In the Name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful
Article I: Name & Nature
The organisation shall be called the Muslim Students' Association of the
United States and Canada, or <Arabic> hereinafter referred to as the MSA or
<Arabic>. It shall be a non-for-profit organisation. It shall establish and
maintain continuous affiliation with the Islamic Society of North America,
hereinafter referred to as ISNA.
Article II: Aims & Purposes
The aims and purposes of MSA shall be to serve the best interest of Islam and
Muslims in the United States and Canada so as to enable them to practice Islam
as a complete way of life. Towards this end, it shall, in cooperation with the
Islamic Society of North America:
1. help Muslim student organisations carry out Islamic programs and projects;
2. assist Muslim students organising themselves for Islamic activities;
3. mobilise and coordinate the human and material resources of Muslim student
organisations.
Article III: Affiliation
Section 1: Conditions of Affiliation
1. Any organisation which is affiliated with the MSA on the 1st of January,
1982, shall remain so affiliated under the provisions of this Constitution,
provided it is located on a campus.
2. Any other locally constituted organisation may become affiliated to MSA
provided that it fulfils the following conditions:
(i) it is a bona-fide membership of five or more locally resident Muslims, a
majority of whom are full-time students;
(ii) it has a constitution that agrees in principle with the aims and purposes
of MSA;
(iii) it holds regular general body meetings;
(iv) it conducts regular Islamic activities; and
(v) it files a written application with the Secretary accompanied by the
prescribed fee.
3. Such organisation shall be called a Chapter and shall have the rights and
responsibilities stated in the Constitution, and those determined by decisions
of the House of Delegates.
Section 2: Rights and Responsibilities of Chapters
A Chapter shall have the right to send delegates to the House of Delegates meetings and to participate in voting on all matters, and shall be eligible to receive the literature of the MSA and benefit from its services. It shall have the responsibility to carry out the decisions of MSA in areas within its jurisdiction.
Section 3: Suspension & Expulsion
Upon written charges being brought against a Chapter and upon filing such charges with the Secretary and upon hearing thereof by the Executive in a duly convened meeting, the Executive Committee may recommend to the House of Delegates that the said Chapter by suspended or expelled from the MSA. Any Chapter recommended to be so expelled or suspended and not reinstated, shall have the right to a hearing by the House of Delegates in a duly convened meeting. An affirmative majority vote of the House of Delegates to approve such suspension or expulsion shall be final.
Section 4: Selection of Delegates
In all matters related to this Constitution, a Chapter shall be
represented by its duly elected President and by members of its executive body
when said members have been duly authorised by the executive body and this
authorisation has been conveyed to the President of the MSA. Such
representatives shall be called Delegates and their number shall equal one per
100 bona fide members of the Chapter, subject to a minimum of one and a
maximum of five, and subject to rounding fractional representation to the
nearest whole digital number.
Article IV: House of Delegates
Section 1: Composition
The House of Delegates (or the House) shall consist of representatives of the Chapters of MSA as described in Article III, Section 4.
Section 2: Functions
1. The House shall elect the Executive Committee of MSA.
2. The House may adopt resolutions, amend the Constitution and, in general,
exercise all powers necessary to promote the aims and purposes of MSA.
3. The House shall approve the MSA annual report and financial statement audited
by a certified public accountant.
Section 3: Meetings
1. The Annual Meeting of the House shall be held during the Annual Convention
of the Islamic Society of North America.
2. A special meeting of the House may be called at the request of one-third of
all Delegates or two-thirds of the Executive Committee. The notice of such a
meeting shall be mailed to each Delegate at his official address at least thirty
days prior to the meeting.
3. The presence of one-third of all Delegates shall constitute a quorum,
provided they represent one-third of all Chapters.
Article V: Executive Committee
Section 1: Composition
The Executive Committee shall consist of the President, two Vice-Presidents, the outgoing President at the time of the Annual Meeting of the House of Delegates as Ex-Officio member, and four Zonal Representatives.
Section 2: Functions
1. Implementing the Constitution of MSA.
2. Implementing the decisions of the House of Delegates.
3. Establishing procedures in routine matters.
4. Appropriating funds for various committees and activities.
5. Selecting members of the Majlis Ash-Shura of the Islamic Society of North
America in accordance with the provisions of its Constitution.
6. Formulating and supervising projects and programs to promote the aims and
purposes of MSA.
Section 3: Meetings
1. There shall be a minimum of three Executive Committee meetings during the
year, called by the President.
2. An emergency may be called at the request of a simple majority of the
Executive Committee members. Such a meeting shall be held within two weeks but
not earlier than one week from the receipt by the President of the written
request of the members of the Executive Committee.
3. The presence of two-thirds of the members of the Executive Committee shall
constitute a quorum at any duly called meeting.
4. When the Executive Committee is not in session, the President shall take
decisions after consulting with at least three other Executive Committee members
and present such decisions in the next Executive Committee meeting for
endorsement.
Section 4: Term
Each member of the Executive Committee shall hold office for a period of two years provided that he does not hold the same office for more than four consecutive years.
Article VI: Removal and Succession
Section 1: Removal
Any member of the Executive may be removed from office by a vote of five of the Executive Committee members present at any of their meetings if charges of a direct violation of the Constitution or gross misuse of misappropriation of funds or obvious damage to the existence or interest of MSA are proven true.
Section 2: Succession
Upon a position becoming vacant on the Executive Committee, the order of succession shall be as follows:
1. A Vice-President, selected by the Executive
Committee, shall succeed the President;
2. The position of the Vice-President shall be filled by a member of the
Executive Committee selected by it;
3. Other position falling vacant shall be filled by the President from among the
members of the executive committees of the Chapters of the MSA;
4. If the President is re-elected or is not otherwise available to take office
as Ex-Officio member of the Executive Committee, the immediate past Ex-Officio
may continue to serve as Ex-Officio. In case he is also not available, the
Executive Committee may fill this vacancy according to Section 2.3 of this
Article.
Article VII: Election
1. Election of Executive Committee members shall be held by mail ballot sent
to each Delegate at the official address of the Chapter he represents. Each
Delegate shall have one vote.
2. The total number of valid mail ballots received from this first mailing shall
have to exceed thirty percent of the total
Delegates to render the election valid. Failing to achieve this, a second
mailing shall take place to Delegates who did not vote in the first ballot.
3. The Executive Committee shall determine all other details of the elections
process.
Article VIII: Organisational Structure
Section 1: Secretariat
1. Location and Composition:
(i) The Secretariat shall be located in the General Secretariat of the Islamic
Society of North America.
(ii) The Secretariat shall be composed of a Secretary and a number of full-time
Directors who shall handle the different
departments of MSA.
2. Personnel Matters:
(i) The hiring, termination of services, scale of pay and employment benefits of
the members of the Secretariat shall
be determined by the Personnel Committee of the Islamic Society of North
America.
(ii) Decisions concerning the hiring and termination of Department Heads will
take effect after confirmation from the Executive Committee.
3. Policies and Procedures:
(i) The Executive Committee shall establish the policies and procedures
concerning the efficient running of the
Secretariat;
(ii) The Secretariat shall report directly to the President of MSA. All
Directors in the Secretariat shall report to the
Secretariat;
(iii) All Departments shall develop programs and activities responding to the
needs of the MSA's Chapter.
Section 2: Zonal Councils
1. Composition:
Each Zonal Council shall consist of the Zonal Representative and the Regional
Representatives in the Zone.
2. Procedures:
(i) Each Zonal Council shall be allocated funds, estimated according to its
needs and effort, to cover the expenses of
its meetings and activities.
(ii) Each Zonal Council shall be responsible for collecting funds, donations,
Zakah at the Zonal level and shall send all such funds to the Secretariat.
(iii) Each Zonal Council shall meet at least twice a year to plan, coordinate
and review MSA activities in the zone.
3. Jurisdiction:
Each Zonal Council will have jurisdiction, within the meaning of this Article,
over one of the four zones into which the Executive Committee must group the
states, provinces, and territories of the United States and Canada.
Section 3: Regional Representatives
1. Appointment:
Presidents of Chapters in each region shall elect one Regional
Representative, not necessarily from among themselves, who appointment to his
office shall be subject to the approval of the Executive Committee.
2. Duties:
Each Regional Representatives shall be responsible within his region
for:
(i) Assisting the Zonal Representative;
(ii) Serving as a link between the Zonal Representative and the Chapters;
(iii) Coordinating the activities of the Chapters;
(iv) Organising Islamic work and activating Chapters;
(v) Establishing new Chapters.
Section 4: Functional Committees
Functional Committees may be appointed by the President of MSA at the central
level, by the Secretary at the departmental level, by the Zonal Representatives
at the zonal levels, by the Regional Representatives at the respective regional
levels, by the Chapter President at the respective Chapter level. The official
appointing a committee shall determine its functions and
authority.
Article IX: Finance
1. The fiscal year of MSA shall begin on the first day of January and shall
end on the 31st day of December of the same year.
2. All expenditures of the Association shall be budgeted yearly and shall be
approved by the Executive Committee before the 31st day of January of the fiscal
year.
Article X: Dissolution
1. Upon the dissolution of MSA the Executive Committee shall, after paying of
making provisions for the payment of all the liabilities of MSA dispose of all
U.S. assets of MSA exclusively to the North America Islamic Trust and all
Canadian assets to Islamic Services of Canada.
2. In case of the non-existence of the North American Islamic Trust, first
disposal shall be made to an Islamic organisation organised and operated
exclusively for religious, cultural, charitable, educational or scientific
purposes as shown at the time qualified as an exempt organisation or
organisations under the existing Internal Revenue Code or the corresponding
provision of any future United States Internal Revenue Law, as the Executive
Committee shall determine. Any of such assets not shown as disposed of, shall be
disposed of by the Court of Common Pleas of the County in which the
principal office of the MSA is then located exclusively for such Islamic
organisations as the said Court may determine.
3. In case of the non-existence of the Islamic Services of Canada, first
disposal shall be made to an Islamic organisation organised and operated
exclusively for religious, cultural, charitable, educational or scientific
purposes as shown at the time qualified as an exempt organisation or
organisations under the existing Revenue Canada Code or the corresponding
provision of any future Canada Internal Revenue Law, as the Executive Committee
shall determine. Any of such assets not shown as disposed of, shall be disposed
of by the Court of Common Pleas of the County in which the principal office of
the MSA is then located exclusively for such Islamic organisations as the said
Court may determine.
Article XI: Amendments
1. Amendments to this constitution shall be submitted in writing to the
President of MSA, not less than sixty days prior to the House of Delegates
annual meeting.
2. The Executive Committee, after approving a proposed amendment by a simple
majority, shall present it to the House at its annual meeting
3. A two-thirds vote of the Delegates present in person or by proxy, shall be
necessary for the adoption of an amendment.
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Louisiana Tech
University Ruston, LA 71272