Updated 10 December 2008

On Sunday 16 November 2008, the first ever World Federation Executive Council meeting was held in Gujarat, India. The meeting began with the recitation of the Holy Quran. Gulamabbas Bhai Bhurani, President of The Council of Gujarat and Rizwan Ali Khetani, President of Bhavnagar Jamaat welcomed all of the participants and expressed their delight for being given the opportunity to host the 7th Executive Council Meeting for the term 2006 to 2009.

This was indeed an exciting time for our fellow community members, both young and old throughout Gujarat. It was an occasion to learn more about the projects undertaken by the Khoja Shia Ithna-Asheri Muslim communities across the globe.

At the same time, The World Federation is most thankful to both The Council of Gujarat and the Bhavnagar Jamaat for extending their arms and offering their hospitality in hosting the Executive Council Meeting.

The well being of all Mo’mineen, especially those who reside in Gujarat is dear to our community and; as this is where many of our community members currently live, and where our community, through The World Federation, is active in supporting education, economic upliftment, capacity building and housing projects.

Triennial Conference 2009
Following the welcome address, the Executive Councillors reflected on the previous day’s meeting, where a brainstorming session took place around the themes for next year’s Triennial Conference. The World Federation Secretariat will now develop these themes in order to prepare for the Conference.

Feedback from India Federations and Jamaats
Thereafter, members of the Council of Gujarat, the Kutch Federation, KSI Mumbai Jamaat and all other Khoja Shia Jamaats of India provided their feedback on the important meeting that was held the day before. The objectives of this meeting were to discuss past achievements and to identify areas and methodologies for building on them in order to secure the long term future of our community. It was agreed that there was a need for the Indian Jamaats and institutions to become more self-sufficient to sustain their development for the betterment of their respective communities and to reduce their reliance on The World Federation.

Secretariat report on Strategic Objectives (‘Hexagons’)
As per the custom during every Executive Council meeting, The Secretariat team updated the Councillors on progress made on the Hexagons that represent the strategic objectives for the term 2006-2009. These Hexagons were crafted from discussions that took place during the 2006 conference in Dubai. The objectives are divided into the following areas:- The Secretariat, Islamic Education, Family Affairs, Relief and Economic Development, Education, ZCSS, Health, Marketing Communications and Capacity Building.

Assistant Secretary General for Health Dr. Munir Datoo provided details of progress undertaken in the Eye clinics and health assessments.

Assistant Secretary General for Relief & Economic Development, Shan-E-Abbas Hassam talked about the work carried out with respect to water and sanitation, housing, and spoke about creating a worldwide needs assessment for the elderly in our community. Following a detailed discussion, it was agreed that Shan-E-Abbas shall provide all regions with the relevant information required for them to carry out the needs assessments in their respective regions, before the next Executive Council meeting. The Councillors welcomed this initiative, which was a strategic objective from the 2006 Conference.

There was also a discussion on the Parachinar Crisis whereby the Community was informed that Agha was encouraging our institutions to work in this area. Humanitarian assistance would continue, according to the Secretariat.

Terence Ward presented a report following his baseline assessments of the ZCSS schools in India. The report highlighted the need for ZCSS schools to be self-sufficient, and not reliant on external donations. Terry is a leading member of VSO - Voluntary Service Organisation (www.vso.org.uk) and has substantial experience of carrying out similar assessments in several schools in developing countries across the world, such as Pakistan, Mongolia and Africa. He informed the delegates that workshops had been carried out for trustees and teachers, and that he was happy with the progress made thus far.

Updates on formation of Regional Bodies - India, Middle East & Pakistan
The participants then discussed the formation of Regional Federations in India, the Middle East and Pakistan. Councillor Altaf Hussain Kikaryawala informed the group that the formation of The Federation of Khoja Jamaats of Pakistan is well under-way and is expected to be registered by early 2009. Delegates from India stated that one regional federation was not viable in India. The President informed that this was a decision made at the conference, hence it would have to be taken back to the conference via the Executive Council for discussion. Middle East stated that work is currently in progress at their end, but could not commit to any timelines as yet, although they will attempt to Federate prior to the 2009 Conference.

Muballigheen Training Programme
An update on the Muballigheen Training Programme was presented by Jaffer Bhai Dharamsi. Jaffer Bhai began by briefing the delegates on his visit to Najaf, where he met with the Grand Ayatullah Ali al-Seestani (ra). He had the opportunity to discuss with our Marjae and his son, Seyyid Mohammed Taqi, some of the finer details on the Muballigheen Training Programme. Jaffer Bhai informed the participants that the during the conversation with Ayatullah Sistani, it was agreed that updates of the Institute would be sent to Najaf regularly. He then thanked Jamaats for their co-operation in encouraging their youth to embark on this programme. Click here to read more about the Muballigheen Training Programme.

Ramadhan Relief Paper: ‘A Strategic Overview’
The policy paper for Ramadhan Relief was presented by the Assistant Secretary General, Shan-E-Abbas Hassam; this was then followed by a discussion among the delegates. Since 1976, The World Federation in partnership with our community institutions in Africa, India, Pakistan and worldwide has furthered this noble cause. The Ramadhan Relief Fund has developed into an annual initiative, bringing respite to deserving Mo’mineen across 22 countries worldwide during the Holy month. In fact, even before The World Federation began this Fund, Africa Federation had already been carrying out its own Ramadhan relief efforts. The aim of this paper is to codify the practices of the community, to create an ethos, to stress the need for a needs assessment, to finalise the allocation factors and to emphasise the importance of reporting. The paper is a strategic paper and is part of the process that the Secretariat is undertaking in defining and clarifying its practices, with a view to consulting the community.

The Executive Councillors agreed that the Ramadhan Relief Policy Paper should be shared with  community members and with the regions and Jamaats. The Secretariat will collate all input by 31 December 2008. Click here to read more about the paper.

Economic Upliftment Handbook – Follow Up
The Relief & Economic Development Assistant Secretary General, Shan-E-Abbas bhai, presented this paper. He stated that it was first presented at the 6th Executive Council Meeting in Toronto and debated at some length. The paper, based on the concept of microcredit, contains a strategy which can be adopted by our community to bring about economic development. The paper contains information on microcredit as a concept, process documents such as a guide application form, and loan documentations for conducting microcredit schemes, factors to look for in terms of viability, and a step by step guide to implement such programmes. The paper also contains recommendations on how our community can implement such programmes.

The Chairman of Africa Federation, Al Haj Ramzan bhai Nanji acknowledged receipt of the Economic Upliftment Handbook. The Chairman expressed his appreciation for this strategic paper, and stated that The Africa Federation is tailoring this paper to suit their needs and will work to implement this for the community in East Africa.

The paper was adopted by the 7th Executive Council meeting.

To view the adopted paper please click here 
 
Al Mahdi (Wessex) Project Brief
The Wessex Jamaat was given an opportunity to present information on the Al Mahdi Project to the Executive Councillors for approval of the Councillors.  Upon the recommendation from Masum Bhai Somji, who leads the Capital Projects Committee, the project was approved by the Councillors at the meeting. Masum Bhai is the co-ordinator of the Capital Projects team. Click here to obtain more information about the Capital Projects guidelines.

NGO Status Session
Al Haj Yasin Rahim, the Secretary General and Al Haj Shan-E-Abbas Hassam answered questions from the Councillors on the NGO Status. Shan-E-Abbasbhai stated that to maximise the community’s benefit from the NGO status we would need to work through 4 phases. The first phase would be to increase the effectiveness of our community institutions’ secretariats including The World Federation and its Regonal Members. Membership of BOND (which works to build capacity in NGOs) was part of this first phase. The second phase was to begin creating stronger links with other NGOs and government departments. The third phase was to begin influencing government departments and NGOs and the fourth phase will be to successfully apply for external grants. Yasin bhai emphasised the importance of having better reporting mechanisms with clear outputs and providing much detail in our community institutions’ reporting.  They also highlighted the need for having impact assessment undertaken for projects which may include quantative assessments. These new techniques, they stressed, would be learnt by the Secretariat, including by the NGO Manager, and shared with all Regional Federations.

The discussion ended with the following agreements:

• There will be a seminar prior to the next Executive Council meeting, where councillors shall discuss how the community can maximise benefits from the NGO status, and what regional federation secretariats need to do to gear up to the demands of this status.
• Regions shall be provided with best practice documents to strengthen their secretariats
• Shan-E-Abbas Hassam shall draft a strategic policy discussing how the community shall use the NGO status, with a 3 year action plan. The community would be consulted in this, including Regional Federations and Jamaats so as to gain consensus. The Secretariat will collate the information and present it to the next Executive Council Meeting.

Dr Ahmed Hassam briefed the Executive Council that The World Federation had made an offer to an individual, following an application and interview process, to take on the role of NGO Manager with the portfolio of maximising the opportunities available to the community.

Date and Venue for Triennial Conference 2009
Proposals were made to hold next years Triennial Conference in either Dubai or Damascus or Stanmore, for 23 to 26 October 2009. A consensus was reached to hold the meeting in Dubai as it would be logistically convenient. Hence, Dubai was approved as the location for the 2009 Conference.

Date and Venue for the 8th Executive Council Meeting
It was suggested that the next Executive Council meeting be held in either Paris or Sweden. This, along with potential dates is yet to be confirmed. CoEJ will confirm these to The World Federation, together in due course.

Any Other Business

• The President briefed the Councillors that he would appoint Brother Abbas Kanji to replace Marhuma Nargis bai Valimohamed as Executive Councillor. Among other initiatives, Abbas Bhai will work on pulling together and overseeing a new strategic plan which would help guide us for future projects and chart out some of the objectives for the future.
• Maulana Safi Haider briefed the group on his activities with Tanzimul Makatib. He expressed his joy at seeing The World Federation being driven forward by young community members.
• The Head of the ZCSS team, Sajjad Tejani thanked Mohamedjavid Dosani of The Council of Gujarat for his sincere services to ZCSS in India with a gift from The World Federation.
• Masum Bhai Somji provided an overview of the JIBA Conference that was held a week earlier. Click here to find out more about JIBA.

For further information, email secretariat@world-federation.org