of our administration is that you have united all of the Federations and created new Federations and today, you are truly the federations of all Federations.
Brother Shabbar Dhalla, Executive Councillor of The World Federation said:
‘I think the greatest joy comes when the Office Bearers don’t see the Executive Council as a body for reporting and rubber stamping but as a body of partners and a body where they can leverage to get the best out for the benefit of the organisation.
It has been an honour and pleasure to work, not with what I call my Office Bearers, but what I call my friends…
…The positivity and energy that is now coming out where it is no longer you or I but us – how can WE as an organisation and WE as a community uplift this community.
This is an opportunity that has been given to us by Allah (swt) to serve the community and we pray only to Him that he accepts the small steps that we have taken to improve this community.
In terms of Mumbai Jamaat being concerned , there is very little one can say apart from that we have been completely blown away by the hospitality and warmth and above all, feeling at home.
This is my first time in India but it has never felt like that because at all stages, it feels completely like home and that is a feeling you can’t get anywhere else, except here.
Brother Reza Jagani commented:
The first Executive Council meeting that I attended was in Antanarivo in Madagascar last year and at that time, I was so much inspired by the work of the young team that was being done at The World Federation. After Madagascar, I went around all of East Africa and I really appreciated the work being done there in external tabligh.
More of this needs to be done in India.
Brother Aunali Khalfan, Hon Secretary General of Africa Federation:
The experience we have gained is the humbleness of the leadership – is remarkable. They have been very open and generous too.
To Mumbai Jamaat, hats off for the wonderful hospitality.
The meeting ended with final comments from Dr Asgar Moledina, President of The World Federation who said that he had done his best and not all of his ideas had been achieved but that the foundation was there for the incoming team to build up. The meeting ended with Dua Wahda recited by Sayyid Ali Naqvi.
For further information please email secretariat@world-federation.org
