NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING OF THE MAPS GENERAL ASSEMBLY

President Message

As-salamu Alaikum (peace be upon you)!

This is a notice to all MAPS voting members for a special meeting of the MAPS General Assembly.  The Special Meeting was called by the MAPS Board of Directors (per the bylaws) during their meeting on Nov 2nd 2018.  The purpose of the Special Meeting is to pass the TWO critical Amendments that were on the ballot in the last election but did not pass due to lack of quorum.   The Special Meeting will start on November 30, 12:00pm, and will conclude at 6:00pm on Sunday, December 9, 2018.   All Voting members (after validation by the MAPS staff) can cast their ballot by coming to the MAPS Library and showing their proof of identity (passport or valid WA Driver’s license) on any single day during the duration of the Special Meeting from Nov 30-Dec 9 during the following hours:

Weekdays (Mon-Fri) 12-8PM
Weekends (Sat, Sun): 12-6PM

Any disputes regarding the membership will be resolved by MAPS General Secretary, MAPS President and MAPS Vice President.  There will be a Community Meeting to answer your questions on these Amendments on November 30

th at 7PM in the MAPS MPR.

These Amendments have been unanimously approved by our 2 Imams, the Board of Directors and the Board of Trustees because we believe the passing of these TWO Amendments is critical to running of our organization.

AMENDMENT #1:

Current Bylaws:
ARTICLE 7: Section 1:  The Board shall obtain approval of the General Assembly for any investment or expenditure in excess of $20,000.00 in aggregate.
 
Proposed Change:
The Board shall obtain approval of the General Assembly for any investment or expenditure in excess of 20% of the annual budget.

Rationale:

  • MAPS has grown and now has a budget of $2.5M. The original limit on the expense was based on the size of MAPS when it was created. In 2018, it is impractical to operate an organization of our size with this limit. The proposed change ties the spending limit with the MAPS operational budget.

 

AMENDMENT #2

Current Bylaws:
ARTICLE: 7 SECTION 4:  Women can hold any of the positions with the exception of President, Vice President, and Religious Affairs secretary.
 
Proposed:
(remove this sentence from ARTICLE 7 SECTION 4)
Women can hold any of the positions with the exception of President, Vice President and Religious Affairs secretary.

Rationale:

  • MAPS is a 501(c)(3) organization governed by federal, state and local laws, rules and regulations.  The board of a non-profit organization is an administrative body and should not have such restriction based on gender as it violates the spirit of federal and state anti-discrimination policies.
  • The restriction on women is not consistent with Islamic principles either. It was adopted originally based on cultural restrictions, and today, we have our local religious scholars as well as Muslim religious scholars across our nation are speaking out against discriminatory restrictions on women, and encouraging women to serve on the boards and leadership of masajids.  Amending the bylaws to remove this restriction against women is in accordance with the spirit and rulings of Sharia, as confirmed by Imam Mohamed Joban and Imam Adam Jamal.
  • This restriction also violates the Core Tenets of MAPS:  “The Association will ensure that women have the opportunity to lead and participate in all its activities within the constraints of the Sharia.”  Since there are no constraints in Sharia on women leading organizations, this clause violates even the very basis upon which MAPS was founded.
  • Women, like men, should run for the Board, after having met the qualifications set forth in the Bylaws.  The General Assembly will still have the right to ultimately vote for whoever they choose to serve on the Board to fill these positions – without the discriminatory gender restriction.

Below are the relevant sections of the BYLAWS relating to Special Meeting of the General Assembly.

ARTICLE 6: SECTION 4:

Special Meeting

A special meeting of the General Assembly may be called by the President of the Board or by two-thirds (2/3rd) vote of the Board of Directors. Special meetings may also be called by a written petition signed by 25% of the voting members. The General Secretary must verify the signed petition requesting special meeting within 2 weeks of submittal. If the petition is declined for not meeting the required number of signatures, the outcome must be also publicly pronounced along with the reasons.

 

ARTICLE 12: Section 2:

Amendments to other sections of Bylaws

Other sections of the Bylaws may be amended at the Annual meeting of the General Assembly or a special meeting duly called for this purpose. The notice for such a meeting shall be mailed, or emailed to the voting members at least 10 days before the proposed meeting. The notice shall describe the amendments. A two-third (2/3rd) vote of the General Assembly shall be required to amend the Bylaws.

 
Hyder Ali
MAPS President