Abukar Arman's resignation from AIW Board on Jun 26, 2010

Bismillah

As-salaamu alaiakum dear Brothers and Sisters,

After long reflection, consultation, and istikharah to ask Allah (SWT) for guidance on this murky issue and flaming fitnah, I decided to submit my resignation, effective immediately.

Over the past several months, in private and in public, I have stated my position on this entire saga that divided our community. In a nutshell, I have highlighted the following points:

1) There is enough blame to go around: While the majority opted to remain silent, some vocal brothers and sisters have biasely sided with one party or another (often adding more fuel to the fire), and the remaining few chose to objectively focus their eyes on the big picture- saving our community and masjid. [in that priority]

2) The viable way to reach that end seemed either to exclude all the founding board members (as their differences seemed irreconcilable) or to co-opt all of them to become part of an expanded board

I accepted the nomination to the AIW board do whatever in my capacity to help our community mend its fences, and help the healing process to start so that we welcome Ramadan with clean hearts and sense of community.

At this stage, I am convinced that item # 2 is too fare-fetched, if not impossible. Wa-Allahu a'alam.

Wishing you the very best,

Your brother in Islam,
abukar arman

Noor Saga-Failed Arbitration Part 1. Who is to blame?

Before you read this posting, please read Noor Saga-Introduction, if you have not done that yet.

The Resolution Committee

Farag and the other three board members (later known as the disputed board members) wanted to mediate the issue with Saqr and tried involving a few people quietly for this effort. This did not work. Then, on advice from their attorney, they called for a meeting of about 35 people of the Noor community on October 4, 2009, including many respected elders. They invited Saqr and asked him to invite whomever he wanted. Saqr was at the Center during the meeting but did not attend. At this meeting a resolution committee was formed and comprised of Dr. Azeez Haque (Chairperson), Mohammed Amin, Jamal Mansour, Aneezal Mohamed, and Dr. Asma Mobin-Uddin.

The resolution committee was asked to address the following issue and report back to the larger group of community leaders:

"Review the By-Laws of American Islamic Waqf (“AIW”) and discuss with Saqr whether he would agree to binding arbitration by this committee on a finding of whether or not Ayoub, Mandourah, and Islam, are legitimate members of AIW Board."

The resolution committee reviewed the By-Laws of AIW and then met with Saqr, (and Amgad Saleh via conference call), on Sunday, October 25, 2009. The meeting lasted about 2.5 hours. Saqr agreed to abide by the decision of the resolution committee once Farag presented evidence supporting his position that Ayoub, Mandourah, and Islam were members of AIW Board. However, Saqr did not agree to unconditional binding arbitration.

The committee asked Farag, as requested by Saqr, to provide evidence supporting the position that Ayoub, Mandourah, and Islam were validly appointed members of AIW Board. Farag insisted that the committee should get a binding arbitration commitment from Saqr before he could provide any such evidence.

Being frustrated by the lack of progress and because the resolution committee was unable to secure a commitment to binding arbitration by Saqr, Hassan Ayoub wrote on 10/31/2009:

“We thank the brothers and sisters that formed the original arbitration committee however we have realized that these legal matters are best handled by legal experts such as retired judges or magistrates. It will also involve legal precedents and applications that may be beyond the expertise of some members of the original arbitration committee."

On October 31, 2009 the resolution committee requested that a vote be taken by the elders that attended the meeting to form this committee on whether or not their role should be expanded and the overwhelming majority of these voters agreed not to expand the committee’s role. This ended the role of the resolution committee. [It is not clear to me what exactly the resolution committee asked for.]

Calls for binding arbitration

On Sunday November, 1 2009 Omar Tarazi, a local lawyer wrote, ” If anybody files any kind of legal action in court right now it would be very damaging to the whole community.” He reminded the community of the recent attacks against Masjid Noor with the court filings in Florida regarding the Rifqa Bary case. He added that arbitration is “an area that is best handled by a professional. A professional will solve your problems quickly and most importantly it will not go in the newspaper.”

And he proposed: ”On Monday [the next day] both sides can call the big name law firms in town and look for a non-Muslim lawyer who specializes in nonprofit law who also is willing to do an arbitration. Once this person is identified, both sides sign a contract with that individual. Both sides will also turn over all property such as keys, files, and E-mail lists to that individual. That individual will then conduct a professional arbitration hearing all the evidence from both sides.

By the end of the week the individual then makes a decision based on all the evidence regarding who exactly is legally in charge of the organization and he will then turn over to those individuals all of the keys, files, E-mails lists etc.

So by this Friday we can be done with this fight, it will probably take the arbitrator $300 per hour for I would guess 8 hours to do this work. This means a total of $2,400. The cost to each side is $1,200, and we have a final decision regarding who legally is in charge and those people will also have all of the property of the organization.”

The next day Ahmad Al-Akhras wrote:
"I humbly suggest that a group of three Muslim lawyers of the community, may be selected by those on this list --since it seems everybody copies the same names on their emails-- and they put the rules for a binding arbitration. Only then things would move forward. I do not believe other than both parties agreeing to the binding arbitration any solution would be achieved.

Dear brothers and sisters --I believe each and every one of you have a stake in this. Do not let this mess get out to the public, the whole community would suffer for many years to come. Look at EVERY example from around the country, if you go public and to have courts decide, such an act would create a scar that would never go away. "

Omar Tarazi's arbitration framework

Then Omar Tarazi worked tirelessly and quietly away from the public eye for over a month. Many compromises were made, and Tarazi went back and forth repeatedly between both parties in order to reach an arbitration framework that would be acceptable to all. This was not an arbitration, but an effort to hire an outside professional arbitrator and get both sides on board with a common understanding of how the arbitration would be conducted.

On December 7, 2009, Khaled Farag announced the acceptance of his side of the Arbitration Framework as Developed by Attorney Omar Tarazi and added

“ We are now still waiting for Dr. Hany Saqr to commit to arbitration so that we may resolve all disputes, find closure and move forward with the communities work. Unfortunately after initially committing to arbitration within a legal frame work developed by Br. Omar, Hany has continued to make changes and stall the process.

Dr. Hany has continued to drag his feet by asking for revision upon revision and asking for more time to consider proposal after proposal, without sincerely committing to the process. We fear that these tactics are no more than a strategy to extend this conflict and leave the community in a frozen state, while Hany considers his options.

The organization cannot continue to be placed on hold while Hany considers his options. We are making a final appeal to Hany to stop the gamesmanship and political maneuvers so that the proper legal resolution is found and a final determination of the facts is established. Only then can this community start the healing process and initiate the reforms that are desperately needed. “

Then he issued an ultimatum: “Therefore, in an attempt to move forward and protect the community’s good name, and valuable assets, we will give Dr. Hany one more week to commit to this binding arbitration frame work”, “If no commitment has been made by 5:00PM Friday, December 11, 2009, we must move to protect the organization and this community by any legal options that may be available.”

Accepted arbitration frame-work

On December 9, 2009, Saqr and Saleh, after making minor editing to some of the 15 points of Omar Tarazi's arbitration framework and adding a new point asking for a full audit to be conducted in parallel, offered the following, called Saqr Arbitration Framework:

“ 1- All decisions will be made by the neutral non-Muslim lawyer[attorney Richard Pace] acting as a binding arbitrator who will be agreed to by all the parties. The parties agree that the arbitrator is attorney Richard Pace who has 27 years experience and his information is attached below.
2- All parties are free to have their own lawyers assist them or represent them in the arbitration proceedings.
3- All parties will sign a binding arbitration agreement and deliver all property of the organization that is in their personal possession (files, lists, construction contracts, financial records, bank statements, officially documents for board member appointments, etc.) to the arbitrator.
4- The parties will split the cost of the arbitrator.
5- The neutral arbitrator will conduct a binding arbitration trial with the rules based on the Ohio Rules of Civil procedure to determine which member of all disputed parties, one by one, is a legally binding board member of the organization. The neutral arbitrator will make findings of fact regarding disputed factual allegations and make a legal conclusion based on the legal evidence and facts and according to the rule of law, which member of all disputed parties has legal legitimacy to be a board member of the Organization.
6- This means all parties will have the rights of discovery, to present their case, to present witnesses to cross examine other witnesses etc.
7- As part of this trial, members of all disputed parties will have the opportunity to present allegations of specific claims of gross breach of fiduciary duty against any other member of all disputed parties.
8- The neutral arbitrator will conduct a binding arbitration trial with the rules based on the Ohio Rules of Civil procedure and make findings of fact regarding each specific claim of gross breach of fiduciary duty and then make a legal conclusion of whether or not those findings amount, individually or collectively, to a gross breach of fiduciary duty.
9- All hearings will be conducted in public with the arbitrator ensuring that certain confidential information is protected like social security numbers and individuals’ bank account numbers etc.
10- The neutral arbitrator will have the power to remove from power a real board member or determine that a disputed party member is not a legitimate board member, if that member does not cooperate in good faith with the arbitration process.
11- Once the real board is determined, the board members who do not have a determination against them that they grossly breached their fiduciary duty to the organization vote on what to do with the board members who do. If the number of board members who do not have a determination of gross breach of fiduciary duty against them is less than three, then the arbitrator will work with those real board members who do not have a determination against them that they grossly breached their fiduciary duty to the organization to identify and appoint a sufficient number of board members so that there are three board members who do not have a determination against them who can vote on what to do with those who do have that determination against them.
12- The neutral arbitrator will then deliver all property of the organization to the legally valid board.
13- The neutral arbitrator will deliver to all parties a copy of all findings, determinations and decisions which shall also be made available to the Muslim community.
14- The goal is to complete the entire process within one month.
15- The neutral arbitrator will make non-binding recommendations on improvements that could be made to the bylaws.
16- In parallel to the arbitration process, the organization will conduct a full financial audit of all its books, financial records, transactions, receipts, bank statements, etc. Upon conclusion of the audit process if any financial violation(s) were found against one or more of the real board members who do not have a determination against them that they grossly breached their fiduciary duty to the organization, the board membership of those members will be automatically terminated. If the number of real board members then becomes less than three, then the arbitrator will work with the parties to identify and appoint a sufficient number of board members.”

The next day, Farag, Ayoub, Mandourah and Islam announced their acceptance of the above offer made by Saqr and Saleh. Soon after that all disputed members each deposited $500 with Attorney Omar Tarazi to start the process. Unfortunately theses efforts shortly collapsed (we will cover that in a future posting) and the issue headed to court.

My personal thoughts

Had Br. Hany Saqr agreed, from the beginning to a binding arbitration by the above mentioned respected resolution committee of Muslims back in October of 2009, Noor Saga could have been solved six month ago, tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees could have been saved, the present division of the community could have been prevented and hundreds of wasted hours could have been used for the benefit of the community.

I believe the larger Muslim community in general, the 35 or so members of the Noor community committee, and the resolution committee in particular, failed to at least exercise enough pressure on all parties, particularly on Br. Saqr to accept the binding arbitration. Saqr’s request that Farag produce any evidence before Saqr committed to a binding arbitration was illogical, and against the concept of arbitration. In binding arbitration you agree on the arbitrator(s) and the issue(s) to be arbitrated first. Then the arbitrator(s) set up the ground rules for the arbitration and proceeds.

I hope and pray that the larger Muslim community, the Noor community, and the newly appointed AIW board members will do a better job by asking privately and publicly for Br. Saqr to resign. They also need to declare themselves as transitional board members and appoint an independent constitution committee to start the true organizational reform. Otherwise, we the Muslim community in central Ohio, will be repeating the same experiment and expecting a different result!

AIW Board of Directors Communiqué June 6, 2010

American Islamic Waqf (AIW)

Board of Directors Communiqué

June 6, 2010

Dear NOOR Community Members:

Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatu Allah Wabarakatu

This is the second correspondence sent on behalf of the newly appointed Board of Directors ("BOD") of the American Islamic Waqf ("AIW"). We hope that this correspondence finds you and your family in the best of health and happiness, inshallah.

The BOD met at length on Friday, June 4, 2010. This correspondence is meant to update the community on the most pressing issues discussed at that meeting. These issues include: i) the matter regarding missing funds; ii) the status of founder BOD member Br. Amgad Saleh; and iii) the status of the air conditioning at the Masjid.

1. The Matter Regarding Missing Funds

This matter was discussed extensively at the most recent BOD meeting. Based upon the evidence presented, which included a financial report from the accounting firm that reviewed transactions between AIW and Silver Development & Construction, Ltd., the BOD has determined that there is no evidence of missing funds and that the previous AIW treasurer was not engaged in any behavior intended to defraud the organization.

2. The Status of Br. Amgad Saleh

Br. Amgad Saleh officially resigned as a member of the BOD at the June 4, 2010 BOD meeting. Br. Saleh served as a member of the BOD since AIW's inception, and the BOD would like to take this opportunity to thank Br. Saleh for his leadership and contribution during every stage of Masjid Noor's development. Without Br. Saleh's shared vision with the original BOD members, the Masjid that we have all come to love and endear would not exist. Br. Saleh has graciously agreed to serve as an honorary advisor to the BOD, as his institutional insight is invaluable to the newly appointed BOD.

3. Status of Air Conditioning

The BOD has been working very diligently to identify and schedule contractors to repair the air conditioning system at NICC for the last 2 weeks. As of Monday, Jun 7, 2010, the unit was repaired and is functioning normally. Br. Saad Bargout has been instrumental in helping rectify the issue and the BOD wishes to thank him for his efforts.

Suggestions for a way forward By Asma Mobin-Uddin June 1, 2010

Salaam,
I received the recent communication from the newly appointed “board” at AIW/NICC and I appreciate that the people involved are sincerely trying their best to help the organization. However, you must understand that the MODEL of leadership and how one attains such a position must be immediately legitimized and stabilized for the future of AIW/NICC. For the community to continue to accept this paternalistic- appointed-without-community-say model of instituting leadership because some person thinks they know best for everyone is not valid or acceptable.

To be invested in an organization and motivated and inspired to take that organization to its fullest heights, people need to really be a part of the decision-making and have a real sense of ownership and empowerment. They need to feel that the leadership represents them and is fair, and they need paths by which to make changes when they see wrongs being done. Responsible leadership is a group of people legitimized and entrusted by the community who bring their shared experience and wisdom to the table and forge a common path based on the greater good in their collective opinion.

My comments are not a personal reflection on the people appointed. (Masha’allah, of the people I know on the list, I would have likely voted for each of you and I appreciate the talents and sincerity you bring). But a foundation built on inappropriate materials does not provide good support for the structure. And I am talking about the MODEL of instituting leadership. For people to accept the path by which the current “board” was appointed is to leave the way open for our children to be having this same issue with board members appointed because of someone’s whim. The end does not justify the means. If the current board was elected, I would be so happy to have them (except for the sister issue which will be mentioned below). But to have the same people appointed in the current manner is simply not appropriate and belies what you say you are doing to move the organization forward.

I would like to give my personal suggestions and feedback in the areas of board status, elections, term limits, sister-participation, bylaws, current board member status and grievance committee development below.

Interim board status
- The current board should make clear to the community that its mandate is to be a transitional or interim board that will function to stabilize the organization and address some of the pressing issues in the next 6-8 months. At the end of this time period, elections must be held for a majority of the board positions. It might be necessary to retain part of the board by the majority vote of the current leadership if they are in a vital capacity that might not be met by a community vote – like a person with the financial background to be treasurer, or a person with legal background, etc. But the balance of appointed and elected members must be one that reflects community empowerment and not token positions.

Elections
– Having a step process for elections will be useful in coming up with a streamlined list of candidates that are to be voted on. It will not work well to dilute the vote to have people voting on a large number of people so the ones who get the most votes are only getting 10%, etc. You may need an initial vote to select the short list or something and then have people re-vote on the short list. There are many models for having such elections and I am sure you can find a good one. The point to remember is that this will be a very sensitive and scrutinized step, so you want to make sure the model you choose will work well for our particular situation and that people cannot undermine the process.

On another note, when the board composition is finalized, it may be useful to have the final board elect its own officers including the chair. That will give the head more legitimacy in the eyes of the board and community than an appointed head.

Membership
– In order to have valid elections, you will need a way to determine who can vote in NICC elections. You want to find a way to allow the real community of NICC to have a voice without making it easy for small groups or people to rally a lot of their friends who are not usually part of the NICC community to come and “vote” and perhaps install a person that is just bent on their own interests and who has not demonstrated commitment to working for the benefit of the community. So how do you prevent this from happening? Other communities have used a dues-paying status (if you pay your dues on time, you get a vote) and this might be needed. The dues should be large enough to prevent the scenario I mentioned (a person bringing one hundred people to each pay $10 and vote) but also be low enough to include the members of our community who are less well-off. You can consider if a donation of time counts, but it should be remembered that there were a lot of political reasons for why people may or may not have volunteered for NICC in the past. Personally, I think a dues paying criteria would be a reasonable one for membership and voting.

Term limits.
– There need to be term limits for every board member and a healthy turn-over to bring new energy and ideas in. I suggest you consider three years as one term with an option to be re-elected once as a good way to balance maintaining the wisdom and experience of the board and bringing in and training new people. Staggering the turn-over also helps maintain continuity.

Sisters
-When I mentioned that it was not acceptable to have no sisters on the newly appointed board, I heard back from three different people, including the email sent out that represents the whole new group, saying that the plan was to appoint two sisters. That is a start, but the manner in which this is being accomplished is completely unacceptable again. If you are serious about including sisters in your decision-making process and board, how dare you announce the leadership so far to the community, have meetings, send out community announcements about what you have accomplished so far, and yet not have the courtesy to include even one sister in this process, much less two? Are you telling me that out of 80,000 Muslims in central Ohio, assuming half are sisters and assume even maybe one tenth of these are adults, that out of these 4,000 candidates, you could not find two to include in your first meeting? During the meeting, decisions have been made, leadership posts have already been appointed, and people have started to work together, gotten to meet and know each other, etc. It is putting someone behind in all of this when they are not included from the beginning. So do not tell us that sisters are not an after thought or are part of the process. Show us. You absolutely should not have had the announcement or the first board meeting without sister representation. This needs to be rectified immediately, and definitely before the next meeting or group interaction.

Bylaws
– It should be obvious, but I will say it anyway. Whoever is working on bylaws should do their research and bring samples of existing bylaws from Muslim and nonMuslim organizations, for-profit and not-for-profit and nonprofit organizations to look at existing structures. No need to reinvent the wheel. You can consider modifying an existing bylaw structure for your purposes. But do not limit your research to masjids in America. We need to have a vision for the organization beyond what models American masjids have shown to date. The legal advice on this will be invaluable. Checks and balances to power are vital. No board members should be able to hijack the entire board’s progress by one or two votes on something. You might even consider circulating your bylaws drafts to other community members for feedback before adopting. Let’s make NICC a model for other communities in America and set the tone so other organizations can learn from us. This will take a lot of work to avoid shortcuts initially, but will be well worth the effort if done appropriately.

Current previous board member status.
– The status of the 2 or 3 previous board members (Imam Hany, Br. Khaled, and Br. Amjad) must be dealt with immediately. This will give legitimacy to the current leadership and help the community come together and heal if dealt with in a way the community accepts. I initially felt that the initial 3 board members should have the option like everyone else to be nominated for an elected position in the elections that should be held after the interim period. Their contributions, experience, and effort are known and valued by the community. However, watching recent events, I have come to the sad conclusion that these brothers will not be able to work together or be able to overcome the past issues which have divided the community. So now my opinion is that they should be relegated to advisory status (no vote, consultation only) and NOT have the option to be elected to a voting position on the board. I am sad to have come to this conclusion, but I see no other way to move forward.

Grievance committee
-With all the issues going on, it would be useful to have an official process and policy on how grievances in the community will be addressed. If people feel there is a fair process for their concerns to be heard, they will be patient and use the process as long as they trust it and feel it is fair. If they feel there is no process to having their voices heard and no hope for change, they will riot. Give people a fair way to approach the masjid with concerns and you will help stabilize the community’s reactions to your work.

These are my suggestions as a community member who loves NICC and wants my kids to attend the masjid with love and hope - for their deen and their relationship with Allah (swt), not cynicism and frustration at what happens there. What you do will affect which way the balance tips. May Allah (swt) purify our hearts and intentions and take us to the right path forward, insha’allah.

Salaam,
Asma Mobin-Uddin

A Message from AIW Board of Directors By Adil Katabay, Chairman June 1, 2010.

Dear NOOR Community Members:

Assalamu Alikum warahmatu Allah wabarakatu

"And hold fast to the rope of Allah, all of you together, and do not be divided" [Al-Imran, 3:103]
May Allah’s peace and blessing be upon the prophet Mohammad (pbuh) and his family

This is the first of many correspondences that will be submitted by the newly structured Board of Directors (“BOD”) of the American Islamic Waqf (“AIW”) to our dear respected brothers and sisters of the Noor community. We thank you in advance for reading this correspondence.
First, we’d like to provide you with an update on the newly structured BOD. The newly structured BOD consists, at present, of twelve members. Two of the members are pre-existing BOD members, and ten new members have been added to the BOD in accordance with the processes and requirements of the bylaws of AIW. The ten new members who have been added are quite diverse and bring their own experiences to the BOD, inshaallah to the betterment of AIW and NICC. Our newest members of the BOD come from all corners of the Muslim world. Some have been active in the community for decades, while others are beginning to make their mark. We have added doctors, a lawyer, engineers, and other professionals to the BOD – all with their own intelligence and brilliance to support our NICC and this community.

The BOD is fully aware of the lack of sisters on the newly structured BOD. The BOD has the intention, and has always had the intention, of adding at least two sisters to the BOD. The BOD will be requesting their appointment very soon. Eventually, the BOD will be expanded to include fifteen members in total. The BOD will also establish an executive committee to be selected from amongst active members of our community in order to oversee the daily operations of NICC.

The BOD had its first meeting this past Friday, and what became abundantly clear is that these individuals are, in essence, individuals. Many important issues were discussed regarding NICC, and many differing opinions were expressed. Each BOD member brings his own set of skills, experiences, and intelligence to the BOD, and productive diversity of opinion was undoubtedly the “norm” at our first meeting.

Now, while the BOD consists of individuals with varying opinions, what also became abundantly clear at the first meeting was that each of these individuals expressed opinions that pertain only to the betterment of NICC. These individuals, the new BOD, are committed and will work tirelessly for this community to ensure the stability, now and in the future, of NICC. This is not an easy task to take on, and the responsibility is great. In speaking from a purely business perspective, this is a multi-million dollar nonprofit trust that must be managed with intelligence and precision. Much more important than this though is the fact that NICC serves as a beacon of light to all Muslims in the Central Ohio community, and is of primary importance to our children, our children’s children, and generations to come. The responsibility could not be greater, the task at hand could not be more important.

Many newly appointed members to the BOD reluctantly accepted their new responsibilities as Board members for very obvious reasons. These recent times have been challenging for the community, and the notion of succeeding the previous Board is not a concept that many of our newly appointed BOD members were terribly fond of.

We ask that you truly analyze the situation my dear brothers and sisters. Each newly appointed BOD member knew that he would be under extreme scrutiny upon accepting his nomination to the BOD. It is important to ask “why” these brothers would sacrifice time with their families and from their professions, knowing that they would be highly scrutinized immediately upon acceptance of their nominations. The answer is simple, and it is of fundamental important to recognize - each of these newly appointed BOD members accepted their nominations because of how important the task at hand is. They could not turn away. It is not politics that has brought this group together, rather, a sense of responsibility and a call to duty. The newly appointed brothers were not part of the primary conflict that this community has endured over the past year. Rather, they were chosen to heal this community and stabilize an institution that this community loves and cherishes. It is with this mindset that the new BOD will proceed: a call to duty that cannot be ignored.

The new BOD will proceed being constantly mindful of the past, and of the circumstances that have splintered this great community. The newly structured BOD would be remiss if it did not recognize that the very existence of NICC is due to the efforts of the original four Board of Directors of AIW, and this, of course, includes Br. Khaled Farag. Br. Farag was one of the driving forces behind the construction of NICC, and without his vision and leadership, NICC that we have all come to love and endear would not exist. Br. Farag, we thank you. And not only do we thank you, but we posit to you that NICC and this community needs you. You are respected, loved, and your presence at NICC and in this community is vital.

To Br. Hassan Ayyoub, Ashraf Mandourah, and Br. Mufakkarul Islam, and to all who have contributed to the success of the NICC center in any capacity, we thank you very much. You are respected, loved, and your presence at NICC and in this community is also extremely vital.

Now, a fair question to ask is “where do we go from here?” The answer is actually quite simple. We get to work. We work to keep the institution's doors open, and we work to keep the institution financially stable and finally pay off NICC's debts so that our children, and our children's children, will always have their beacon of light and hope. We work to bring stability back to an institution that is important to all of us. We work to continue the tremendous outreach and programming efforts. We work…tirelessly.

We humbly ask for the community's blessings as we proceed down this path. Please give us strength.

Responsibilities / Logistical Matters
The responsibilities of the BOD are to carry the mission of the organization as envisioned by the founders of this organization:
1. To develop and operate and/or promote the development/operation of Islamic cultural institutions such as schools, relief organizations, universities, hospitals, broadcast stations, community centers, cultural centers, museums, mosques, cemeteries, and other institutions that serve the Muslim community in the United States and world wide.
2. To educate the general population in the United States and in central Ohio in particular about the Islamic culture and Islamic values.
3. To serve the needs of all the sectors of the Muslim community (adults, youth, children, men and women).
4. To assure that the understanding and practice of Islam and Islamic values are according to the teachings of the Qur'an and the way (Sunnah) of the seal of all Prophets Mohammed (pbuh) and understanding of the main stream Muslims.
5. To facilitate humanitarian and relief efforts for people of all faiths.
6. To provide social and counseling services and assistance to needy and disadvantaged Americans.

We would also like to make very clear to our dear community that AIW and the Noor Islamic Cultural Center are an Islamic Waqf (Trust) and belong to no "private" individuals or foundations. All your donations go to the operating expenses, debt obligations and staff salaries. No board member will receive monetary compensation for his voluntary service on the board.

Moving Forward:

With the help of Allah, dedicated board, committees, volunteers, and community members, Noor will be a vibrant community, energetic, passionate, and forward thinking. Ours will be a place where we find connection, meaning, and a sense of purpose that carries over into all aspects of our lives. Our Masjid will nurture and inspire us to live rich lives of dedication, compassion, and commitment to one another and to the larger world – where we will all feel we belong to. We will treat one another with respect, love, and compassion. We will be committed to building an enduring community, supporting one another and those who will come after us.

NOOR Children:
We are a family-friendly congregation, welcoming families of all kinds.
We will create enriching spaces and programs in which our children can grow and thrive, and we will learn the lessons that they teach us.
In the process of raising spiritually healthy children, we will continue to support parents and ensure that they can actively participate in our community.

Our Youth:
Our youth are an integral and vital part of our community, where they can express themselves in an open, non-judgmental environment.
We will support them in pursuing their unique dreams and aspirations.
We will provide them with leadership opportunities and, in return, receive the unique gifts they have to offer.
We will help them bridge the gap and foster their continuation into young adult and adulthood.

Our Elders:
We will draw on the wisdom of our elders, learning from them individually and as a community.
We will care for our elders, in health and in illness, and help them prepare for life transitions that come with aging.
We will address the limitations of age and make our programs and services accessible.

Outreach:
Our outreach efforts are very important to spread the knowledge of Islamic Faith (dawa) and Culture to our non-Muslim neighbors, colleagues, and community at large.
We have to clarify what Islam truly is.
Our interfaith dialogue and connections are important for building bridges of understanding, respect, and trust amongst various faiths.
Let us create a climate of security and abundance through effective use of our resources (leadership, volunteers, staff, finances, communications, and property). Without your support and the hard work forward, none of these can be achieved.

Governance:
Our BOD is empowered to conduct our affairs through policy development, community consultation, and long-range planning. The BOD's policy actions will be reflecting the concerns of the community and BOD decisions will be implemented by staff and volunteers involved in all aspects of community life

Our organizational structure will effectively support the work of the center.

Volunteers:
Volunteering will be a spiritual practice that will help our members feel useful, connected, and enjoy a sense of achievement.
We will look to our adult members to take responsibility for the governance, program design and delivery, and resource management of our community. Youth and elders will have the opportunity to participate and contribute as fully as possible.
We will encourage members of the community to take on leadership roles as they are able.
As a volunteer organization, we will expect members to serve as well as being served.

Staff
We will treat our staff with respect, offer competitive wages and benefits, and provide opportunities for personal and professional development.
Our staff will be expanded as our needs demand.

Finances
We will expect members to contribute financially to the best of their ability to build an enduring community and to make a difference in the world.
We will operate in a fiscally sound manner.

Communications
We will communicate information, ideas, and initiatives to our community quickly and effectively.
Our external communications will enhance our image, support our vision and attract an increasing number of visitors.

As you can see, your positive support and dedication to this organization are not only required but a solemn duty. What you put into it is what you get. All have to do their share. Your board of directors will be happy to receive your suggestions, comments, and ideas in an objective and courteous way. May Allah help us to carry this responsibility and guide us to the straight path. Amen.

On behalf of the AIW board of directors,
Adil Katabay, Chairman


Members of the Board of Directors of AIW
Br. Adil Katabay, Chairman: Katabay’s father is from Ethiopia and his mother's father is from Yemen. Born in Saudi Arabia. Moved to the U.S. in 1985. Attended medical school at University of Wisconsin, Residency in Anesthesiology at University of Minnesota, Pain Fellowship at Harvard. Practicing interventional pain management in private practice in Westerville, Hilliard and Marion. Married and have five children. Lives near NICC.
Br. Mohammad Arif, Treasurer: Arif has a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from Afghanistan and he came to Illinois in 1985. He received his Master degree in Accounting from University of Illinois at Springfield, Illinois in 1990. Since his graduation he has been working as a financial auditor and then IT auditor. He moved to Ohio in June 2004. He has served one term as President of Islamic Society of Greater Springfield, two terms as treasurer and many years Sunday School Principle in Springfield, Illinois. Since he moved to Ohio he started teaching at Noor Academy Sunday School and serve as a vice principle.
Br. Jamal Sadoun, Secretary: Sadoun moved to the USA from Jordan in 1985. Graduated from University of Toledo in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. Worked in manufacturing engineering with General Motors, General Electric and other companies for over 12 years. Sadoun owns and operates satellite TV systems and solar energy products business with contract manufacturing in Asia. Sadoun has been involved with NICC in his capacity as a past chairman of NOOR Outreach committee.
Br. Abdulrahman Ahmed: Born in Somalia Graduated from Somali University, Veterinary Medicine with post graduate in Immunology and Biochemistry. Lived in Kuwait from 1980 to 2003. Married with three children. Self-Employed.
Br. Abukar Arman: From Somalia. Married with four children. Been living in the US since 1980. Moved to Columbus in 1994. Have been active in the community. Served on various boards and other essential committees for Muslim and non-Muslim organizations in Central Ohio.
Br. Saad Barghout, P.E.: Barghout has earned a P.E., LEED AP, and a Masters Degree in Construction Management and Engineering Technology. He moved from Egypt to the United States in 1995 and has been living in Columbus since 1998. Saad has 3 kids, 2 girls and a son, who was born in Columbus. He served the Muslim Community for many years throughout different roles and various organizations.
Br. Rehan Chawdry: Chawdry currently works for a Dublin, OH based software firm as the company's Integrated Justice Practice Leader. He was born in Pakistan and arrived with his family in Columbus, OH in 1980. His primary education has come through the local school system in Hilliard, OH and ultimately at the Ohio State University, where he earned his Bachelor of Science degrees in 1994. His Islamic education also began in Columbus as a student of the Islamic Foundation of Central Ohio school. He currently serves on the NOOR Academy Sunday School Board and functions as the current PTA President.
Br. Asim Haque, Esq: Haque was born here in Columbus and is the proud son of the Columbus Muslim Community, the weekend school at the Islamic Foundation of Central Ohio, and two very loving parents who have been active in the Columbus Muslim community for decades. Asim has excelled at every level of his educational background, most recently as a graduate of the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, where he received his Juris Doctorate. Asim has been involved with NICC in his capacity as a Board Member of the Noor Academy Sunday School since the School's inception.
Br. Inam Khokhar: Khokhar was born in Pakistan and earned his PhD. in Applied Electrochemistry from The Royal Institute of Stockholm, Sweden. He lived in Columbus between 1970-80, worked in Saudi Arabia for 13 years followed by 4 years stay in Lahore, Pakistan. In 1997 he returned back to join the Columbus community and since then is living here. He has 2 sons, both born in Columbus, graduated from Ohio State University and currently living in Columbus. Since 1998 he has served AIW in different roles and Port Columbus Interfaith Services as a Board member. He is listed in “Marquis Who Is Who In America.
Br. Jamal Naiyer: Born in India, came to Columbus Ohio in September 1985, married and have two children, work at Ohio EPA Lab.
Br. Amgad Saleh: An AIW Founding member. Born in Cairo, Egypt. Moved to the U.S. March 1990... received M.Sc. and Ph.D from the Ohio State University, Columbus, OH. Married and have 3 sons all born in Columbus, OH. Work at Alcatel-Lucent/Bell Labs in Naperville as a Software Analyst. Member of the Alcatel-Lucent Technical Academy.
Br. Hany Saqr: Saqr had his MD degree from Egypt. He came to Columbus in 1983. He had his MS and Ph.D from OSU. He co-founded ISGC, Sunrise Academy, AIW and NICC. He worked as Imam of IFCO for 19 years. He is now serving as a board member of several organizations.

Fitnah - An Oft-Used Misused Word

Br. Abdul Aburmaieleh tried to work with all parties to resolve the Noor Saga. But when he expressed the community frustration with Br. Hany Saqr, within hours he was rebuked:
" I do not know how you became all of sudden a Noor community leader and if I do not listen to your suggestions I stand against the community. Your only major role in noor community is your role in this fitnah", Saqr wrote.

Sister Zerqa, on March 31, 2009, posted the first article about Noor Islamic Cultural Center where she listed major flaws in the AIW administration and raised serious concerns about the leadership. As a result she was accused of being a liar, an upset ex-employee, a slanderer, a woman with emotional problems and a fitnah (chaos) creator.

It is an obligation on all Muslims to enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong. When we abandon that we are no longer the "Khayra Ummaten" (the best of nations).

"Anybody amongst you who notices something evil, should correct it with his own hands, and if he is unable to do so he should prohibit the same with his tongue; if he is unable even to do this, he should at least consider it as bad in his heart; this is the lowest degree of faith" (Prophet Mohammad S.A.W)

But whenever someone speaks up to express a concern about something wrong in our mosques, people attack them. Don't spread fitnah! This response is particularly popular among the leadership.

So what is fitnah exactly and how are we limited in calling for correction from our leaders?

Arabic definition of Fitnah:

Al-Azhari said: “The Arabic word fitnah includes meanings of testing and trial. The root is taken from the phrase fatantu al-fiddah wa’l-dhahab (I tested the quality of the silver and gold), meaning I melted the metals to separate the bad from the good.(Lisaan al-Arab by Ibn Manzoor).

Ibn al-A’raabi summed up the meanings of fitnah when he said: “Fitnah means testing, fitnah means trial, fitnah means wealth, fitnah means children, fitnah means disbelieve, fitnah means differences of opinion among people, fitnah means burning with fire.” (Lisaan al-‘Arab by Ibn Manzoor).

Meanings of the word Fitnah in Qur'an

There are 11 variations on the use of the word in the Quran. The more relevant ones are:

1- Testing and trial
“Do people think that they will be left alone because they say: ‘We believe, and will not be tested [la yuftanoon]” [al-‘Ankaboot 29:2]

2- Blocking the way and turning people away:
“but beware of them lest they turn you [yaftinooka] (O Muhammad) far away from some of that which Allah has sent down to you” [al-Maa’idah 5:49]

3- Persecution (Put to trial) :
“Then, verily, your Lord for those who emigrated after they had been put to trials [futinoo] and thereafter strove hard and fought (for the Cause of Allah) and were patient, verily, your Lord afterward is, Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful” [al-Nahl 16:110]

4- Falling into sin and hypocrisy:
“(The hypocrites) will call the believers: “Were we not with you?” The believers will reply: “Yes! But you led yourselves into temptations [fatantum anfusakum], you looked forward for our destruction; you doubted (in Faith) and you were deceived by false desires” [al-Hadeed 57:14]

5- Confusing truth with falsehood:
“And those who disbelieve are allies of one another, (and) if you (Muslims) do not do so [i.e. become allies, as one Ummah], there will be Fitnah (truth will be confused with falsehood) and oppression on the earth, and a great mischief and corruption” [al-Anfaal 8:73]

6- Difference among people and lack of agreement:
“and they would have hurried about in your midst (spreading corruption) and sowing sedition among you [yabghoonakum al-fitnah]” [al-Tawbah 9:47] (i.e. they would have stirred up differences amongst you).

This last meaning is generally used to confuse people and sway them away from enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong.

"Among them is (many) a man who says: grant me exemption and draw me not into a trial (Wa La taftenny). Have they not fallen into trial (Fitnah) already" (al-Tawba 9:49).

This verse was revealed when a man asked the prophet (S.A.W) to grant him exemption from service in the Tabuk expedition in the direction of Syria on the plea that he could not withstand the charm of Syrian women. The answer is: but you have already fallen into fitnah by refusing to answer the call.

This is running away from a fitnah that did not happen and may or may not happen. But a fitnah has already occurred, as the lack of agreement among people who were called to go to Tabuk. This is exactly the case when we chose to stay on the sidelines by fear of potential fitnah if we speak up.

There are specific rules for enjoining the right and forbidding the wrong, that it be done without falling into some of the other forms of fitnah. To avoid falling into sin and hypocrisy, confusing truth with falsehood, and persecuting others, you should have the intention to please Allah (S.W.T.) and not be looking for your own pride, or for power, or to speak with bad intentions to harm someone else. Speak the truth as you understand it, knowing that you may be corrected by others and knowing that Allah alone knows the real truth. Speak to help fix the problem. Don't just go to friends to talk and smear the reputations of people and institutions for some distorted form of "fun" from mocking, which is a sure form of arrogance. Stay away from slander and spreading rumors, but speaking up to correct error is an obligation.

But there will always be some fitnah, because life is about trial and tests here. We will always have disagreements and need correction from time to time. Paradise is after this life, Inshallah.

As this Noor Saga continues to unfold, have you discharged your duty to Allah (S.W.T)? If at the end, God forbid, something terrible happens to Masjid Al-Noor, then what are you going to respond to Allah when asked, "What have you done to help during this trial?"

"It was a fitnah so I stayed away from it! I didn't want to hurt the feelings of my brothers! I was afraid to be accused of adding fuel to the fire! I did not want to be called fitnah creator. I wanted to be neutral! Madakhalny (none of my business)."

Allah (S.W.T) said: "And fear fitnatan (the trial) which affects not in particular (only) those of you who do wrong: And know that Allah Is Strict in punishment." (al-Anfal 8:25).

So why is it that the punishment extends to those who did not do wrong? It is partly that those who do wrong hurt others. But for many responsible people among them, it is also because they did not discharge their duty to Allah (S.W.T).

But on the other hand, those who discharge their duty to Allah (S.W.T) will be rescued:
"When they disregarded the warnings that had been given to them, we rescued those who forbade evil; but We visited the wrong-doers with a grievous punishment, because they were given to transgression." (al-Araf 7:165).

First Caliphs legacy on this issue

After giving praise and thanks to Allah (SWT), Sayidna Abu Bakr (ra) addressed the Muslims gathered at the Prophet’s mosque right after he became the first caliph and said:

"I have been given the authority over you, and I am not the best of you. If I do well, help me; and if I do wrong, set me right. Sincere regard for truth is loyalty and disregard for truth is treachery".

Sayidna Omar (ra) used to say: "Don't say the opinion that pleases me, but say the opinion that matches the truth."

Huzayfa (ra) visited him one day and found him depressed and crying. "What is wrong with you?" Huzayfa asked him. "I'm afraid if I make a mistake none of you will correct me", Omar replied. Then Huzayfa said, "By Allah if we find you deviating from the truth, we will force you back to it". Then Omar became happy and said, "Thank Allah, He Who gave me friends who will set me right if I do wrong."

Finally

I hope we learn from these formidable examples.

If someone says, "Why do you speak up when no one will listen, or you will only get yourself into trouble?"

"When some of them said: Why do you preach to a people whom Allah will destroy or visit with a terrible punishment?- Said the preachers: To discharge our duty to your Lord and perchance they may fear Him" (al-Araf 7:164)

We need to encourage everyone to speak up, freely, politely within the Islamic manners. We have a new powerful tool of the internet (e-mail, blogs, etc.) and we need to learn to use it responsibly. And we always have the well known format of the community meeting to discuss our issues and give our leaders advice and information needed to guide our community responsibly. We need to learn to work together with disagreements and discussion toward our common goals.

Noor Saga- $50K For No Court Decision

On April 30, 2010, Magistrate Thompson released a decision lifting the restraining order against Hany Saqr. This led to confusion in the community. In what follows below I will attempt to highlight the important parts of the magistrate's 22 page decision. I just want to remind the reader that the issue before magistrate Thompson was only the Plaintiff’s Motion for a Preliminary Injunction. This means that the Plaintiff (American Islamic WAQF, Farag et al) asked the court to keep the restraining order against the Defendant (Hany Saqr) in place until the court ruled on the whole complain several months down the road. It was not a decision about who was a board member.

According to the magistrate, the longstanding view is that a preliminary injunction is “an extraordinary remedy” and it requires a substantial burden on the part of the moving party.

He wrote, " Based on the Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law the Magistrate finds that Plaintiff has failed to demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence a likelihood that it will prevail on the merits of its causes of action for declaratory judgment, that Plaintiff has failed to establish by clear and convincing evidence that it will suffer irreparable harm if the injunction is not issued, that Defendant successfully demonstrated that numerous parties outside of the litigants in this action would be prejudiced or adversely affected and lastly, that the public interest would not be impacted by the expiration of the Temporary Restraining Order . Therefore the magistrate denied the Plaintiff’s request and corresponding motion for a preliminary injunction." This only means that the restraining order against the Defendant is lifted but the case would continue to go to trial as scheduled with Judge Fais.

To arrive to this decision the parties spend close to a revised estimate of $50,000, which, according to court testimony, was their own personal money, not the money of the organization.

Most of the hearing centered on whether the "disputed board members" were true Board members of AIW or members of NICC board. The Defendant claimed that these "disputed board members" were invited as guests to these AIW board meetings. On this point here is what the magistrate concluded:

"Upon review of all the evidence, the Magistrate finds that it is clear that AIW only maintained one managerial Board of Directors, and the disputed board members did not sit on a separate NICC Board. Accordingly, the meetings of the BOD, AIW Board of Directors, and NICC are one and the same. "

" Nevertheless, the disputed board members would almost have to be classified as permanent guests or attendees at such meetings in order to justify the degree of their participation."

"There is no question that each of these individuals played a significant leadership role for the organization and were routinely extended authority from the AIW Board to perform duties and make decisions"

"In each of these instances, not only were the disputed board members copied with the meeting agenda and minutes, but they appear to have participated and acted like Board members during the meetings themselves."

In reality these disputed board members have participated and voted for more than three years, in important decisions regarding the organization and NICC (addressing finances, hiring/firing of employees, binding the organization in a loan in excess of $1,000,000.00). For the most part, there was no evidence produced that the AIW Board took any formal Board action to approve their membership to AIW Board. Equally, there was no evidence produced that these disputed board members were appointed to NICC board.

"Defendant claimed to be aware of many e-mails concerning AIW Board matters that were only circulated to the three original Board members, but he did not have them available at the hearing."

The Magistrate concludes that "no action, resolution, minutes, agenda, writing, correspondence or vote was undertaking by the AIW Board on this issue".

Most of the findings (court testimony and exhibits) discussed in this 26 page ruling were presented on this blog in a previous posting. Here are some of the new passages in this ruling:

" In spite of his testimony to the contrary, Mr. Saqr denied ever taking any action to correct these writings by questioning why non-AIW Board members have been included or why NICC Board members are participating in traditional functions of the AIW Board"

"When Mr. Saqr was questioned as to why he took steps to register NICC, he answered that he was the one that originally selected that name and developed its national recognition."

"It appears that the present controversy between the parties arose as a consequence of Mr. Saqr’s continuing scrutiny of Mr. Farag’s handling of AIW’s financial affairs, as well as Defendant’s desire to be considered for the vacant Executive Director position."

"At the same time, there was no persuasive evidence that Mr. Farag actually converted any funds belonging to AIW, but rather, he performed his duties as Treasurer in a manner that may have raised flags or be perceived with question marks to others outside of the Board "

"It was demonstrated that Defendant reacted unfavorably when informed that he was not selected to assume the vacant role as AIW Executive Director. Such a development in turn caused Saqr to question how this particular AIW Board decision was made and resulted in resentment toward Mr. Farag, as well as the others."

" It was Saleh’s contention that if the preliminary injunction is denied, the AIW Board should meet to resolve all issues, address its finances, and approve new members."

" If allowed to return, Saqr insisted that the others, referring to the disputed board members and Mr. Farag, will still participate as before, with all of them working toward the best interest of the organization."

The Magistrate encouraged the parties to resolve this dispute internally.

" This dilemma appears to call for an overture on the part of the parties to bridge the gap surrounding their differences and/or mediate the dispute for the greater good of the community once the TWO expires, given the potential damage resulting from protracted litigation."

Saqr and some others understood the magistrate decision as declaring the disputed board members as "Illegal" and called for their resignation, while in reality this was simply lifting the TRO. The legality of these disputed board members and the complaint would have to be determined later by a jury.

The next day Hassan Ayoub sent an update to the community and asked Saqr to fulfill the promise he made in court to come and work with the existing BOD. The same day Khaled Farag sent a similar invitation to Saqr, to attend the BOD meeting the next day. Unfortunately, Saqr refused to attend any such meetings.

On Monday May 3, 2010 Hassan Ayoub announced the resignation of the disputed board members and wrote his own personal reflection:

" I was warned by many with much better foresight than my own. Alas, I was too naive to comprehend the master plan behind the deliberate ambiguity. Our leaders have unfortunately fallen into the modus operandi of operating in the grey area. An area where one can always have his cake and eat it too, depending of course on the mood or the circumstance.

As many of you know, we were introduced as AIW BOD, we signed checks as AIW BOD, and we signed contracts as AIW BOD. We even hired staff and interacted with them as AIW BOD. For four years these actions were never questioned even once. In my humble opinion, we were just used as shields against community criticism. When questioned why there were only two board members, the answer was always "What are you talking about? These are all board members.", pointing to the now infamous "disputed members." We were used to give credibility and cover for million dollar loans. (which may need to be redone since there were obviously misrepresentations and possible deception involved).

At the end we were misused, lied to and deceived. It was all a ruse, a trick, a giant deception perpetrated against brothers and fellow Muslims. There was always an extra card up the sleeve waiting to be played at the opportune moment. Our time, effort, and trust were taken advantage of. The sad part, and more importantly, is that the community was also deceived. When needed we were board. When it became inconvenient, or someone's position and authority was threatened we were tossed aside. No amount of spin can ever change this fact.

However it is not all bad. By the grace of Allah this charade has been exposed. No longer can we go back to the days of one-man rule with rubber stamps in faraway lands. No longer can we work in the "grey area." As evident from this very expensive lesson, everything must be properly documented and agreed upon to be valid. All procedures must be strictly adhered to and all future appointments must have documented approval. No longer can we follow some of the rules, and bylaws and throw others, when inconvenient, to the side.

Also by the grace of Allah some very irrational and destructive individuals have been exposed before they could entrench themselves in the community and cause long term damage. We must take a lesson from this and never forget what certain individuals did.

In the end there were many opportunities for character assassination and dirty tactics, and some had much more baggage to exploit than others. I am happy that at least one side took the higher ground and refused to stoop so low. I am also happy that the court after reviewing many of the worst accusations and malicious rumors exonerated one of the most slandered servants of this community. I hope next time this happens so many community members will resist the temptation to remain seated silently on the sidelines as mere spectators, while innocent people are maligned.

I will continue to pray for the leadership of this community, and for Allah to grant them the wisdom and unselfishness to do what is best even if it be against their own selves. I will do what I can to support this organization and encourage others to support it, and Inshallah support whatever leadership emerges. I will, however, be a vocal critique when I notice injustice and wrong. Ultimately, to Allah we belong and to him we shall all return, and to him will be the final judgment. Hasbi Allahu wa ni'mal wakeel."

Sadly enough, only a very few people publicly thanked Ayoub and the others for their years of services. I would like for the history to mention that Br. Hassan Ayoub supported, with his time, knowledge and money, this NICC project from the very beginning. To Hassan and the others, I simply say: Jazakumallahu Khayran and may HE forgive all of us for our shortcoming.

In summary:

For $50,000 in court and attorney fees this magistrate recommendation was received but became empty of any legal meaning, because the case was withdrawn.

And The Saga Continues.

Community Forum on the Governance of Masjid Al-Noor

Assalamu Alukum Wa Rahmatullahi Wabarakato

I invite each and every one of you to participate in this discussion in order to have a clear idea of what you would like to see as a governance system at Masjid Al-Noor. Here is one of the latest e-mail that went out to the community:

Br. Khaled Farag wrote on Fri, 7 May 2010:

"Dear Br. Hany:

CC Masgid Al-Noor Community

Assalamu Alikum Wa Rahmatu Alla.

First, you need to understand that the magistrate recommendation was never adopted by the judge and we withdrew the case. Therefore, it has no legal significance. We could have challenged it, appealed it and got a different decision in the end, but we chose not to and instead withdraw the case. There has been no legally binding determination of who is a board and who is not a board. If you doubt this ask your personal attorney whom you have copied your emails.

Second, currently we have a fundraiser set for tomorrow decided and adopted by what you call the “disputed board”. The “disputed board” also appointed a new treasurer for the organization, filed a new bylaws and constitution with the secretary of state and added AIW board members. Let us assume that the real "permanent" board is as you claim: myself, you and Amjad and you want to formally undo everything that the “disputed board” did. Then per the old bylaws we must have a board meeting and unanimously agree to send a revised bylaws and constitution to the secretary of state, unanimously agree to ratify the decision to hold a fundraiser tomorrow, unanimously appoint a new treasurer or ratify his appointment, unanimously adopt a resolution ratifying or rescinding the appointment of new AIW board members etc. Then, if let's say for the sake of example, someone does not listen to our decision, we would have to unanimously pass a resolution to hire an attorney and take legal action to defend the organization. Decisions are made by the board and not individual board members not in a BOD meeting where votes are taken according to the bylaws.

As the organization's secretary, I am calling for such a board meeting. Dates and venue have been set. Until then, unless advised otherwise by an AIW corporate legal council, all decision by the “disputed board” despite of their resignation are binding on the organization as the magistrate said with respect to all third parties effected by those decisions. So the fundraiser is a valid AIW event. If someone gets hurt at the event for example, AIW is legally liable. The current treasurer can legally pay the current bills. The bylaws at the secretary of state’s office are legally binding on the organization. People hired or appointed by the “disputed board” can continue to perform their functions. I am calling for a meeting so we can unanimously resolve these issues so that there are no doubts. In the board meeting we need to :

(1) Follow the by laws (which ever version you choose) to the letter and determine the eligibility of the board members to be on the board.
(2) Add undisputed Board members and Vote or affirm a chairman, treasurer and secretary.
(3)Vote to hire a new legal council for the organization to render legal opinion on any questions that come up in the recovery process
(4) Now that the financial report has been publicized, to clear the organizations name and, lets vote on a resolution confirming that no organizational funds were used to pay anyone's legal fees in any dispute. This will enhance the community's confidence in the organization.
(5) Either appoint a new treasurer or legally affirm the current treasurer.

Several overtures for reconciliation and requests for a BOD meeting (even for the three founding members only, independent of their status or qualification to be on the board) have already been made delayed or ignored this week. This contradicts the promise you made to the court. I have offered to have a board meeting with few of the respected members of the community present so that we can get down to business, but the suggestion has been brushed, delayed and qualified with excuses of needing more time. I hope all issues are resolved peacefully for the benefit of the organization. Any resolution is acceptable to me provided one condition is met: I did not spend the last ten years of my life building this organization to watch it’s governance converted to the Iranian model of government where a single Ayatollah (or "Great Immam") holds all real legal and spiritual power in the organization and rules as he pleases.

As long as at the end of the day, the board is legitimately expanded beyond the Saqr family, Board members are added and there are appropriate checks and balances on power in the organization AIW, then I will feel that I have done the last task I owe Allah and this organization before I move on with my life and do other things.

Sincerely,
Khaled Farag
AIW Secretary"

Let us all provide our sincere suggestions, recommendations, and advise, all within the boundary of Islamic manners, for which Prophet Mohammad (SAW) was sent.
JAK
Abu Omar

Noor Saga-Court Hearings

For the first time in the 50+ year history of the Muslim Community in Central Ohio, a dispute at the leadership level of an Islamic organization ended up in court. So far three full day hearings have taken place: February 10, March 31 and April 20, 2010, at an estimated cost of $15,000-$20,000 to both parties. What follows is a summary of what happened according to eyewitnesses. Please read Noor Saga-Introduction and Noor Saga-complaint and TRO to understand the nature of the conflict.

Testimony of Khaled Farag and Hassan Ayoub:

They presented a large number of documents labeled AIW meeting minutes and agendas. They showed that Hassan Ayoub and the other "board members" were regularly taking part in discussions, decision making, and meetings as a board that would only have been appropriate if they were AIW board members. They showed that Hassan Ayoub, in particular, signed a number of documents with the bank, acting presumably as an AIW board member. All of these meetings and agendas and actions were with Hany Saqr’s personal knowledge and he did not object to them. Ayoub also prepared and signed Sheikh Fares’s contract as AIW board member. The three disputed members took decisions and actions that were only allowed to be taken by AIW BOD members. Basically, their argument is if Ayoub and the other two, Mandourah and Islam, walked, talked, were introduced and acted like AIW board members, then they were board members. They claim that the three disputed board members were invited to be on the board but they admit that there was never a formal vote to appoint them as board members. They also claim that the AIW Bylaws did not require a vote, only an invitation. Therefore an official vote did not need to take place. They claim that the few documents that refer to an NICC board were actually referring to the AIW board because there was only one board running the organization, but the names were sometimes used interchangeably. This was no different than saying “Noor Center'' or “Masjid Alnoor”, both referring to the same and only one entity.

They brought witnesses like Zarqa Abed to testify that when she worked as Masjid Noor, she considered all six to be board members. She testified that she was told by Saqr that there were 6 AIW BOD members and to ensure all of them were always copied on every correspondence. She additionally testified that when she was leaving her employment at NICC, she requested an AIW BOD member be present to receive all of the confidential material she had. Saqr sent Hassan Ayoub for that purpose. During her testimony a copy of Zarqa's January 20 , 2010 E-mail to the community attacking all six board members was projected to show her neutrality and credibility.
Attorney David Dye was also called as a witness. In the first hearing the authenticity of the loan documents were questioned, particularly the AIW Corporate Resolution that authorized the taking of the loan, which listed six members of the AIW BOD, including disputed members Mandourah, Islam and Ayoub. David Dye told the court that this was indeed his actual AIW Corp. Resolution and that he would not have been able to even spell these names without cooperation from the BOD members. He went on to say that he reviewed this documentation with Saqr as part of his closing procedures and at no time did Saqr object to the names being listed as AIW BOD members. Dye said if there was ever an issue he would not have allowed the paperwork to be signed and would have made the changes and rescheduled the signing.

Abdul Aburmaieheh, a community member, testified to an incident in which Saqr presented the disputed board members as board members. However he did not know the distinction between NICC board and AIW board and he did not say that Saqr presented them as AIW board. He said that the community is devastated and split into two camps over the issue. However, he did say that the split in the community was because of the conflict (as opposed to being caused by Saqr personally).

Amgad Saleh testified from about 2:30 to 4:30 on the first day. He testified that he is a founding AIW board member, that Saqr is the Chairman of the organization, that he never approved the addition of any other board members to AIW, and that the bylaws states that all decisions by AIW, including any addition of any new board member, must be by unanimous decision. He specifically said that a few of the unsigned documents presented earlier that show his approval of certain actions were fraudulent and that he only saw them for the first time the day before. He testified that this whole problem started several months ago when Farag communicated with him regarding the status of the disputed members as AIW board. He claimed that Farag admitted that they were not AIW board. He said that if the restraining order was lifted on Saqr, it would not cause a problem in the community because Saqr is more than a board member. He has been a spiritual leader in the community for years. He also claimed to be an active member of the Muslim community in Columbus Ohio by his ongoing involvement with AIW and the mosque project.

Saqr and Saleh disputed the authenticity of many of the documents presented by the other side. Their position is that the three disputed board members were board members of NICC, a subcommittee, rather than members of AIW. They claim that the three disputed board members might have participated at meetings but that did not make them board members. Saqr and Saleh’s position is that because there was never a formal board meeting with a vote appointing the three disputed board members, they were therefore never appointed as board members of AIW. [ Note that no party produced evidence as to when these individuals were even appointed to the board of NICC as subcommittee of AIW]

On the final day of testimony Saqr called Jamal Sadoun, Mahmoud EL-Khateeb, Ahmad Moselam, Mohamed Soltan, and Inam Khokhar as witnesses. All witnesses testified that the organization needed Saqr’s leadership and vision and that without him the organization would be harmed. They also stated that he had very good character and that they have known him to be a good person who always had the best interest of the organization at heart.
Mohamed Soltan said that he wished this dispute had not gone to court and that the organization needed every board member. He stated that Saqr was the head, Farag was the heart and Ayoub was the backbone of the board.

Mahmoud El-Khateeb was the only witness to criticize any of the BOD members. He stated that Saqr was the best Islamic scholar in the USA, had a very sound understanding of Islam, and that his leadership was needed.
"I am an Imam who gives khutba’s around town and I have a moderate understanding of Islam. Some people on the board have a bad understanding of Islam, like Khaled Farag who has gotten his understanding of Islam from some back home country. Imam Hany is a respected imam in the community who helped found all of the organization in town from the beginning. He was the first Imam of this community. He has the best vision, and is an irreplaceable leader of Masjid Noor and I have never seen him do anything that is not in the best interest of the organization."
He was asked about Farag and he stated that Farag was a manipulator and dishonest. He also said that the disputed board members had a local law enforcement officer ( Abdul Aburmaieheh who is a Muslim community member) threaten him (This is in reference to an E-mail from Abdul Aburmaieheh) . He complained that this was an abuse of the officer's position and explained his opinion that immigrant Muslims are often uncomfortable with police because of prior experiences in their countries of origin.

He also said that he had heard that it was said by Farag to others that we have Terrorist Cells in the mosque. [Heresay, unconfirmed]. He also said that he encouraged people to call the Ohio Attorney General’s office because we live in a country of laws and this was the only alternative to get answers for the community. He also said that he was prevented from speaking in public and from the Mosque and police were called to prevent him from the Mosque, although when asked what court issued that order he could not answer.

Also everyone testified that Saqr participated in a community meeting and the election for board members called by El-Khateeb on Friday January 22, 2010.[This important meeting will be covered in a future posting Insaallah] and actively voted for people. They said during that meeting Saqr responded loudly from the crowd at that meeting when Farag announced that it was not legal and there was no provision for public elections for BOD members in the bylaws. Saqr's response to people was that this was legal according to the bylaws.

In the end the attorney for Farag et al responded that no one is accusing Saqr of being a bad guy or having bad intentions. He gave the analogy of a car that cannot have two steering wheels. Even if it has the best drivers with the best intentions it will be a disaster. Therefore Saqr must continue to be restrained from representing himself as an alternative board for the organization. He also cited case law dealing with “Defacto Officers” to show that even despite having no documentation, these BOD members have to be considered valid and that the law prevents anyone from challenging this since it was confirmed and ratified by every subsequent accepted BOD meeting, decisions and actions, without opposition.

Saqr's attorney filed a motion asking for the bond to be increased because of the high possibility that the other side would lose and to cover Saqr’s attorney fees. The magistrate denied this motion.

Saqr’s attorney filed a motion asking the judge to dismiss the case because the other side admitted that there was never a formal board meeting in which the three disputed board members were appointed. This fact alone should have been enough to find them not board members by law according to the attorney. The judge rejected this argument and denied the motion.

Farag’s attorney filed a contempt motion against Saqr because of his refusal to turn over some material and email lists as required by a court order. This motion has yet to be heard because both sides ran out of time on the third day of testimony.
The magistrate is done listening to the evidence and is expected to make his decision within a week or two on the following simple question:

Should the restraining order on Saqr remain as the overall case moves forward in the court system.

Noor Saga-Complaint and TRO

Complaint (Law Suit) and TRO
In the Common Pleas Court of Franklin County, Ohio
American Islamic Waqf v. Hany Saqr
Jan, 28, 2010

On January 28, 2010, the four disputed board members, Mufakharul Islam, Khaled Farag, Hassan Ayub, and Ashraf Mandurah filed, in the name of American Islamic Waqf, a Complaint (Law Suit ) against Hany Saqr and issued a TRO (Temporary Restraining Order ) against him. The complaint starts with "Background Facts Common To All Counts" :
1.Plaintiff American Islamic Waqf (AIW) is a 501-(C)-3 charity operating in Franklin County, Ohio, founded on the premise of partnership with all Muslims and Non-Muslims who wish to contribute to the benefit of a good and healthy society. AIW owns and operates the Noor Islamic Cultural Center (NICC). See, e.g., Affidavit of Jeffery Poth, General Counsel to AIW, attached here to.
2. NICC is both a large multi-use facility and a platform to give more positive profile to the multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-lingual Islamic Community in central Ohio.
3. AIW is structured as a private foundation and is managed by a Board of Directors.
4. In or around 1998, AIW began the undertaking of establishment of NICC.
5. Defendant Hany Saqr (Saqr) is a resident of Franklin County, Ohio and was a member of the AIW Board in 1998 and served as Director until October 27, 2009, when the Board, by vote, expressed no confidence in him and terminated his membership on the Board as well as any role as an officer on the Board. Id.

Here are excerpts of what the complaint contains:

"Saqr’s ongoing conduct has caused wide spread confusion within the community served by NICC as to governance of AIW and management of NICC. Id."
"Saqr’s ongoing conduct has caused, is causing and will cause substantial, immediate and irreparable harm and damage to the AIW and NICC as follows:
A. AIW and NICC are funded by donations. Saqr’s actions pose the substantial risk of causing donations intended for AIW and NICC to be misdirected to Saqr’s control, which could be highly problematic with respect to the Internal Revenue Service for both donors and AIW.

B. The wide spread confusion as to AIW governance caused by Saqr will cause the community served by NICC to suspend their vital donations to AIW/NICC until such time that it is made clear to them that Saqr is no longer a member of the Board.

C. There is a substantial risk that Saqr’s actions will cause third parties to believe that he is authorized to act on behalf of AIW and/or NICC and as such, rely on this belief to their detriment. In turn, this would lead such third parties to institute litigation against AIW under the doctrine of apparent authority. While AIW would deny such claims, it would nonetheless be obligated to defend them.

D. The confusion sown by Saqr’s actions is undermining the ability of AIW to focus on its charitable mission. Id.", "By virtue of Saqr’s ongoing wrongful actions, AIW has been injured and will continue to sustain injury so long as Saqr’s wrongful actions continue, in an amount yet to be determined. "

The Plaintiff brought two counts against Hany Saqr, Conversion and Breach of Fiduciary Duty/Misrepresentation and asked for:

A. For the issuance of an emergency temporary restraining order , a preliminary injunction and a permanent injunction , enjoining Defendant Saqr and anyone acting at his request or on his behalf, until otherwise ordered by the Court, from:

1. Representing to any person that Defendant Saqr is the Chairman, Director, member, agent, or employee of the AIW Board.
2. Making a representation in any document or correspondence (including email), that Defendant Saqr is the Chairman, Director, member, agent, or employee of the AIW Board.
3. Taking any action while representing that it is authorized by, or on behalf of, AIW or NICC.
4. Soliciting any donations in the name of, or on behalf of, AIW or NICC.
5. Utilizing AIW or NICC assets and intellectual property, including, but not limited to mailing lists, email directories, passwords, and software.
6. Retaining any assets belonging to AIW and/or NICC, including, but not limited to keys, email directories, mailing lists, passwords, software, etc.
7. Conducting any event or meeting that purports to be a meeting of AIW or its Board.
8. Conducting any event or meeting that purports to be an AIW or NICC function.
9. Directing any AIW or NICC employee or volunteer in the conduct of their work.

B. For compensation arising from the Conversion and Breach of Fiduciary Duty and the award of such further relief as Plaintiff may be entitled to, and the award of its costs in bringing this action.

Note that the complaint does state that "Saqr remains welcome to worship at AIW facilities".

Community Reactions to the Complaint (Law Suit) and TRO
Jan, 29, 2010

The first reaction came from Mohamad Elmahdy :

"I just came to know that IMAM Saqr is not allowed, by a court order, to have any activities and communications in Masjid Noor. Yesterday was Dr. El-Khateeb, today is Dr. Saqr, tomorrow will be me, you and whosoever asks for any rights, changes, and transparency. If it is easy to restrain any one and take a decision to prevent him/here to give his/her opinion for the good of the community, it will be more easier to change the “C” of NICC to an “S” so it will read beautifully as “Noor International Shopping Center”.

Are we really insisting to stay silent till we see that day then “Crying over spilled milk”? God forbid.

I am sincerely asking (the new committee) Dr. Mousalam, Br. Arman, Br. Jamal to stand up and say a word of wisdom for the sake of ALLAH"

Abukar Arman wrote:
"As-salaamu alaikum wa Rahmatullah
Jazaka Allahu khairan Dr. El Mahdy,
I did not see your e-mail earlier. However, I agree that the court decision was untimely and haphazard. I announced my resignation from the By-laws Committee after the Jum'ah prayer.
May Allah (SWT) bring our hearts closer"

Taymour El-Hosseiny wrote ( for the first time during this comflect) :

"Dear Br. Khaled:
I did not take any side since the start of this crises. However, I learned today that you processed a restrain order by court on Br. Hany .
I believe you went too far. Do you remember that Br. Hany stand next you, shoulder to shoulder to build this facility. Do you remember that Br. Hani stand next to you to establish current activities in the Masjid to make our dream true. Do you remeber when both were solicting funds from the community to make this place. On your words, do you remember that Br. Hani carried your first child. Where did that go?
Now, you place a restrain order on your Br. Hani. !!!!
If Br. Hani would go first to the court and processed this restraint order on you it would not be acceptable. The final decision on who is in charge is not finalized yet.
With full respect to you, what you did is unacceptable by all means (Islamicly, or un-Islamicly)"

Tayyab Kazia wrote (this was on Jan 30, 2010), starting with a powerful words of Poet Philosopher Iqbal:

"Self-destruction is your fashion, noble self-esteem was theirs (our forefathers)
You would flee from brotherhood, a brotherhood for which they died:
Yours the tongue that idly blabs, theirs was the hand that greatly dares:
You are fain to pluck a bud, they mastered all the garden wide.
You are wroth with one another, they were kindly, merciful;
You, who sin, see sins in others, they concealed their brother's sin;
Be the Pleiads your dwelling; if they are attainable;
Yet your souls must be in order, and with them you should begin".

He then added:

"Please stop this nonsense for the sake of Allah, if you are going to the court and in arbitration, please find a court or an arbitrator who can arbitrate on my behalf on the JUDGEMENT DAY. I am sure when we are buried the first question will not be " Are you Chairman of Masjid Noor, or are you so and so of Masjid Noor, even this will be asked I would like to know your answer".

Finally he quoted Iqbal again:
"Silenced is the voice of worship', the deserted mosques lament;
Where are now the brave Hejazis, men of godly, true intent?"

Noor Saga-Introduction

I have been involved in, mediated, and helped solve many problems that faced the community over the last two decades, but I have to admit that I have not seen a calamity of such magnitude as we are witnessing today with Noor Islamic Cultural Center. I was told, in the early nineties, a wealthy businessman overseas whose son had attended OSU wanted to donate a mosque to the Muslim community in Central Ohio. It has been extremely sad for me to watch this pious desire be distorted into what is happening today.

To cover this complex story I need several postings and I will start with this introductory posting, defining the elements and nature of the problem at hand.

American Islamic Waqf

American Islamic Waqf (AIW) is a nonprofit 501 - (c) -3 organization incorporated on April 27, 1998.

The word “Waqf” is the Arabic equivalent of "Trust". The four original trustees, according to the Article of Incorporation filed with the Ohio Secretary of State, are Khaled Farag, Hany Saqr, Amjad Saleh and Ali AlRubaian. Soon after that Ali AlRubaian left the USA and went back home.
The following excerpts of AIW's Bylaws are important to keep in mind to understand the subsequent events:

1. "AIW is an Islamic “Trust” established for the benefit of the Muslim Community in Columbus Ohio"
2. "AIW will be primary administered by a Board of Directors (BOD)"

• "Additional members of the BOD are invited by the current members of BOD. The invited member to the BOD has to be unanimously approved by the current members of the BOD".


• "Any member of the BOD may be removed by a vote of no confidence of at least 75% of the other BOD members".


• "All BOD decisions are taken by a unanimous decision of all BOD members"

Furthermore the Bylaws talks about establishing an "Advisory Board" which never happened.

Soon after the inception of the organization, Hany Saqr assumed the position of Chairman of the BOD and Khaled Farag assumed the two positions of Secretary and Treasurer of the BOD. Around the year 2000 Amjad Saleh left Ohio to Chicago and remained on the Waqf board.

Noor Islamic Cultural Center

Noor Islamic Cultural Center (NICC) is the name given to the multipurpose facility on 5001 Wilcox Rd. and sometimes interchangeably called Masjed Alnoor. Neither Noor Islamic Cultural Center nor Masjed Alnoor names were registered by AIW for legal use for the facility with the Secretary of State. Knowing this, on 8/27/2009 Hany Saqr registered Noor Islamic Cultural Center as the name for a separate new non-profit organization, completely independent of AIW, and he is the only director on record for this new organization. When NICC is refered to below, it will mean the AIW facility, not Saqr's new organization.

NICC was built by Silver Development & Construction LTD (SDC), an Ohio real estate development and construction company, registered on May 19, 2000. Khaled Farag is the President and CEO of this company.

Donations and Loans

The 8 acres of land on which NICC is situated, appraised by Franklin County at $566,500, was donated by AI Limited (Abbasi Invesments) an Ohio Limited Liability company owned by the Abbasi family, (registered on March 30, 1995). Khaled Farag is also the President and CEO of this company. The center was under construction from July 2001. Although the community was donating funds to the NICC project, the ownership of the property remained in the name of AI Limited, a for-profit entity. The parcel of land was not separated legally from the larger tract of land owned by AI Limited until April 2003. Finally in June of 2005 ownership was transferred to the Waqf. The center grand opening was on Friday, September 29, 2006.

In addition to the land, AI Limited, sometimes referred to as "Major Donor" donated about one million dollars that helped get the project started. Later during the construction, that lasted over 5 years, AI Limited loaned AIW (The Islamic Waqf) $1,580,000 dollars in small amounts, on an as-needed basis, spread over the five years of construction. The existence of this loan was just recently revealed to the community, in a financial report distributed to the community on January 10, 2010 by Khaled Farag. The report shows a long term liability to AI Limited in the amount of $1,380,000. The difference of $200,000 is an amount AI Limited forgave from the total loan amount at the end of 2009. Khaled Farag explained to the community that this loan is to be forgiven over the following several years, (possibly at a rate of $200,000 per year). After the release of this financial report, Hany Saqr denied ever agreeing to any loan from AI Limited or signing, as Chairman, any note related to it and binding on the Waqf. However, in their capacity, Hany Saqr as Chairman and Amjad Saleh as Board member should have been overseeing all financial transactions and proper documentation.

Total cost of the construction was about $5.8 million dollars paid by the Waqf to Silver Development. The county appraisal of the building and improvements (without the land) is $2,990,100. It is important to note that, just for the last year AI Limited, the "Major donor", donated $200,000.00 (loan forgiveness) while the Muslim community donated $470,265.67. The community's donation amounts to 70% of the total donations, $670,265.67 for 2009, according to the released financial report. In fact, since the start of this project, the community has contributed more than 80% of the monetary donations to the project.

To obtain the money to pay a balance of about one million dollars owed to Silver Development, the Waqf, in March 2007, purchased a gold certificate for $1,660,156.00, (using the property as collateral). It agreed to pay for this in installments over a period of 4.5 years. It sold the certificate the same day for $1,250,000.00 cash. All BOD members –Hany Saqr, Khaled Farag and Amjad Saleh—approved this transaction. In addition, Hassan Ayoub, Mufakerul Islam and Ashraf Mandourah, as the three additional 'board members' (see below), have also approved it.

Leadership issues

After the center opened in 2006, a Noor Islamic Cultural Center Board of Directors (title used in literature and communications) surfaced to run the day-to-day operations of the center (See NICC Bylaws). Three additional names, given the title ‘board member’, started to be known to the community; Hassan Ayoub, Mufakerul Islam and Ashraf Mandourah. (It is important to note that NICC Bylaws have never been adopted and some board members including Farag and Ayoub, said that they never saw any bylaws before their appearance around last October, 2009.) The three additional members assert that they are members of AIW since NICC has only officially existed in August 2009 after Hany Saqr registered the name.

Over the years a few people , including Hassan Ayoub, raised concerns and questions about the obvious conflict of interest of Khaled Farag being the President and CEO of the donating and loaning company, AI Limited, the President and CEO of the builder, Silver Development, and being both the Secretary and Treasurer of the Islamic Waqf, and the way the project was managed by only two people, Khaled Farag and Hany Saqr, but their concerns were ignored. The issue of conflict of interest becomes even more problematic when it became known that the Abassi family is also part owner of Silver Development. Generally the community accepted everything without question. After many failed projects, the community was understandably happy to see and be able to congregate in a great environment.

The problems between AIW Chairman Hany Saqr and its Secretary and Treasurer, Khaled Farag started in 2006, around when the center opened, but were kept away from public knowledge until October of 2009. Hany Saqr, by his own account, questioned the financial practices of his Treasurer, challenging and undermining the authority of the Treasurer on many occasions. However, as a Chairman, Hany Saqr and Amjad Saleh, being majority of the Board should have resolved these issues in a timely manner, a main element of their fiduciary responsibility towards the organization. The other 'board members' who witnessed these issues, also had a responsibility to speak up and work to solve the problems.

In a meeting near the end of 2006 some community members met with Saqr and the others and raised concerns both about the way the center was run and that the board was limited to only 3 people. Saqr, to the surprise of at least Hassan Ayoub, introduced them (Ayoub, Islam, and Mandourah) as board members. Since then they participated, according to their account, in meetings and participated in decisions that can only be taken by the AIW board.

From the perspective of Ayoub, Islam, and Mandourah , NICC and AIW board were names used interchangeably, and therefore they are the same, while in Saqr's mind these are two separate boards.

Around the time that the center opened, Hany Saqr was hired by the board to be Executive Director on a part time basis. In July of 2009, Khaled Farag, Hassan Ayoub, Mufakerul Islam, and Ashraf Mandourah wanted to hire Alauddin Alauddin for the position of Executive Director (ED) of NICC to replace Hany Saqr. According to Ayoub, Saqr expressed his interest in continuing his position as ED. Although Saqr was visionary and good in strategic planning, he lacked, according to some board members, administrative, communication, and accounting skills. Ayoub has explained that the Board wanted new blood and wanted to take the center to a higher level by restructuring the staffing of the center. In addition, there is always the concern about conflict of interest when a member of a board that oversees staff is also a paid staff member.

During the month of August 2009 three meetings were held to hire the new ED. Saqr attended the first meeting when Alauddin was interviewed. The Board approved a proposal to hire Alauddin. For the following meeting Saqr was excluded from the discussion by the others, who invoked conflict of interest as the reason for exclusion. (Amjad was not involved in any of these discussions.) A decision was made to hire Alauddin starting September 1, 2009.

This was communicated to Saqr in writing. He was asked to keep his position for three months to help in the transition. A third meeting was held, without Saqr, to discuss the offer to be made to Alauddin. Two numbers were suggested, $20,000 or $25,000 for a part time job, mainly during evenings and weekends since Alauddin has a full time weekday job. The board had the intention to combine all other existing part time staff positions to create a job for an administrator, in addition to Alauddin,(for up to $55k) to run the day-to-day affair of the center. This added up to around $80,000.

Saqr categorically refused these plans. According to him, he believed that hiring must be unanimously approved by AIW BOD and not by NICC BOD, the position must be advertised to get the best candidate, and, as he himself had been handling this position for a much lower salary ($2,500/month), he felt the salary being offered was very high. He understood that they were offering $80,000/year for the ED and one assistant. The NICC BOD could not go ahead with the hiring and the conflict escalated.

On August 26, 2009, Hany Saqr wrote letters to Ayoub, Islam, and Mandourah terminating them as NICC board members, because they started publicly calling themselves the AIW Board and started discussing changes to the AIW constitution. This was followed by similar letters send to them by an attorney that Saqr retained.

Hassan Ayoub, Mufakerul Islam,and Ashraf Mandourah challenged the suggestion that they were not AIW board members and Khaled Farag agreed with them.

On October 28, 2009 Farag, Ayoub, Islam and Mandourah assuming themselves to be the legitimate AIW board, voted and removed Saqr from the Board of Directors of AIW.

Later, on the same day Hany Saqr and Amjad Saleh, assuming Ayoub, Islam, and Mandourah were not AIW board, removed Khaled Farag from the Board of Directors of AIW.

Farag and the others wanted to mediate the issue with Saqr and tried involving a few people quietly for this effort. This did not work. Then, on advice from their attorney, they called for a meeting in October, 2009 of about 35 people of the Noor community, including many respected elders, and asked them to choose an arbitration committee. Saqr did not agree to commit to it and this effort failed and will be covered in a future posting.

Now the center has two disputing boards and before long the center ended up with a third Board. Other major events took place, including a sudden change of the Islamic Waqf constitution, transforming the organization from a "trust" to a "private foundation", and a law suit and restraining order filed in Franklin County Common Pleas Court against Hany Saqr. All this and more will be covered in future postings Inshallah.