ISGH Membership Bylaws

ISGH CONSTITUTION

ARTICLE III.  MEMBERSHIP

Section 1.

All are eligible for membership in ISGH. In this Constitution all references to male gender (he, him his, etc.) shall be assumed to mean male or female.

Section 2.

The Society shall have two categories of members:

A. Natural Member

B. Associate Member

Section 3. Natural Member.

Every Muslim is a natural member. A natural member (hereinafter shall be referred to as a “member”.

Section 4 Associate Member.

Any non-Muslim who displays interest in Islam and pays membership dues is eligible to become an Associate Member. He will not be eligible to vote or hold office.

Section 5 Eligible Voting Member.

Any natural member can become an eligible voting member by fulfilling the eligibility requirements defined in the Bylaws.

Section 6 General Body and General Assembly.

The eligible voting members shall collectively constitute the General Body of ISGH. A meeting of the General Body shall be referred to as the General Assembly.

Section 7.

The annual membership dues of the ISGH are as explained in the Bylaws.

Section 8.

Each member pledges to abide by the Constitution and Bylaws of ISGH.

 

ISGH BYLAWS

ARTICLE I. MEMBERSHIP

Section 1. Eligible Voting Member

The term eligible voting member shall mean a natural member who fulfills the requirements of Section 2 of this Article, and who has neither voluntarily withdrawn from membership nor has been expelled from membership and if expelled has since been reinstated as a new member (hereinafter referred to as “Eligible Voting Member”, or “Voting Member”, or “Member”, or “Member in good standing”). In these Bylaws, all references to the male gender (he, him, his, etc.) shall be assumed to mean male or female.

Section 2. Eligibility for voting

The following requirements shall be satisfied before a natural member may be eligible to vote in any general assembly or election of ISGH officials:

A. The natural member has filed an Application for membership in the prescribed form and has been approved for eligible voting membership by the BOARD, and

B. The applicant agrees to one or more of the following:

(i). Participate regularly in at least one of four of the following regularly scheduled programs at any of the ISGH centers or mosques.                

       - ISGH children school program or adult educational program
       - Funeral arrangement
       - Quranic study
       - Al-Dawah activity
(ii). Financially contribute a fair share (at least 1%) of their annual income.
(iii). Volunteer their time in other approved organizational activities of the Society not included in 2B(i) above.
C. The applicant has paid his own annual dues for the current year on or before June 30. The annual dues of a member may not be paid by another person unless the other person is related to the member by blood or marriage, and
D. The applicant has attained the age of 18 years,

E. The applicant meets residency requirements in Article I, Section 7.

Section 3. Annual Dues

A.The annual membership dues shall be on a calendar year basis (January 1 through December 31) and are payable in accordance with a schedule to be established annually by the BOARD, provided that the dues shall not be less than the amount shown below:

     Family* -  $40.00

     Single - $25.00

     *Family is defined for the purposes of this clause as member and his/her spouse only.

The BOARD may also establish a multi-year dues schedule that offers discounts to members who pay membership dues in advance for future years. The multi-year dues schedule may not discount the regular membership dues by more than twenty five percent (25%). The dues shall not be refundable.

B. Any member of whatever classification (except members with Life Membership) who fails to renew his membership each year by paying annual dues on or before June 30 of the current year will not be eligible to vote, nominate and hold an elected office. Renewal of membership by payment of annual dues after June 30 of the current year will not restore loss of membership voting rights for the remainder for the year. Membership dues may only be submitted in the following forms: ISGH online payment services, personal check, and personal credit card. Non-acceptable forms of payment are cash, money orders, pre-paid cards and gift cards.

Section 4. Life Membership

A voting member can attain Life Membership by making a one-time payment of at least U.S. $1,500 towards membership fee. In the event any natural member donates $ 25,000 or more to ISGH in a calendar year for any cause, the BOARD shall, in recognition of such donation, grant such donor Lifetime Membership. If such donor is not a member, he/she must satisfy the membership requirements, other than the annual dues, prescribed in the Bylaws, Article I, Section 2 for the Life Membership to be effective. Such a member will be exempt from payment of annual dues specified in Article I, Section 2 C, Section 3 A and B, but will remain subject to all other provisions of the Constitution and Bylaws including those relating to suspension, expulsion and loss of membership rights.

Section 5: Loss of Membership Rights

(a) Any member who resigns or who is expelled for ethical reasons ceases to have voting and nomination rights, and his eligibility to hold an elected office.

(b) Any member who, individually, or by or through an entity in which he is an officer or director, files a lawsuit against ISGH for any reason without first engaging in a timely manner to make best efforts to amicably resolve the claim or dispute by extra-judicial means such as Mediation, Conciliation and/or Arbitration with the ISGH Arbitration and Mediation Committee, shall cease to be a member of ISGH in good standing as of the date of the filing of the lawsuit, notwithstanding anything to the contrary elsewhere in the Bylaws. Notwithstanding Section 6 of this Article I, the membership of such a person may only be restored after a resolution of renewal or re-instatement is adopted by a two-third majority of the BOARD, and then approved by a twothird majority of joint session of BOARD and COUNCILs. 

Section 6: Reinstatement of Membership Rights 

(Any member who loses his membership rights can apply for reinstatement by following the procedures required for becoming a new member. Section 7: Zonal Residency Requirements For the purpose of representation, an eligible voting member shall be considered to belong to the zone that he/she resides in, per the geographic boundaries outlined in Bylaws Article II Zonal Configuration. Notwithstanding the foregoing, eligible voting members, residing within five (5) miles of the boundary between two zones desiring to come under the jurisdiction of an adjacent Islamic Center that is in a zone other than the zone that they reside in, may request the BOARD to do so in a written application citing reasons for the requested change. Said request shall be made by the member prior to the membership deadline for the current year. The requested change by the member, if approved by the BOARD, shall remain in effect and be irrevocable for a period of five (5) years or until the member’s physical residence moves to an Islamic Center jurisdiction that is different than the one from which he had submitted the original change of residency. The member may opt to revoke the change upon completion of five (5) years in a written submission to the General Secretary, and, thereupon, the member shall revert to the jurisdiction of the Islamic Center in which he physically resides. 

Section 6: Reinstatement of Membership Rights 

Any member who loses his membership rights can apply for reinstatement by following the procedures required for becoming a new member.

Section 7: Zonal Residency Requirements

For the purpose of representation, an eligible voting member shall be considered to belong to the zone that he/she resides in, per the geographic boundaries outlined in Bylaws Article II Zonal Configuration. Notwithstanding the foregoing, eligible voting members, residing within five (5) miles of the boundary between two zones desiring to come under the jurisdiction of an adjacent Islamic Center that is in a zone other than the zone that they reside in, may request the BOARD to do so in a written application citing reasons for the requested change. Said request shall be made by the member prior to the membership deadline for the current year. The requested change by the member, if approved by the BOARD, shall remain in effect and be irrevocable for a period of five (5) years or until the member’s physical residence moves to an Islamic Center jurisdiction that is different than the one from which he had submitted the original change of residency. The member may opt to revoke the change upon completion of five (5) years in a written submission to the General Secretary, and, thereupon, the member shall revert to the jurisdiction of the Islamic Center in which he physically resides. 

Section 8: Voting of Members:

Each eligible voting member shall be entitled to vote, one vote on each matter submitted to a vote of the Society’s members. Members shall not be entitled to vote by proxy, and each member shall cast his or her own vote.