In The Name Of Allah The Beneficent, The Most Merciful.
Darul Wahid Inc. (DW)
Constitution and By-laws.

Article I: Name and location

The corporation shall be called “Darul Wahid Inc” (DW) and is incorporated in the state of New York. The exact place of its principal office shall be at such as the Board of Trustees may from time to time determine, but until a change is effected as provided by law, such principal office shall be at 103-21 177^th St, Jamaica, NY 11433, and its mailing address shall be at 173-31 104^th Avenue, Jamaica, NY 11433. DW may time to time rent places and locations for the purpose of accommodating needs of the center’s activities with the consent of the board of trustees.

 

Article II: Nature

Darul Wahid shall be organized exclusively for charitable, religious, educational, and scientific purposes, including, for such pouposes, the making of distributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations described under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code.

 

Article III: Objectives

The objectives of the Islamic Center Shall be:

1. To organize and establish the Islamic community center, religious educational facilities for both adults and children, library, marriage ceremonies, funeral service arrangements, and various other activities in accordance to Islamic traditions and consistent with the Law of the land.
2. To work for Universal brotherhood, social justice, community help and peace.
3. To develop closer cooperation understanding and dialog amongst people of different faiths and ethnic backgrounds .

 

Article IV: Membership

1. Any Muslim accepting the purpose and objectives of Darul Wahid and the provisions of this constitution shall be eligible to become a member of the Center, by applying on the membership form, paying the dues determined by the BOT and receiving recommendations by two current members of the Board of Trustees (BOT).
2. A member may become a Voting member by having membership in good standing for a minimum of two years, having paid the membership fees, and having not participated in any unlawful and subversive activities against the interest of the center and laws of the land.
3. Membership of any status may be revoked by the BOT for participating in any unlawful and unethical activities against DW or the laws of the land.
4. All Muslims shall be able to participate in Darul Wahid activities organized or authorized by the Shura Council.

 

Article V: Structure

The Darul Wahid shall be organized and shall operate through the General Assembly, Shura Council, and Board of Trustee.

 

A. General Assembly.

1. All voting members of the Darul Wahid shall constitute the General assembly.
2. General assembly shall elect the Shura Council of the DW.
3. The General assembly shall hold two meetings each year: on the first weekend of June and on the first weekend of December of each year.
4. One half of the voting membership shall constitute the required quorum of the meeting. If the required quorum is not present, a second meeting of the General Assembly shall be required within two weeks and one third voting members present shall constitute the quorum.
5. Decision in the meetings of the General Assembly shall be made by a simple majority vote of the voting members present, except for the amendments of the constitution as provided in Article VIII.
6. The General Assembly shall hold special meetings within two weeks on the request or recommendations of the Shura Council or by a request of BOT.

 

B. Shura Council.

1. The functions of the Shura Council shall be:
2. The Shura Council shall be elected with simple majority by the voting members of the DW, as explained in Article VI.
3. All members of the Shura Council shall have a term of TWO YEARS, and be limited to two successive terms only. After having served two successive terms, a member must remain off the Shura Council for a period of two years but then may be nominated and serve on the Shura Council again.
4. The Shura Council shall consist of eleven members as follows: Amir, Vice-Amir, General Wazir (Secretary), Assistant Wazir, Khazen(Treasurer) and six executive members. Members of the Shura Council must be either a citizen or a permanent resident of the U.S.A. and live in the vicinity of the DW in Queens and in Nassau County.
5. Any Voting member of the DW who has a standing Voting membership of one year or more shall be eligible to serve as a member of the Shura Council.
1. To plan and execute appropriate programs and activities of DW.
2. To establish and maintain 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status.
3. To appoint the following regular committees and ad-hoc committees as needed, such as a membership committee, religious affairs committee, education committee, and building & maintenance committee. These committees shall serve at the pleasure of the Shura Council and shall live until disbanded or re-constituted by majority vote of the Shura Council. A member of the General Assembly shall chair each regular or ad-hoc committee for a term approved by the Shura Council.
4. The activities of these committees shall be subjected to the approval of the Shura Council, and the committee chairperson is responsible to submit the programs and activities to the Shura Council.
6. The Shura Council shall meet at least once every month, and the General Wazir shall maintain proper minutes of all the meetings. The General Wazir shall inform the Council members in writing of the date and place of all Shura Council meetings.
7. Any members who fail to attend three consecutive meetings of the Shura Council without proper notification of the special reasons of absence shall cease to be a member of the Shura Council and the vacancy shall be filled according to the rules provided herein.
8. Any members of the Shura Council, who willfully or otherwise violate the constitution, fail to carry out proper duties, exceed the legitimate powers or commit an unlawful act, shall be liable to appropriate action, including suspension, dismissal and legal action by the BOT and General assembly approval.
9. A minimum of three members present shall constitute a quorum. A simple majority vote of the Council members present at any properly called meetings shall be required to arrive at a decision.
10. Duties of Shura Council members:

1. Amir:
   1. Manage, coordinate and supervise the activities of the Masjid and make sure that they are carried out in a way that is in accordance with the Islamic Sharia and the constitution.
   2. Call for Shura Council meetings.
   3. Preside over the meetings.
   4. Approve financial transactions.
2. Vice- Amir: To be the acting Amir in case the Amir is unable to fulfill his duties.
3. General Wazir :
   1. Prepare agenda and notify the Shura Council and the GA of the meetings.
   2. Record the minutes of the meetings.
4. Assistant Wazir:
   1. Be responsible for the all correspondence of the Masjid.
   2. Prepare the annual report for the annual general body meeting.
5. Khazen:
   1. Prepare the budget of the Masjid in consultation with the Shura Council.
   2. Collect dues and pledges.
   3. Prepare financial statement for the general assembly meetings.
   4. Write and endorse checks with the approval of the Amir.
   5. Pay bills and other expenses with the approval of the Amir.
   6. Maintain and update the list of voting members of the Masjid.
   7. Co-sign amounts greater than 200 dollars with the Amir.

C. Board of Trustees (BOT).

1. The Board of Trustees shall consist of seven individuals who are the founding members of the DW. In case there are no founding members available to fill in vacancies, the current BOT may select a Voting member by majority vote, anyone who has been an active Voting member for at least 2 years. Trustees must be a permanent resident or a citizen of the U.S.A. All Trustees shall have to pay a one-time minimum of $5,000.00 (five thousand USD) donations and yearly dues of $1000.00(one thousand USD).
2. The functions of the Board of Trustees shall be;
   1. To monitor, and ascertain that all programs and activities being conducted are in compliance to achieve the objectives of the DW.
   2. To hold in trust and serve as custodian of all capital assets of the DW and to maintain, use and liquidate them in accordance with the principles of Islamic traditions and with the interest of this institution, and with approval of the Shurah Council. The BOT may hold its meetings, have one or more offices, and keep the books and records at such place or places within the state of incorporation as it may deem appropriate.
3. The regular meetings of the Board of Trustees shall be held twice a year, during the months of June and December, at the office of the corporation. Notice by the Chairman of the Board shall be required for these meetings.
4. Special meetings of the Board of Trustees may be called by the Chairman of the Board, at the request of the Amir of the Shura Council and must be approved by simple majority of Trustees, and shall be held at the time and place specified in the call. Notice shall be given at least seven days before such meetings, unless such notice has been waived.
5. Any trustee may resign at any time by giving notice to the Chairman of the Board. Such resignation shall take effect at the date of the receipt of such notice, or at any later time specified therein and unless otherwise specified.
6. Any Trustee who, without proper notifications or special reasons, fails to attend three consecutive meetings shall cease to be a member and the vacancy shall be filled with simple majority.
7. A trustee who acts contrary to the aims and objectives of the DW or if found guilty of any misconduct or commits any unlawful act resulting in defaming Islam or DW shall be liable to suspension, dismissal, and legal persecution by a 2/3 of the BOT.
8. A majority of the full Board of Trustees shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any business, and the act of the majority of the trustees present at a meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the act of the entire BOT.
9. In absence of a quorum, the meeting should be adjourned and a next meeting should be called. No notice other than the announcement at the meeting needs to be given of such adjournment. In such an instance, then at least 4 members of the Board of Trustee will constitute a quorum at the next meeting.

ARTICLE VI: Elections

All members of the Shura Council and the Board of Trustee have to fulfill the following criteria in order to be qualified to serve: They must be Muslims, believe in Prophet Muhammad (SAW) as the seal of the all the prophets, observe their daily life in accordance with the Quran and tradition of prophet Mohammad (Sunnah), and be not involved in any unislamic or unlawful activities. They must endorse the objectives and constitution of DW.

 

A. SHURA COUNCIL. 

1. A minimum of nine (9) potential candidates for the Shura Council shall be nominated by the BOT.
2. Any voting member of the DW who has been a standing Voting membership for one year or more is eligible to serve as a member of the Shura Council, unless restricted or permanently barred by the decision of the BOT or by the law of land.
3. The election shall be held in the month of December of the last year of the current Council’s term.
4. The General Wazir shall inform all the voting members of the date, time, and place of the election at least thirty days in advance.
5. The election shall be conducted by three election officers appointed by the Board of Trustees for each new election. The election officers shall not be elected as members of the Shura Council.
6. On the day of election the Voting members shall cast secret ballots to elect the members of the Shura Council. The Seven nominees having the highest vote will be declared elected to the Shura Council.
7. In case of a tie vote between two nominees, election will be held, unless one nominee withdraws of his own free will.
8. Within two weeks or earlier of the election the BOT shall call the first meeting of the newly elected Council members. The BOT shall appoint the newly-elected Council members to their respective positions by majority vote.

B. BOARD OF TRUSTEES (BOT).

1. The Board of Trustees shall elect a chairman from and within themselves by majority vote.
2. In case of vacancies through any causes, each of the vacancy shall be filled by having candidates nominated by the remaining BOT members and approved by the Chairman of the Board.

Article VII: Finance

The source of financing of the DW shall be donations and interest-free loans from members or institutions providing finance according to Islamic jurisprudence (Shariah), as follows:

1. Membership dues, donations, and organizational contributions.
2. The Khazen shall immediately deposit all receipts, capital and revenue received on behalf of the DW in the bank account of the DW.
3. The bank account shall be maintained as an interest-free checking account, and there must be three signatories (Amir, Vice-Amir, and Khazen) of which at least two signatures are needed for issuing any checks.
4. Any single expense of five thousand dollars or more shall be made with the approval of the Board of Trustees and the Chairman or his designated stand-in must sign the approval.
5. An annual budget shall be prepared and presented by the Amir with the help of the Shura Council to the Board of Trustees for its approval.
6. Accounting year shall be from January 1st to December 31st of the same year.

Article VIII: Amendments   

1. Amendments to this constitution shall be submitted in writing to the Shura Council no less than 45 days prior to the General assembly meeting.
2. The Shura Council, after obtaining the approval of simple majority of the Board of Trustee, shall present it to the General Assembly during the next Assembly meeting.
3. All amendments shall require the approval of 2/3 majority.

Article IX: Succession and Handover

1. Succession: Upon resignation or suspension of a Council member, the following order of succession shall be followed: The Vice Amir shall succeed the Amir. The Assistant Wazir of the Shura Council shall fill any other vacant position.
2. Handover: The outgoing officer shall hand over all files, documents, and any properties of the DW at their disposal to the incoming officer within a month.
3. Dissolution: Upon the dissolution of the organization, assets shall be distributed for one or more exempt purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code, or shall be distributed to the federal government, or to a state or local government, for a public purpose. Any such assets not disposed of shall be disposed of by a court of competent jurisdiction in the county in which the principal office of the organization is then located, exclusively for such purposes or to such organization or organizations, as said Court shall determine, which are organized and operated exclusively for such purposes."