Attendance

Meeting commenced at 11.10 am with recitation of verses of Holy Quran by Br Mahmood Rehemtulla, followed by introductions.

President welcomed everyone to the EC meeting.  

Welcome speech by President of Watford, Br Shabbir Shah.

Secretary General explained the housekeeping rules. He added that he was aware of the concerns regarding late running of meetings and added that to ensure the meetings run on time, he would need the support from everyone.  He however pointed out that he was led to understand that when the Constitution was being prepared, the EC Meetings were expected to be long affairs and while he appreciated that, he also believed that to have a constructive meeting, it was imperative to run to a timetable. 
Secretary General said he hoped he would be assisted by everyone to run the meeting in a timely manner.

1.    Minutes of last Meeting and matters arising therefrom

Minutes approved subject to the following two amendments:

Page 4: Amend item (i) EHM: (penultimate line) to read: After discussion it was concluded that such funding should be beneficial to the whole community and not to a specific year of Hajj.

Page 5: Item 5 amend last line to read: It was Br Murtaza Bharwani’s opinion that the supervisory role was to ensure boards delivered.

Proposed by Br Azad Poptani and Seconded by: Br Abbas Rahim

Matters arising

a)   Dr Helmi - Page 2: Br Shabbir Merali enquired whether the Iran Visa situation had been sorted.
Secretary General said that Br Razahusein Rahim would enlighten on this and added that a letter had already been written to Dr Helmi and we were awaiting his reply.  

b)    Pre Marriage Screening for Thalasemia and HIV - Page 3: Dr Rizwan Alidina was currently working on this and it would be discussed at a future meeting.

c)    TOR – EC Links to Boards - Page 6: Br Mahmood Rehemtulla added that following feedback from Councillors, the document had been simplified as requested.
He point out that the main change was regarding the ‘Term’ - EC Links serve for the term appointed by the President in association with the Vice President of CoEJ.
As there was consensus the TOR was adopted.  Secretary General thanked Br Mahmood Rehemtulla and his team for their hard work.

d)   Action Point 4 - Page 8: Secretary General reminded Br Husseinali Remtulla that the detailed figures had not been received. 

Action 1: Br Husseinali Remtulla to resend the figures of shortfall in their finances to the Secretariat for circulation to Jamaats with a view to raise funds.

2.    WF Conference May 2011 update and any directives

(a)    Secretary General reminded delegates what Br Mahmood Al-Najar had said at the last meeting regarding the WF Delegates at the previous EC meeting and requested that Delegates show a united front at the WF Conference. Br Naushadali Rajani reiterated this sentiment.

(b)    Secretary General said that 2 main things being tabled at the WF Conference were:  

(i)    The CoEJ Resolution which was straightforward and had been circulated to the Councillors prior submission to WF.

(ii)    The Resolution proposed by Africa Federation which was in the meeting pack. Secretary General felt the Councillors needed to have discussions on this Resolution in order to have clarity on the way Delegates would proceed at the WF Conference. 
After protracted discussion it was proposed by Br Abbas Rahim and seconded by Sis Waheeda Rahim that ‘The Executive Council hereby gives the delegates going to the WF Conference the mandate to decide whilst there, at all times being mindful of safeguarding CoEJ interests’. Consensus was reached.

3.  Standardising Alim Hadiya (Birmingham Jamaat)

(a)    Dr Safdarali Siwji said the document which had been circulated twice was self explanatory. He felt it would be helpful if the hadiya (gift) to the lecturers who were invited to recite at Jamaats was standardised. 
A form for completion by member Jamaats was included to give the figures they had paid in the last 2 Ashras so that an average figure could be derived.
Dr Safdarali Siwji added that the figure would be as a guide only and not a compulsory figure.

(b)    After discussion it was decided that the title of the document would be reworded to ‘Guidance on Alim Hadiya’.
The amended document together with the form would be circulated to the Jamaats.  It was emphasized that this was a voluntary exercise however the Jamaats would be recommended to complete the form and the data collected would be collated to produce an average figure for discussion at the next EC Meeting

The meeting was running ahead of time by 45 min and it was not yet namaz time, it was decided to proceed with the President’s Report.   

4. Presidents Report

The President’s Report was included in the pack.  

Observations & Comments:

a)    MCB Leadership Dinner: In reply to a query, Dr Husein Jiwa said that a donation had been received for the MCB leadership dinner.

b)    Br Mahmood Al-Najar apologised that he was not able to attend the leadership dinner. 
Dr Husein Jiwa thanked him for sponsoring the table and Sis Waheeda Rahim expressed her gratitude at the opportunity to attend the dinner and gave a brief account of it.

c)    Secretary General felt that the concerns regarding MCB raised by Councillors needed to be conveyed to them. 
Seyed Mohamed Naqvi agreed, however he regretted that he had not been able to attend 2 previous CWC meetings and added that he had sent in his apology for the forthcoming meeting as he was out of town during that period.  Seyed Mohamed Naqvi further added that he felt it was the media team at MCB who issued statements and he did not receive their emails. Dr Husein Jiwa advised that MCB were waiting to be informed of the name of an individual from CoEJ for their media team and
Seyed Mohamed Naqvi requested a name be forwarded to him for onward to MCB.

d)    In response to Br Abbas Rahim’s request for further explanation on 2 items in the report, Dr Husein Jiwa said that as far as the Nawroz ceremony was concerned, the Ismailia Centre sent out invitations to around 100 selected individuals from diverse groups.  He added that it was a short ceremony which included showing of a video clip of architecture work they were carrying out, reviving historical heritage sites.  

e)    Dr Husein Jiwa requested Seyed Mohamed Naqvi (who had accompanied him together with Br Mustafa Jaffer to the meeting with Maulana Zafar Abbas) to give a brief account of the visit.       
Seyed Mohamed Naqvi explained that the meeting had been in relation to granting of divorce to ladies who were seeking it.  He further added that Maulana Zafar Abbas was one of the few people who had been given the wakala and ijaza by Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani (Dama Dhilluhu) to recite the divorce or give consent to somebody to recite it on behalf of a woman, provided he was satisfied with the case or the handling of the case.
Seyed Mohamed said that the process was taking too long and the team had visited him to seek his assistance.  Maulana Zafar Abbas has verbally agreed to provide assistance.
Dr Husein Jiwa added that Br Mustafa Jaffer and Seyed Mohamed Naqvi would form a team and once formed, the team would be invited to an EC Meeting to explain the processes.

f)    Dr Husein Jiwa congratulated Peterborough Jamaat on acquiring their full ijaza as well as the planning permission. 
He requested Br Razahusein Rahim as president of Peterborough Jamaat to accept the letter of Ijaza received from WF.
Br Razahusein Rahim thanked Dr Husein Jiwa and the Secretary General for their support.

5.  Hilal Update on System & Processes (item was agreed to be brought forward)

a)    Seyed Mohamed Naqvi gave a brief account of the events leading to the adoption of the TOR for Hilal.
He added that at the Peterborough Meeting, Br Mustafa Jaffer had accepted Items 30 and 31 of the TOR which KSIMC of London Jamaat had not accepted at the time the TOR was adopted at the Wessex meeting.  Seyed Mohamed Naqvi read out the Items 30 and 31 of the TOR for the benefit of the Councillors. He added that KSIMC of London Jamaat (Hujjat) was still publishing its own statement and had also stopped publishing the statement for the followers of Marhum Ayatullah Al Khoei.  He requested guidance from the Councillors.

b)    Seyed Mohamed Naqvi explained the circumstances that had occurred following the visit to Grand Ayatullah Ali Al Sistani (Dama Dhilluhu) in Najaf. 
He further related the situation that had arisen during the month of Shawwal when a statement had not been received from Najaf due to failed communication system.    

c)    There followed lengthy discussions. As Namaz time was approaching, it was agreed to continue with further discussions after Namaz. 
Additional discussion on what action the HAT would take in case guidance was not received from Najaf would follow thereafter.  

Secretary General requested councillors to identify 7 questions in preference from the set of 11‘What’ and ‘How’ questions prepared during lunch break.  He added that 2 questions would be submitted to WF, under‘Questions from Regions’ at theWF May Conference and others may be considered for discussion at the next CoEJ Conference.

Break for Namaz at 12.50 pm and recommenced at 1.40 pm (working lunch)

d)    Seyed Mohamed Naqvi gave a quick synopsis of the previous discussion:

(i)    Items 30 and 31 on HAT operational policy
(ii)    What action should HAT take if a ruling does not come on time from Aga, or for that matter not at all.

(e)    After further protracted discussions, it was decided that:

(i)    Br Azad Poptani would take back to KSIMC of London Jamaat (Hujjat) to address Items 30 and 31 of the TOR and report back to EC.
(ii)    In exceptional situations where all appropriate means of communication fail with Ayatullah’s office, the
Hilal Team would make a statement based on the data submitted jointly with Imam Ali Foundation and Ulema-e-Shia Council.  

Action 2: Azadbhai Poptani to go back to KSIMC of London Jamaat (Hujjat) and report back at next EC Meeting to explain why they continue to issue their own statements

6. Hon Treasurer’s Report

(a)    The Treasurer, Br Mohamed Mavani explained that there were 3 Reports:
(i)   EHM Ltd accounts: Treasurer summarised the accounts and said that  on approval these would be presented to the auditors the following week. 

(ii)    Group accounts: The group accounts were in the pack.  Br Mohamed Mavani explained that these had already been presented during the 19 February EC Meeting.
He added that the only change was that the EHM Ltd accounts had now been included and added that Br Qasim Alidina would be taking the books and records to the auditors the following week. 

(iii)    Management Accounts for the current year: Br Qasim Alidina distributed the management account for the period ended 30 April 2011.
Br Mohamed Mavani summarised the figures highlighting that the front cover page had a typographic error, should read 2011.
He added that further reminder letters would be sent to those Jamaats that had still not paid their subscriptions.
He further added that the Income Tax refund (gift aid claim) had been submitted and it was envisaged that it would be processed soon. 
Br Mehdi Najafi point out an error on page 10 which should read 82591 and not 72591.

(b)    Lease of 22 Estreham Road: Treasurer said that the 5 year lease of the Secretariat office was due to expire in 2012.
The initial rent per the lease had been increased to £800. Treasurer added that a letter had been received (dated 20 February 2011) from Hyderi Jamaat asking for an immediate rent increase from 1 March 2011 to £1,300.
He further added that the Office Bearers had discussed via email correspondence and decided to bring the matter before the EC proposing that a holding letter be sent with 1 June or 1 July as the date. 
The Office Bearers discussed and felt an increase of up to £1000 was probably the market rent, and agreed an extension on the lease for another 2 years should be considered.
The Office Bearers felt that any agreement should include a clause that there should be no further rent reviews until the end of the lease. 
There was consensus to accept the Treasurer’s recommendation of £1000 as a reasonable rent and an extension of the lease for 2 years.
In the meantime CoEJ to consider acquiring a suitable property, or jointly with WF.

(c)    Gift Aid Money: There was consensus to the Treasurer's proposal that the gift aid money be held in a separate reserve account for investment purposes.  

(d)    Br Mohamed Mavani thanked Br Qasim Alidina and Br Mohamedkazim Bhaloo for their continued assistance in the treasury functions.   

7.  Shia TV Channels

(a)    Br Razahusein Rahim said that the team empowered to prepare a strategic paper had unfortunately not been able to meet although 3 different dates had been set up. 
A future meeting on a mutually convenient time would be arranged.  

(b)    Br Razahusein Rahim added that as far as the English Shia TV channel was concerned, they already had access to the Khoja community funds. 
He added that they had visited Canada and were due to visit Dar es Salaam in the following week..

(c)    He explained that the TV Channels were cooperating with CoEJ and recent series of Marhum Mulla Asghar’s lectures had been aired, however the question was what did CoEJ want out of the TV Channel.  

(d)    Br Razahusein Rahim felt it was important to chart out a media strategy about how CoEJ should proceed forward. Br Murtaza Gulamhusein said in order to have a strategy of how to channel funds through one avenue,
cooperation from NASIMCO and AFED would be needed.

(e)    Dr Akber Mohamedali felt it was imperative to have a media strategy however he added that CoEJ as a charity needed to be mindful of its charitable status.
After further discussion it was concluded that Br Razahusein Rahim be given the lead role in trying to build connections and raise awareness at WF level as well as at other regional levels that as a worldwide community a media strategy was necessary. 
CoEJ would endeavour to raise this at the next WF Conference.

8.  Subcommittee Reports by EC Links

(a)    Education by Sis Waheeda Rahim:
The Education Report was in the pack. Sis Waheeda Rahim had spent her time during the entire duration of the course and gave a vivid account of the events at the Revision course that had taken place during 10-16 April 2011.
She added that positive feedback had been received.  Dr Husein Jiwa thanked her for taking time out to be at the course.
Br Mahmood Rehemtulla requested whether an alternative venue could be sought for the course to be held where the charges would be for the venue and not per person.
He added that this had been the case in previous years. Br Mahmood Rehemtulla felt this way the cost would be reduced and could be reflected in the subsidy to the participants.

Action Point 3: Education Board to look at venue/per person cost

(b)   Khawateen by Secretary General on behalf of Sis Sukaina Manji:
A short brief received from khawateen was read out by Secretary General as Sis Sukaina Manji was not present.
Sis Sukaina Manji had sent a short update which stated that the 3 projects – the young girls camp, the womens retreat and the Girls Switzerland camp were currently in the working phase and requested regular announcements to publicise these.  She had added that the success of all the projects was down to Sis Nikhat Panjwani and her team together with the co-operation from the Secretariat.  

(c)    EHM by Vice President, Gulambhai RJ Sumar and Br Mohamedkazim Bhaloo:
The Report was in the pack. Br Mohamedkazim Bhaloo advised that the accommodation for Hajj 2011 for Makkah and Madinah had been finalised.
The Vice President requested whether any funds could be allocated towards the 25th Year anniversary celebrations as discussed during the last EC meeting. 
Secretary General added that EHM is the flagship activity of CoEJ and recommended to the Council that a small amount of money be allocated.
Br Razahusein Rahim concurred however added that it should be the Council that is celebrating the anniversary.
After discussion it was proposed that the treasury and secretariat would check whether there were surplus funds available from other projects that can be utilised and if there were none, a mandate be given to use £2000 from the brought forward unrestricted reserves of £52,000.

(d)   Capacity Building by Dr Akber Mohamedali:
Dr Akber Mohamedali informed the Councillors that he was also the lead at WF on capacity building.  He added a strategy from WF on capacity building had been developed to build capacity at regions to undertake capacity building.
He further added that a team was being developed in NASIMCO and a similar one in AFED.
At the CoEJ level the strategy was to develop more facilitators who would undertake facilitation activities and run programmes with one of the aims to develop youth leadership in conjunction with the Youth Committee.
This leadership programme would be aimed at age 18-25 years.
The current chair of the Youth Committee had been a participant at the NASIMCO Youth retreat to be a trainee facilitator.

Dr Akber Mohamedali said he had talked to Br Sarfraz Jeraj regarding the needs assessment, which was one of the core things that the Council wanted. 
He added that at the WF level they were trying to get them linked up with NASIMCO’S capacity building team who will be working jointly with him.  

(e)    HIB by Dr Akber Mohamedali
Dr Safdaraliali Siwji enquired when Birmingham Jamaat would have their health screening programme. 
Dr Husein Jiwa advised that the HIB representative of Birmingham Jamaat liaise with Dr Rizwan Alidina or Dr Sadik Merali. 
He further added that a Health Screening was carried out once every 3 years.  

Dr Akber Mohamedali advised that he had suggested to the HIB team to have a strategy day and it was planned after the Holy month of Ramadhan. 
He invited anyone who was interested to communicate with Dr Rizwan Alidina.  

Br Abbas Rahim raised a query regarding the Private Health Care Plan. Br Murtaza Gulamhusein described the Ismailia Scheme and Dr Akber Mohamedali added that their scheme was not like a private medical scheme, but added value to what was available at NHS. 
Dr Husain Jiwa said that Dr Rizwan Alidina was already in touch with the Ismailia community regarding this and this was mentioned in the HIB report.

(f)   Youth by Br Adam Khimji
Secretary General welcomed Br Adam Khimji who had attended the meeting in the absence of Br Hasanain Jaffer.
The Report was in the pack. Br Adam Khimji introduced himself and added that he had taken lead on the Ashura Awareness project. 
He added that he was also part of ABSOC and worked closely with other ABSOCs. He further added that he had suggested an academic diary be included in the student pack as he felt that was something all students needed.
Dr Husein Jiwa thanked Br Adam Khimji and requested him to convey his appreciation of their work to Br Hasanain Jaffer. 
He reminded him to keep the Secretariat, the Vice President and the EC Link in the loop of all their activities.  

(g)    Matrimonial by Br Riyaz Ladha
The report was in the pack.  Br Riyaz Ladha gave a brief background to the formation of the Matrimonial Committee.  
He said the Pre Engagement Seminar held in Watford had been successful with good attendance. 
Br Riyaz Ladha requested publicity for the Pre Marriage seminar due to be held on 12 June 2011.  

He added that they were working with the Ismailia community in terms of their structures for handling such issues. 
He further added that their next plan would be in connection with arbitration and reconciliation. 
Br Riyaz Ladha said they were assisting a young sister with her MSc dissertation on Marriage in the Khoja community.

In reply to Br Razahusein Rahim’s query, Br Riyaz Ladha said they were working on the marriage contracts and had visited Al Khoei Foundation in connection with this.
With regard to the query on Thalessamia he said that Dr Rizwan Alidina had done a presentation during the Pre Engagement seminar to gauge feedback from the participants.  In terms of matchmaking and accessibility, Br Riyaz Ladha felt that Khojamatch needed publicity.
Br Riyaz Ladha further added that some Jamaats he had visited had good support network systems in place. 
Br Murtaza Gulamhusein said that some individuals from the Stanmore matrimonial committee had attended a conflict resolution course and their resources could be tapped into.  

There was consensus to Dr Husein Jiwa’s proposal that Br Riyaz Ladha now forms a Matrimonial Committee and prepares the TOR for discussion at a future EC Meeting. 
Br Naushadali Rajani agreed to be the EC Link.

(h)    Madressa by Br Mahmood Rehemtulla
Br Mahmood Rehemtulla gave a detailed account of the WF initiated Madressa retreat in Dubai where there had been worldwide participation.
He advised that WF were undertaking to reach all Madari worldwide and needed a remit from CoEJ to allow them to link directly with the Madari in Europe to ascertain and serve their needs.
Br Mahmood Rehemtulla added that he wanted to make the Councillors aware of the situation and approval to give the remit to WF to contact the Madari directly. 
He further added that CoEJ Madressa team would then only cover those areas not covered by the WF team.  
Br Razahusein Rahim added that detailed terms of reference were to be tabled at the WF Conference in May 2011 for consideration by the delegates.
He gave further detail regarding the structure of the WF Madrassa Board and explained that the board would consist of appointed as well as nominated people from all the regions.  
Dr Husein Jiwa thanked Br Mahmood Rehemtulla for the update.  

(i)   ICA by Br Razahusein Rahim
Br Razahusein Rahim apologised for not having a written report which was due to some personal difficult circumstances. He summarised the activities of ICA as:
•    Promotion of WF books in Jamaats.
•    Most of the outstanding alim grants had been finalised
•    the compilation of list of zakirs and alims available for Holy months of Ramadhan and Muharram accessible to Jamaats throughout the world
•    The next stage was to write to member Jamaats in case they needed assistance recruiting a speaker
•    The successful Al Ghadeer Library project was continuing
•    ICA has compiled a list of Alims and is in the process of assisting 3 or 4 Jamaats who required the services of resident alims
•    A new set of leaflets are due to be published later this year
•    The annual Mubaligheen Conference has been set to take place in September. Br Razahusein Rahim added that
in this connection Jamaats would be requested to ensure that alims and zakirs in their area participate in this annual conference.  
•    A CPD for junior and upcoming zakirs had been carried out in Peterborough – this had included media training.
•    The ongoing John Muslim Mission had suffered a setback in that the Alim had withdrawn himself and ICA were identifying a replacement.
•    The Morocco Maarifa retreat unfortunately had to be postponed for the present due to security and other reasons.
Br Razahusein Rahim advised that alternative venues in UK  had been considered, however since the deposit had
already been paid for the accommodation in Morocco they were trying to set a future date after the month of Holy Ramadhan.

Secretary General requested all the Jamaats to promote the Pre-marriage Seminar due to take place on 12 June
as well as the Boys Wales and Girls Switzerland camps.  He thanked Br Riyaz Ladha and Adam Khimji for joining the meeting.  

9.  Any Other Business

(a)    Br Abbas Rahim thanked CoEJ and WF for their support towards the Al Mahdi project and gave an update on the project. 
He advised that of the £1.3m collected; only £50,000 was from huqooq monies. He further added that the building work was progressing very well and it was anticipated that the centre would be ready by the beginning of October 2011. 
Br Abbas Rahim reaffirmed the previously extended invitation to hold the CoEJ Conference at the new Centre. 
Dr Husein Jiwa thanked Br Abbas Rahim for the invitation and for the update on the project. 
He added that the letter granting permission to collect from AFED Jamaats would be forthcoming and further added that the Tanzanian Jamaats were aware of their impending visit.

(b)    Br Fayyaz Haji requested clarification regarding requests from non-CoEJ Jamaats for platform for fund raising. 
Secretary General confirmed that the Capital Projects paper still needed to be presented for approval before a platform could be granted.
He further clarified the situation regarding the Muslim Community of Essex who had been granted a platform at Hyderi.

(c)    Br Azad Poptani said that Birmingham Jamaat had provided a platform to Sheikh Arif where during a Juma Khutba he discussed KSIMC of London (Hujjat) handling of a particular issue.
The President felt that this was an inter-jamaat issue and the CoEJ EC Meeting was not the appropriate platform to discuss this.
However, together with Secretary General he was more than willing to help to mediate.  

On behalf of the EC, Secretary General conveyed sincere appreciation to the Watford Jamaat and their diligent volunteers for their generous hospitality.
Dr Husein Jiwa added his thanks and wished everyone a safe journey home.

Date of next meeting

It was agreed that the next meeting would be held on Saturday, 30 July 2011 at KSIMC of London (Hujjat).

The Meeting was brought to a close at 6pm with the recitation of a short Dua’ by Br Riyaz Ladha.

Secretariat - Minutes