In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
“Surely Allah does not change the condition of a people
until they change their own condition”
(Holy Quran 13;11)
Manifesto in French
Manifesto in Gujarati
BUILDING ON THE LEGACY
I have been blessed to have served our Community in various capacities over the last 20 years. Wishing to continue doing so, I am standing as a candidate for the Presidency of the World Federation for the term 2003-2006 and take this opportunity to share my vision with you.
Dr Ahmed Hassam
Vice-President
25th July 2003
The founders of the World Federation had a clear vision: to cater for the religious and social needs of our Community. I believe that our core values - the preservation of our religious identity, the elevation of our spiritual self, the eradication of illiteracy, poverty, and disease - remain unchanged. But at the same time we must continually evaluate the ways in which we tackle these issues and identify new issues, taking into account the dynamic nature of our society.
I stand by this vision, and continuing to build on these founding principles of the World Federation,
I pledge to:
1. Invest in a sustainable programme of tabligh activities.
2. Create a more inclusive organisation with wider representation that thrives on diverse opinions.
3. Work towards effective and efficient management, allowing us to deliver on our promises without compromising our Islamic values and the compassion with which we work.
4. Evolve the World Federation so it meets the needs of our Community whilst respecting Sharia.
5. Foster links with other interest groups and utilise their resources so as to do Allah’s work better.
6. Put an emphasis on Education, both Islamic and secular.
7. Act on strengthening the institution of marriage in our Community.
8. Improve communication within the Community and by the World Federation.
9. Value and reward the hard working volunteers and staff at the World Federation.
1. Tabligh, The Primary Objective
As a primary objective of the World Federation, our work on Tabligh, both within and beyond our Community will continue to be given the highest priority. The exposure of our young men and women to ideas and concepts incompatible with our faith require us to be proactive in ensuring that they are well versed with the pristine teachings of Ahlul Bait (AS). This way they will not only withstand such propaganda, but also be able to propagate our faith to others. We also need to increase our contacts with other Communities so as to get the message of our teaching across and understood.
If elected I will:
• Strive to enable all our madressas to offer a uniform high quality Islamic teaching by providing adequate resources.
• Support the introduction of a GCSE qualification or equivalent in Islamic Studies as part of the syllabus in all our Community run schools.
• Encourage greater coordination of all our tabligh institutions around the world.
• Encourage and promote interfaith dialogue by all our institutions.
Contact with Marja
My recent visit to Najaf and the audience with our Marja Ayatullah al Uzama Syed Seestani has further strengthened my belief that we need to keep direct contact with our Marja. The warm feelings he expressed towards our Community need to be nurtured further to ensure that we continue to receive his guidance on the challenging issues we face today.
If elected I will:
• Set up a desk at the Secretariat for direct contact with the office of our Marja in order that we can receive advice and guidance on a regular basis.
• Strive to seek an audience with our Marja at least once a year to enable us to present our challenges to him and seek guidance from him.
2. Inclusiveness, Wider Representation and Diversity
Differing ideas, one Islam
Much has been accomplished in the last 27 years, but there is still work to be done. This can only be achieved when all sections from our Community with different ideas and diverse perspectives, are brought together in an inclusive manner in ONE TEAM. Together we are united in a common purpose: that of serving Islam, and preparing for the arrival of our 12th Imam Mohammed Mahdi AS (May Allah hasten his appearance).
If elected I will:
• Actively encourage members with different perspectives to participate.
• Promote wider consultation in the decision making process which goes beyond the Office Bearers and involves the Boards, Desks, Councillors and leaders of Regional Federations and Jamaats.
• Endeavor to ensure all members in all regions feel their interests are represented.
Valuing our elders
Looking back at our development we see that this Community was built on the hard work and dedication of our elders. Their vast experience is invaluable in shaping the way in which our Community moves.
As we move forward we must not forget these pivotal members of our Community and we must ensure that their needs are also catered for.
If elected I will:
• Ensure the work of the Senior’s Desk continues to identify and meet the needs of the elders and fully support any new initiatives it proposes.
• Continually consult our elders, thereby drawing from their invaluable experience.
New blood, new vision
The WF must be made enticing for the younger generation. Only then will they take up the challenges of being the leaders of tomorrow.
If elected I will:
• Actively engage our youth by ensuring that there are opportunities available for willing youth to serve on every Board.
• Appoint willing youths to act as assistants to Secretary General and Treasurer.
Opening doors; letting women participate
Our women have skills and ideas, which warrant an audience. I believe in ensuring the Community represents the needs of all our members-women and men alike.
If elected I will:
• Ensure that women are able to participate in the decision making process.
• Support the work of the Women’s Desk and oversee its ongoing development and activities.
• Begin to address the needs identified at the recent Women’s Convention.
3. Effective management based on Islamic principles
Starting from the bottom up, we must strengthen our infrastructure. We must openly embrace effective and efficient management, adopting transparency and accountability in the way we work. Only then will be able to fully utilise the Community’s skills to do Allah’s work.
If elected I will:
• Foster an understanding within all Regional Federations by promoting better and more efficient coordination between member Jamaats and Regional Institutions.
• Work through the existing regional and Jamaat structures, and not in competition with them.
• Ensure there is no duplication of activities allowing us to achieve our goals quicker.
• Foster even greater transparency and accountability in the decision making process.
• Introduce the use of “good practice guides” which highlight and record particularly successful Community activities and facilitate passing on this knowledge for others to use. This will allow our Community to share its successes.
4. Looking to the future
Strategic Planning
No organisation can remain static, inward looking and willfully ignore changes in the prevailing environment. Although it may be easier to take refuge in the ‘comfort zone’ and insist on conducting Community business in the way we have always done, I believe it is vital that our leadership is proactive in ensuring the World Federation evolves, allowing it to continually meet its timeless objectives.
The World Federation recently launched a 5-year strategic planning exercise. The President specifically charged me with the responsibility of leading the team in carrying out this work. For the first time in the history of our organisation we are consulting with our members from the grass roots. The Strategic Planning team is also actively engaging past and present leaders, volunteers and Community workers in order to capture and reveal the aspirations of our Community. This is a unique opportunity to shape our organisation and identify its needs according to the views of our members.
If elected I commit myself to ensuring the implementation of this
strategic plan over the next term.
Leading our Community
To ensure the ongoing development of the Community, we must be proactive in identifying and training the leaders of tomorrow. Only then can we ensure that they have the necessary skills to meet the challenges of leading our Community.
If elected I will enable the creation of a Leadership Development
and Training Desk to undertake this important function.
5. Networking and learning from others
We must utilise every opportunity available to us to help our Community progress. In casting our net wider we are able to take advantage of the resources and experiences of other organisations.
In a global environment we cannot exist as isolationists: there are, at the very most, 110,000 Khoja Shia Ithna’asheris worldwide. With a world population of 5 billion people, in order to do Allah’s work effectively and efficiently we must network with others, needless to state, within the bounds of Sharia.
If elected I will:
• Improve communication with international non-governmental organisations and other charitable Community, voluntary and public bodies.
• Continue to seek accreditation from the UN for NGO status, providing a wider platform to benefit our Community and Islam.
6. Educating a Community
We all understand the importance of continually raising the educational standards of all members of our Community, young and old alike. As the Community progresses we must ensure that we build on our educational foundation, focusing equally on our religious and secular education.
If elected I will:
• Continue to support the work of our Islamic academic institutions and madressas.
• Continue to support education and career initiatives.
• Promote alternate and innovative ways to increase access to higher education.
• Encourage suitable education and skill initiatives for the elder members of our Community.
7. Stability of Marriage
It is my firm belief that marriage, based on sharing Islamic ideals, compatibility and moral values has to be preserved and taken forward to the next generation and beyond. It is a cause for serious concern that the stability in marriages has been on the decline for a number of years now and that the number of breakdown in marriages has been on the rapid increase.
If elected I will:
• Establish a Marriage Advisory Council at the Secretariat, which will consult and work with the members’ matrimonial committees.
• Through the network of Jamaats and Regional Bodies, enable an international networking for the purposes of matchmaking.
• Appoint professional counsellors to guide and advise on matrimony.
8. Improving communication
In my travels, whenever I meet members of our Community, the most commonly asked question they have for me is: "What does the WF do for us?"
In spite of our current efforts to communicate through various methods we need to do more to inform the people at the grassroots about the depth of our work.
If elected I will:
• Endeavour to visit each region once a year.
• Enhance our communication delivery systems by way of a Public Relations Desk using our young professionals and the huge strides that IT offers.
• With the consent of the Jamaats, request Councillors to brief their Communities after each Executive Council meeting, with an update on World Federation activities.
• Arrange regular visit to the Communities, by the Office Bearers, Chairs and other front line workers.
9. Staff and volunteers
The World Federation is wholly dependent on the dedication and loyalty of its staff and volunteers. I firmly believe that their efforts must be highlighted, valued and rewarded. To get the best out of them, a nurturing environment is a necessity.
If elected I will:
• Ensure we provide career enhancement opportunities and training.
• Strive to create a skilled, forward looking and professional workplace to enhance the performance of the secretariat in meeting the organisation's objectives.
Words of vision, however noble, require commitment, experience, time and resources to bring them alive. In this term, I have demonstrated a track record of effective delivery in every project I have undertaken. During the course of the term as the Vice President, I have represented the President in virtually every region we serve. I have visited our Communities in Africa, Mauritius, Madagascar, Canada, USA, India, Pakistan, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Dubai. At critical times, at the request of the President, I have travelled to crisis or disaster areas at short notice to serve the affected members of the Community. In the aftermath of the earthquake in Kutch and Gujarat, the riots in Gujarat and more recently the war in Iraq, I have been able to build relationships with the International Red Cross, other NGOs and of late at the United Nations NGO section.
Following the sudden demise of Mulla Saheb, the World Federation team sought to go into what his successor Hasnain Walji has often referred to as the ‘maintenance mode’. In this mode, the team strove to secure and maintain the integrity and credibility of the organisation after such a colossal loss. Alhamdulillah, three years on, the World Federation has not only survived but has emerged as a stronger organisation. Now we need to move on to the ‘progressive mode’ to build upon these achievements and chart out new visions and ideas that will fulfill the needs and aspirations of our Community in the decade to come.
The vision I have outlined above will Inshalla retain the organisation’s core values and build on the legacy to address the challenges of the future. I pray to Allah (SWT) to give me courage and wisdom to serve the Community with humility and sincerity for HIS pleasure alone; and therefore humbly ask for your prayers and support.