Membership

Membership is a Privilege, not a Right:
Regular Member: Any Muslim aged 18 years and more, who believes that there is no one who is to be worshipped except Allah and that Mohammad Bin Abdullah (peace be Upon Him) is His last and final Prophet and Messenger and accepts the purposes of the Community, shall be eligible to become regular member subject to the conditions as laid down in the by-laws.
Junior Member: Any Muslim who is less than 18 years old, who believes that there is no one who is to be worshipped except Allah and that Mohammad Bin Abdullah (peace be Upon Him) is His last and final Prophet and Messenger and accepts the purposes of the Community, shall be eligible to become regular member subject to the conditions as laid down in the by-laws.
Associate member: all other person who accepts the purposes of the community shall be eligible to become associate member subject to the condition as laid down in the by-laws.
Honorary Member: Person who by judgment and discretion of the Board of Directors has rendered an outstanding contribution to the purposes of the Community shall be conferred honorary membership.

Structure
The Community shall consist of the following:
General Body
Board of Trustees
Board of Directors
Executive Committee

Article VII. General Body
a. The General Body shall consist of all the regular members of the Community.
b. The Bi-Annual General Body meeting after the initial (first) General Body meeting shall be held in September of every two (2) year for the purposes of:
i. Confirming members of the Board of Directors and the Board of Trustees who are elected that year:
ii. Presenting all Bi-Annual reports by the Board of directors and its Committee:
iii. Conducting any other business deemed necessary.

c. Special General Body meetings maybe called by the Board of Directors or not less than one third of the regular members.
Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees shall consist of eleven (11) elected regular members and three ex-officio members (the Honorary President, the Imam and the Social Affairs Advisor). The appointed Honorary President shall be non-voting ex-officio member of the Board of Trustees to act as a consultant. The appointed Imam shall be non-voting ex-officio member of the Board of Trustees to act as a religious consultant. The appointed Social Affairs Advisor shall be non-voting ex-officio member of the Board of Trustees to act as a social affairs consultant. The Board of Trustees shall fulfill the following requirements:
They shall be regular members of MICA in good standing for at least 36 consecutive months prior to the election.
They shall meet at least once every three months to review the affairs of the community.
Elected trustee shall attend at least two of the four meeting every year in order to be eligible for re-election.
There shall be no compensation for services rendered to the community by the board of trustees.
They shall be elected by the board of directors for terms as outlined in Article XII of this constitution.

Board of Directors
The Board of Directors shall consist of twenty eight (28) elected regular members, seven of which shall comprise the Executive Committee of the Community. The affairs of the Community shall be managed by its Board of Directors in consultation with the Board of Trustees. The elected members shall fulfill the following requirements:
They shall be regular members of MICA, in good standing for at least 12 consecutive months prior to the election.
They shall be bona-fide residents of the United States.
The Board of Directors shall meet at least once every month.
Elected directors shall attend at least two third of the meetings every year in order to be eligible for re-election.
There shall be no compensation for services rendered to the Community by the Board of Directors.
They shall be elected by mail balloting after the initial (first) General Body meeting for terms as outlined in Article XII of this constitution.

Executive Committee
The Executive Committee shall consist of the following office bearers:

a. President

b. Vice Presidents:
i. Administrative Vice-President
ii. Community Liaison Vice-President

c. Secretary

d. Assistant Secretary

i. Treasurer

ii. Assistant Treasurer

The Executive Committee shall be responsible for the execution of the policies of the Community and achievement of the Community’s purposes as outlined in Article IV of this Constitution

Duties and Responsibilities

Section I. Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees shall have the following duties and responsibilities:
The Board of Trustees shall act as guardian of the masjid to be created at 46 Edgecombe Avenue New York, NY 10030 and/or any other place duly authorized by the Board of Trustees. It shall also act as guardian of any other real estate, or business venture of MICA and all the funds of the Community.
They shall review and approve or disapprove by simple majority the annual budget of MICA duly prepared and submitted by the Board of Directors.
They shall review and approved or disapprove any transaction of real estate, including selling, buying, financing and construction when properly prepared and submitted by the Board of Directors.
They shall confirm the appointments, sign the contracts and approve the salaries of the employees of the Community when recommended by the Board of Directors.
The Board of Trustees shall elect a chairman and a Secretary from among themselves.
The chairman shall conduct the meeting and the secretary shall keep the record of the proceedings.

Section II. Board of Directors
The Board of Directors shall have the following duties and responsibilities:
Plan, manage and execute the activities so as to accomplish the purposes and objectives for the Community.
Implement the constitution.
Carry out policies and decisions of the General Body.
Appropriate funds for various activities in consultation with the Board of Trustees.
Appoint five (5) of its members to constitute the Finance Control Board to control and oversee the treasurer and the Finance Committee.
Recommend appointments and salaries of the employees of the Community to the Board of Trustees for its approval.
Establish procedures in routine matters and recommend amendments to the by-laws according to the constitution.
Establish procedures for voting and hold elections according to the by-laws.
Elect members of the Board of Trustees as outlined in Article XII of this constitution.
Elect members of the Executive Committee as outlined in Article XII of this constitution.
Review and approved or disapprove MICA membership applications.
Appoint five (5) of its members as Ad Hoc Committee (Primary Reviewers) to annually review the performance of each Executive Committee member, the Social Affairs Director, the Religious Affairs Director, the Women Affairs Director and the Communication Director (hereafter called Coordinator).

Section III. Executive Committee
The office bearers of the Executive Committee shall have the following duties and responsibilities:

A. President: The President shall:
Be responsible for general management of all activities of the Community.
Implement the constitution of the Community by formulating the overalls plans, policies and organizing the efforts and resources.
Call and preside over the meetings of the Board of Directors, Executive Committee and General Body.
Designate members and/or seek outside help to carry out any special task.
Present the Annual Reports to the General Body.

7. Be the spokesman, representative and correspondent in all external affairs.
Coordinate activities with all other Muslim Organizations.

B. Vice-Presidents: The Vice-Presidents should: a. Act on behalf of the president in his absence to execute (administer) the approved program. b. Act on behalf of the president in his absence as the spokesman to the Senegalese community and the representative during Senegalese Events. c. Assist the President in carrying out his duties for accomplishing the purposes of the Community.
C. Secretary: The Secretary shall:
a. Prepare, circulate within thirty days and maintain the minutes of all Board of Directors, Executive Committee and General Body meetings.
b. Prepare the agenda and notify the Board of Directors, Executive Committee and the General Body of the scheduled meetings.
c. Be responsible for correspondence of the Community.
d. Be responsible for maintaining a list of the regular members of the Community.

Vice-Secretary: The Vice-Secretary shall:
a. Act on behalf of the Secretary in his absence.
b. Assist the Secretary in caring out his duties for accomplishing the purposes of the Community.
Treasurer: The Treasurer shall:

a. Maintain records of all financial transactions of the Community.
b. Collect and deposit all funds received on behalf o the Community in the Asset account of the Community.
c. Prepare the budget of the Community for the approval of the Board of Directors.
d. Prepare the Annual Financial Statements and present them in the General Body meeting.

F. Vice-Treasurer:: The Vice-Treasurer shall:
Act on behalf of the Treasurer in his absence.
Assist the Treasurer in carrying out his duties for accomplishing the purposes of the Community.
Selection and Terms of Office
The members of the Board of Directors shall be elected by the regular members of the Community by mail balloting after the initial (first) General Body meeting for the terms as outlined in this Article. The members of the Board of Trustees shall be elected by the Board of Directors of the Community for the terms as outlined in this Article.

Section I. Election Committee:
Shall consist of seven regular members of MICA in good standing for at least 24 consecutive months.
Shall be appointed by the Board of Directors for the purpose of searching and seeking nomination from regular members for various offices of the community, and conducting the election by mail in accordance with the procedures outlined in the by-laws.
Shall present the results of the election to the General Body at its regular Bi-Annual meeting.

Section II. Election of Board of Trustees
The initial eleven members of the Board of Trustees shall be elected by the present Board of Directors by a simple majority vote for a two (2) year term.
After the initial (first) General Body meeting and/or at the expiration of the term for which a member was elected, the new (replacement) office bearer shall be elected by the Board of Directors by a simple majority vote for a five (5) year term.
The members of the Board of Trustees shall not be elected for any other office of the community while serving their terms on the Board of Trustees.

Section III. Election of Board of Directors
The initial twenty eight members of the Board of Directors were appointed by Community Leaders for a two (2) year term.
After the initial (first) General Body meeting, the new (replacement) office bearer shall be elected by the General Body by mail balloting for a two (2) year term.

Section IV. Election of Executive Committee
The seven members of the Executive Committee shall be elected by the Board of Directors from the elected members of the Board of Directors for a period of two (2) year.

Article XIII. Vacancy
In case a vacancy occurs in the office bearers of the Executive Committee, the Board of Directors shall be authorized to fill in such a vacancy from among the elected members of the Board of Directors by a simple majority vote. The new office bearer shall fulfill the unexpired balance of the term for the office bearer he replaces.
In case a vacancy occurs in the Board of Directors, the Board of Director shall be authorized to fill in such a vacancy by a simple majority vote. The new member shall fulfill the unexpired balance of the term for the Director he replaces.

In case a vacancy occurs in the Board of Trustees, the Board of Trustees shall be authorized to fill in such a vacancy by a simple majority vote. The new member shall fulfill the unexpired balance of the term for the Trustee he replaces.

. Finances

. The finances of the Community shall be budgeted for the fiscal year by the Board of Directors and approved by the Board of Trustees.
. The Board of Directors shall accept or designate any member to accept contributions and donations from sources consistent with the purposes of the Community.
. Annual Financial Statements shall be presented by the Treasurer in the Bi-Annual General Body meeting for the information and approval of the members.
. A fiscal year for accounting purposes shall be from September 1 to August 31.
. For accounting purposes, the Community shall maintain tow accounts designated as: i) Asset Account ii) Operating Account.
. All contributions and donations received by the Community shall be deposited in the Asset Account.
. Board of Trustees shall be authorized to transfer funds from Asset Account to Operating Account.
. Disbursement of funds from the Asset Account shall require the joint signatures of the Treasurer and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees or in the absence of the Chairman, the signature of the Secretary of the Board of Trustees shall be required.
. Disbursement of funds from the Operating Account shall require the joint signatures of the Treasure and the President of the community or in the absence of the President, the signature of the Vice-President shall be required.

. External audit

The books of the Community are subject to an external annual audit before the Bi-Annual General Body meeting. The external audit firm shall be appointed by the Board of Director and approved by the Board of Trustees.
. Amendments

. Any proposed amendment to the constitution shall be presented in writing to the Secretary 90 days prior to the Bi-Annual General Body meeting.
. The Board of Directors, after considering and approving the proposed amendment by a simple majority vote, shall obtain the General Body’s approval by mail balloting.
. An affirmative vote by two-third majority of the Regular members shall be necessary for the adoption of any amendment to the Constitution.
. No amendment contrary to the teachings of the Quran and the Sunnah shall be entertained.

. Quorum

. The presence of at least one-third of Regular members at any General Body meeting shall constitute the quorum for the meeting.
. The presence of at least four-fifth of Trustees at any Board of Trustees meeting shall constitute the quorum for the meeting.
. The presence of at least two-third of Directors at any Board of Directors meeting shall constitute quorum for the meeting.

Procedures

a. All meetings of the Board of Trustees, the Board of Directors, the Executive Committee and General Body shall be held in accordance with established and recognized parliamentary procedures.
b. The Junior, Associated or Honorary members shall have right to participate in the General Body meetings but they shall not have the right to vote, or to hold any office.
c. Each person who is Regular member in good standing for 90 days shall have the right to vote.
Dissolution

In case of dissolution, the funds and the other assets of the Community, after defraying all the outstanding debts and liabilities shall be donated to any registered tax-exempt Murid Islamic Organization by the Board of Trustees pursuant of IRC 501(c)(3).
Annual Performance Evaluation

Each member of the Executive Committee, the Social Affairs Director, the Religious Affairs Director, the Women Affairs Director and the Communication Director (hereafter called Coordinator) performance shall be evaluated annually by an appointed five (5) member Ad Hoc Committee (Primary Reviewers) from among the elected members of the Board of Directors. The Coordinator’s performance shall be Commendable (exceed expectations; the Coordinator handled assignments in a very able manner and the Coordinator performed tasks beyond normal assignments requirements), to be considered for nomination by the Election Committee and/or appointment to an office by the Board of Directors.