Huzur ^aba said the system of Shura is in place under the guidelines of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be on him). Therefore, the final decision lies with the Khalifa and the Shura assembly is only entitled to ‘propose’ issues rather than make decisions. However, a significance of the Shura is that it provides the Khalifa a yardstick to gauge the condition of various countries from the advice and counsel received from there. (March 12^th, 2004)

Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya USA

• Pir Saraj ul Haq (ra) suggested the name ‘Ahmadi’ for the followers of Promised Messiah after an opinion was sought by Hazrat Massih e Maud (as)
• Officially, first Majlis e Shura was conducted in 1922 under the auspices of Hazrat Musleh Maud (ra)
• International Shura in other countries was started in 1983 under the auspices of Hazrat Khalifatul Massih IV (ra)
• Hazrat Musleh Maud (ra) said that with every passing year, the ratio of total membership to the number of corresponding shura delegates would increase

 Majlis e Shura Etiquettes:

  Discussions:

• Always address the chair – do not chat among members
• Never argue
• When asked to stop…just stop right away
• Be to the point…not repetitious
• The point is to just make your point…with humility…do not force

• It preferred to remain ba-wuzoo and wear a cap
• Pray, pray and pray during the proceedings
• Remain patient - Do not exaggerate a point
• Remember that Allah Almighty is watching us
• Never agree or disagree because of ‘who is talking’
• At the end of the day, we are just presenting our thoughts and its up to Hazrat Khalifatul Massih to approve or reject the ideas
• It’s a ‘no party’ house

• Always be/stay on time
• An elected Shura member cannot decide not to attend or show up at the Majlis e Shura without prior permission from the Sadr
• It is preferred for a member to sit closer to his local majlis
• Seek permission from chair before leaving, entering, speaking etc
• It is preferred for members to do their research and homework on the agenda items before coming to the shura

1. Date, time and venue of Majlis e Shura is decided and an announcement is send out to all Qaideen to hold Shura elections. This should all be completed at least 2-3 months prior to the Shura date

1. Prerequisites for a Shura member: Righteous, regular in Salat, adheres to Islamic traditions (ie. keeps a beard), has no chanda arrears for the past 6 months
2. No quorum necessary for shura elections
3. Criteria for shura members are read  by the presiding officer who is a representative sent by Sadr MKA
4. Names are proposed…seconded and then voted upon. Each member can vote for equal number of times as the number of members being elected. For every 1-20 member range, one delegate is needed. For a majlis with 62 members 4 delegates are required since it’s between 61-80. For elections in this majlis, each member would vote for 3 times since they are electing three delegates in addition ot the Qaid (who is a default member). Qaid is the first/only delegate for majalis with less than 20 members. Elect 25% extra members as back up.
5. Shura delegates always have to be elected. They cannot be appointed
6. Local Proposals: A proposal is presented, seconded and then debated/agreed upon before sending it to Sadr MKA. Remember, all proposals would go to Hazrat Khalifatul Massih for review. Local proposals have to be agreed upon by the local majlis – they cannot be submitted by one person without the buy in from all the members present
7. Criteria of a good proposal: Be of national level, be in MKA domain, requires a structural change or financial budget allocation. It is not vital for the proposal to meet all the above criteria and all ideas should be welcomed
8. A proposal previously presented, debated and decided upon (accepted or rejected) cannot be submitted for three years minimum. Even after that, a change in ground reality and the proceedings of original discussion are required before it can be discussed again.
9. After all the proposals from local majalis are sent in, MKA National Amla meets and discusses the proposals. Consensus is reached as to which proposals are accepted, which ones are rejected and which one are of administrative nature
10. Then all the proposals (with the remarks of National Majlis e Amila) are sent to Hazrat Khalifatul Massih as ‘agenda’ for approval for discussion. Huzoor will make the final call as to which proposals are to be discussed.
11. Final/Selected proposals are to be emailed to all Qaideen at least two weeks before the Shura so they come prepared.

1. Tilawat
2. Encourage prayers, wuzoo, and cap
3. Presiding officer gives a brief account about the etiquette of Shura
4. Presiding officer (Sadr) can ask for a member to come up and assist with the proceedings
5. Implementation status of last year’s proposals presented by previous years Sub Committee Chairs
6. All proposals (regardless of their approval status) should be read and then sub-committees are formed
7. Generally, Finance, Taleem , and tarbiyyat sub committees are formed
8. Names are taken for each sub-committee; one can present his own name under exceptional circumstances but it is undesirable to ask someone else to present your name for a certain subcommittee
9. Sub committees deliberate and then come back with written recommendations signed by the President and Secretary on the template
10. Floor is opened for discussion. Etiquette of shura are reiterated. A member of a certain sub-committee cannot talk in favor or against the recommendations of that particular subcommittee unless he reserved his right because of a disagreement
11. Final Shura recommendations are written down, budget is finalized and faxed/mailed to Huzoor (aba) within 24 hours for approval
12. Once Huzoor (aba) gives approval/comments, these results are to be published and “Project Owners” should be delegated
13. Shura should conclude with Dua

1. Members are elected for a full year. Project managers (generally the Mohtamim of that department) should meet periodically with the committee members to ensure implementation. Mohtamimeen are the default project owners
2. Next year, before the actual Shura, a status report should be required by the committee chairs to submit to the Motamid. All Chairs and members should be made to stand up and recognized in the shura whether they did or did not complete the implementation.

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