Press Release 
The Fifth Meeting of the World Federation Executive Council
May 24 – 26, 2002 Jaffari Islamic Centre, Toronto, Canada

The Jaffery Islamic center at Bayview, Toronto was a hub of activity starting form Thursday May 24 to May 26 starting with the World Federation Road show and an open house for the Community on Thursday night, followed by the International Seniors Convention on Friday, the WF Executive Council Meeting on Saturday and the Youth Networking meeting on Sunday. The formal events were interspersed by a grand parents breakfast at Al Sadiq School at Bathurst, a visit to the Crescent Village Senior Complex for a ‘dessert reception’, a gala dinner at Bayview, a power breakfast at the Masoomin Center at Brampton. and an empowering Youth Meeting at Bayview on Sunday.

The World Federation Road Show
The President of the WF shared a multimedia presentation on the activities of the WF providing a snapshot of its wide-ranging services to the Community to an attentive audience. He emphasized that the role of the WF was primarily that of an enabler and a facilitator, which sought to serve the community with sincerity and simplicity which were values firmly entranced in the team at the secretariat by his predecessor Marhum Mulla Asgharali M M Jaffer. 

Amongst the many new projects highlighted were the Aynullah Eye Clinic established by the World Federation MAB in Karnataka, the Zainabiya Yatim & Asir Scheme; as well as the Mulla Asghar Memorial Child Sponsorship Scheme for children in East Africa. This being the term of Education, he focused on the activities of the Career Education and Training Board, and appealed to the audience to give generously when CETAB approached them for donations for higher education as currently there were as many as 45 applicants awaiting loan approvals for higher education. He also highlighted the many wide and diverse fields in which the Islamic Education Board of the World Federation continued to serve and cited the http://www.quran.org.uk site, which has had international academic acclaim. 

Suggesting that the WF was very much on the Information technology bandwagon, he asked the audience to visit the WF website at least once a week to keep abreast of the wealth of information available. At the same time cautioning on the negative use of IT, he cited the example of malevolent mass emails which only served to exacerbate problems rather than offer solutions and appealed for maturity in dealing with such submissions. 

He called upon the community to understand and apply the principle of centralization, not just of funds and hukook, but also of the human resources, experiences and not be dissipated by short-term individualistic efforts, however, well meaning. Citing the handling of the Earthquake project, he expressed his satisfaction at the manner in which the World Federation had worked with regional Federations, private trusts and well-meaning individuals on a common strategy and a master plan, which had resulted in the optimal utilization of resources for the betterment of the Community. 

The International Seniors Convention
The International Seniors Convention on Friday brought together almost 300 participants from all over North America, Europe and Africa. Under the dynamic chairmanship of Dr Akber Mithani, in the presence of the Presidents of the World Federation, Nasimco, Council of European Jamaats and North American Jamaat presidents, the seniors of the community had a unique opportunity to articulate their aspirations and expectations from the community. The different workshops were extremely lively and resulted in the Community as whole in helping create a strategy for the seniors, which was the prime reason for the Convention. The full report of the convention, prepared overnight by Dr Mithani was subsequently tabled at the Executive Council meeting for further deliberation. 

Executive Council Meeting
Executives, members of the Secretariat team, Jamaat Presidents and Councilors of the World Federation from Europe and North America attended the Fifth meeting of the World Federation Executive Council on Saturday, May 25, 2002 at the Ja’ffari Islamic Centre in Toronto. About 100 men and women from Toronto and other North American cities attended as invitees. Also in the audience were Councilors Susan Kadis and Mario Racco of the City of Vaughan, and Mobeen Khaja, President of the Progressive Muslims of Ontario.

Welcoming all in attendance, World Federation President Dr. Hasnain Walji thanked the Toronto Jamaat for hosting the World Federation meeting, and he commended the Toronto Jamaat on playing a leadership role in North America. In his review of the last quarter, Dr. Walji outlined educational opportunities that are now in place for primary, secondary, and higher education in Africa through the “Mulla Asghar Memorial Academic Scheme”. 

Expressing concern at the situation in Gujarat, both because of the riots as well as the seeds of disunity sowed owing to the disagreements in the leadership of our community there, he stated that efforts were underway to restore unity to enable the WF to carry out immediate relief work as well as long term projects which had been affected by the situation. A delegation comprising of the Councillors Manzoor Kanani, Aunali SalehMohammed and Mohamed Raza Moledina had traveled to the area and submitted a full report of their efforts in bringing all the parties together. However all our efforts had not been entirely successful. He categorically stated that if unity could not be restored, the WF would have no choice but to work directly through the instrumentality of Jamaats and other frontline workers, in order to serve those on dire need of assistance for relief projects. Long term projects would remain on hold until unity was restored and that there was only one regional body to serve the Community.

He spoke of the exemplary philanthropist infrastructure in Pakistan. He noted that the World Federation has lobbied to protest against the killings of Shias in Pakistan, but to no avail. Dr. Walji encouraged members to use the office of the World Federation when they want to contact our marja’ and suggested that using intermediaries caused confusion and even disappointment, as the messages could not be relayed accurately.

Gujarat Earthquake Report:
Dr. Ahmed Hassam submitted a status report on the Gujarat earthquake. He gave specific information about construction and permanent resettlement plans to be completed by July and August 2002 in Bhuj, Nagalpur, Kera, Mundra and Mariya. A sum of over US$ 1 million has been collected for aiding the victims of the earthquake. “Working through jamaats allows us to centralize our aid efforts and facilitate accountability” said Dr Hassam. 

In the last 25 years, we have observed a spirit of giving emerge, within the community and this has attracted many private donors. While the mumineen in Kutch may have benefited in the short term for their immediate needs, as a community, in the years to come, we must find ways to reduce dependency by enabling jamaats to be financially stronger and self sufficient. Hence, the strategy during the Earthquake Resettlement project has been to provide assistance in form of interest free loans to muminen through the jamaats. The repayments of these loans will provide a Foundation Fund for the jamaats to use for on-going economic upliftment of the community. This approach is already bearing fruit.

Islamic Education in North America:
Dr. Akber Mithani introduced a paper entitled “Islamic Education in North America”. He said that after madressah is completed at the age of 14/15, students are expected to learn independently from the madressah structure. Dr. Mithani said that we need educational institutions in place to provide further Islamic education for our young generation by investing in Islamic education through qualified educators, short accredited courses at higher levels, and discussion groups. 

Television Broadcasting:
Riyaz Datoo, who produces the “Islam in Focus” television program in North America spoke about the tabligh-focused content of his Toronto based television program. Riyaz invited people to contact him with news items that deserve publicity, and to provide him with film footage of events across North America. The Chairman commended Riyaz for his initiatives with the program, and invited the members to think how centralization regarding television broadcast can help us from the World Federation level. 

External Liaison Desk:
Mr. Habib M. Habib said that after the Sept. 11 event, the External Liaison Desk worked closely to brief senators and congressmen. The External Liaison Desk has also spoken out against the assassination of Shia professionals in Pakistan. Regarding the recent riots in Gujarat, the Desk has worked on effectively lobbying by interacting with a U.S. congressman before his trip to India. Presenting his report on External Liason, Dr Akber Mohamedali briefed the Council on the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) that has 400 Muslim organizations affiliated with it. World Federation has become a member. He noted that Islamophobic comments are still possible from high-level politicians, who are misinformed about Islam need to be countered. 

Palestine:
Br. Mustafa Jaffer said that regarding the issue of Palestine; we should be seen not as a passive society. In order to provide financial aid to Palestinians, we needed to identify appropriate relief agencies, which we have now done. There are many Shia converts in Palestine. We are helping them by building houses, schools, clinics, and helping orphans. He urged all jamaats that are collecting funds to emphasize to members that we have been given an opportunity for tabligh. The Chairman added that the World Federation does not jump into projects and acts only when we are convinced that the money is going into the right hands. He gave the example of our tabligh efforts in Bosnia, where although action was taken after much review, the effort is now a continued, permanent and sustained effort with regard to tabligh. 

History and Genealogy Project:
Br. Shabbir Mohamad of Toronto introduced a project called the Khoja Heritage project. It involves hosting a website with a database and a powerful search engine. This site would include a comprehensive reference/resource database about our history, our culture, enabling us to trace the history and ancestors of individual Khoja Shias. The URL for this project is www.khojaheritage.com. Br. Shabbir said that the core team involves himself, Goulam Amarsy and Mamood Amarsy. 

Human Resource Management:
In a very persuasive and eloquent presentation, Dr. Akber Mohamed Ali expressed his concern on the use of human time as a resource. Structures are in place, but we are not capitalizing on volunteer time. It is a myth that “people do not want to volunteer”. There are lots of people available, and many come forward when help is requested. Without specific volunteer tasks to do, this results in demoralization, and reduced efficiency. People feel neglected and rejected while others experience burn-out. We should capitalize on every member who comes forward to volunteer. We should recruit and retain volunteers through an infrastructure and various incentive schemes. Our youth are taking up volunteer work outside the community to earn credits at university. He emphasized that for optimal human resource use four principles should be in place – delegated responsibility, decentralization of power, accountability framework, and a consensus approach. 

NASIMCO:
Br. Sultan Davdani addressed the meeting on behalf of NASIMCO and said it was refreshing that the World Federation was going to different cities to meet the people that it represents. He said that NASIMCO’s existence is being questioned. We need to revive NASIMCO with new plans, and forge new working relationships.

Council Of European Jamats
Br. Mahmood Huda President of the Council of European Jamaats noted that although many seniors were in the hall, youth were rarely in attendance. He listed the various imambara/community centre projects totaling about $36.5M in North American cities such as Allentown, Vancouver, Bathurst, Brampton, and Minnesota and in Europe (Leeds, Leicester and London). He asked members to reflect on how this is going to impact on our community. We have created enthusiastic superstructures and there is so much emphasis is on construction. He asserted that this activity must be balanced with spiritual emphasis. Young people are not participating in the community. We get so engrossed in our projects that we become part and parcel of it. This is all very well, he said, but we must ensure that the next generation carries the baton. 

CETAB Report:
Hassan Pirbhai said that CETAB is working along the “Vision to Reality” mission statement, and is defining the direction. Where the first priority is for education and opportunity and the second Priority is for term and beyond, i.e., to facilitate and enable with collective input. In addition, CETAB activities involve giving online career guidance, or featuring profiles in newsletters. CETAB is developing loan-tracking systems for student loans. The organization is working closely with Africa Federation, and will work in tandem with Toronto’s Skills and Career Development Board vis-à-vis scholarships and Academic Achievement Awards. Hassan encouraged people in attendance to fill out a form for the CETAB mentor database. 

WF Youth Network Desk.
Shafique Govani said that the mission of the Youth Network Desk is to create an interjamaat and intrajamaat network where youth share experiences and ideas. The idea is to create a youth network, with unity and communication for the purpose of moral and spiritual upliftment, and knowledge. He said that the World Federation Youth Network Desk has visited Europe in 2001, and in 2002 they visited Africa for the Youth Leadership Workshop. A North American conference was being held in Toronto on May 26, 2002. Newly appointed Toronto Youth Director Mehjabeen Allarakhia said that the Toronto “Jaffari Islamic Youth” organization has been active for 15 years and thanked the World Federation for the networking opportunities that the current conference has facilitated, and invited members to attend the 26 May 2002 Youth Conference as observers.

Zainabiya Child Sponsorship Scheme
On behalf of ZCSS, Shafique Govani reported that a donor has been secured for the school in Karimpur, and work will be completed in September 2002. A Teacher’s Quarter is being built in Khujwa. 45 new graduates joined the scheme bringing the current total to 224 undergraduates, and 424 graduates in the portfolio as of May 2002. The Zainabiya Scheme currently has 11,000 students. It is the organization’s mission to enable education opportunities for all children. The Zainabiya Yatim & Asir Sponsorship Scheme currently supports 150 children.

Medical Advisory Board (MAB): 
The World Federation is currently one of the very few organizations still sending medicines and equipments to Iraq and Iran regularly. The Board continues to work closely with the dispensaries in Dar es salaam, Arusha and Nairobi; and funding is required for more medical equipments. A second eye clinic has been established in Patna to provide cataract surgery, and cataract eyeglasses. Primary health care work continues in Bangalore and Patna. 

MAB is addressing issue of awareness of drug abuse and HIV. It is the responsibility of the doctors of the community to provide health education and make people aware of Thalassaemia and AIDS. 

WF Goodwill Delegation 
Br. Mohamedraza Moledina spoke about his Goodwill Mission to Gujarat and the attempts made to reconcile the differences amongst the leadership. A full report had been submitted to the Office Bearers for their consideration. 


Toronto Project Update

Maulana Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi said that Toronto is a role model to other communities. He said that the “khojas” have a knack for organizational skills; therefore we should assist other groups and strengthen ourselves collectively. Br. Ali Raza Rajani, President of Toronto Jamaat said that there are currently 4,000 members in the Toronto Jamaat, with a population growth rate of 8-10% annually. The property at 9000 Bathurst has almost tripled in monetary value. The Centre has already provided immeasurable benefits, both tangible and spiritual. Br. Ali Raza said that construction on the Islamic Education and Community Centre (IECC) 9000 Bathurst and on the Masumeen Islamic Centre in Brampton will begin soon, and he commended the efforts of Toronto VP Br. Razak Damani and Br. Murtaza Panju, Chairman of Brampton jamaat in spearheading these projects. Razak Damani provided an update on the IECC 9000 Bathurst project. Current pledges are at the C$7.5 million level, about 50% of the goal. Br. Razak said that future plans are to have a student hostel and a low-income seniors home at this location.

Vancouver Project Update:
Dr Abbas Moledina reported that the Vancouver jamaat’s project, was now nearing completion. Insha’Allah, the Az Zehra Islamic Centre will have an official opening event on August 25, 2002 

Leeds project Update
Councilor Rasool Bhamani emphasized that Leeds is not a tiny jamaat. Their membership is growing. He requested that donors contact the office if they have any questions, and not to believe any rumors. Work was to begin on April 7 2002 and was delayed because the rumors caused doubt in people’s minds.

Seniors Convention Report:
Dr. Akber Mithani said that 260 seniors of both genders participated in the Seniors Conference held in Toronto on 25 May 2002. The seniors expressed a need for a permanent multifunctional facility for their meetings, and said that they need a library/resource centre. Support Systems included the need for English classes, transportation, a Help Line, and information/education sessions vis-à-vis health, retirement, finance, real estate, information technology, and counseling. Dr. Mithani recommended that the World Federation initiates a Seniors’ Desk that will facilitate the development of a world strategic plan focused on the needs of our seniors in the community. 

Br. Ramzan Dhanji, who chairs the UK based KOSHISHCO, a seniors organization, said that they had approached government bodies and influenced them to donate money; therefore the seniors would not be a burden on jamaat communal funds. At the same time, the leaders from UK opined that it was important that the local jamaats and the regional bodies worked hand in hand to ensure that the needs of all seniors were being adequately addressed. 

The President concluded that the World Federation would Inshallah, set up a desk at the Secretariat, which would explore ways in which we could accommodate the various seniors’ groups for the betterment of the community in the most efficient manner.

Treasurer’s Report
After some deliberation on the Treasurer’s Report, the meeting noted with satisfaction the financial statement presented by Ahmed Daya.

Calendar of Events:
Members were asked to mark 13, 14 and 15 Sept. 2002 on the calendar, for events to include the Constitution Conference, Women’s Convention, Executive Meeting, and the 25th Anniversary of the World Federation to be held in England. The Chairman encouraged members to check the Diary of Events on the World Federation website and to please adhere to the deadlines regarding submission for constitutional amendments. 

Closing: 
The President thanked Toronto Jamaat and volunteers for their “tremendous welcome”. He commended the spirit of volunteerism, and the meticulous and tremendous efforts of Razak Damani and his team to facilitate the hosting of the World Federation Conference in Toronto. He recognized the dedicated “ownership” that Br. Razak Damani has demonstrated as well, in working for the IECC 9000 Bathurst project. Volunteer time resource is as valuable as monetary resources are, and he cited Br. Razak as an example. On behalf of the Word Federation the President pledged a donation of C$250,000 to the 9000 Bathurst project as a token of support. In closing, Dr. Walji once again encouraged the NASIMCO Caretaker Committee to revive the organization.

Toronto Vice President Br. Razak Damani invited Toronto volunteers to the podium, and then a presentation of souvenir plaques was made to World Federation workers. Br. Razak said that it was an honour for Toronto to host the World Federation Conference under the fine leadership of Br. Hasnain Walji. 

May 28, 2002. We Would like to thank Sr. Mahjabeen Yusufali editor of Jaffery News in compiling this report and for the photographs of the meetings.