MIA Executive Statement #003

Assalamu Alaikum and Ramadan Mubarak.

The MIA executives elected June 6, 2010 are taking this opportunity to inform you that in the best interest of the community and to protect MIA from undue hardship and legal wrangling, we have decided to petition the Court to hold a general election for all positions on the MIA executive . If the Court agrees to order this election, all seven positions will be open for re-election under the guardianship of a court appointed officer and the election will be held at a later date.

We are absolutely sure that the original election was not only legal, ethical and moral but it was also the legitimate right of the general body to express itself as it did on June 6th. We are also confident that we would win any legal challenge.

Furthermore, we did not initiate this legal challenge; it was perpetrated by Naseer Warraich and we were forced to respond. While we would never choose to drag our community through the courts and have lawyers decide our future, Mr. Warraich’s legal action against us left us no choice but to respond. 
We have accepted our positions only to serve Allah, the community and to seek its good. Therefore in that same spirit we have agreed to once again put our trust and the future of the Manitoba Islamic Association in the hands of its membership.

We hope that Mr. Warraich will not interfere with this new election and allow for your voices to determine whom you would have lead MIA and run its affairs. The general body of the MIA is its final authority and we are confident that you will make the morally right choice. A choice that will take into consideration the character, ethics, personality, expertise, truthfulness and honesty of its candidates. A choice that will ensure that the cause of Islam is served well and that MIA is preserved for the future generations of Manitoba Muslims.

We need a positive self image, a true and ethical interpersonal interaction within the community to be an example of the spirit of our faith and for MIA to be an example of excellence in organizational management, outreach, education and civic engagement.

Mosques have to be places of peace, spiritual nurturing, family interactions and youth involvement.  That is what we aspire to and hoping to achieve through proposed new election. We are looking for your assistance and support towards that goal.

We will advise you of the outcome for this proposal as soon as possible Insha Allah.

MIA Executive Council           
Idris Elbakri, Aziz Sibaii, Ahmed Durrani, Salman Qureshi, Afzal Shahin, Saeed Dar, Jannah Mustapha