Africa
Federation Chairman does not mince words in interview with Federation
Samachar Editor
The
Africa Federation Chairman, Zulfikarbhai Khimji offered his frank thoughts on
questions raised to him by the Editor of the Federation Samachar, Munir Daya
during his visit to Nairobi from Sunday 13th October to Wednesday 16th
October 2002.
After
attending congregational prayers in the serenity of the mosque at the Nairobi
Jaffery Sports Club on Sunday 13th October 2002, I had informal
discussions over dinner with the office bearers of the Africa Federation. This
gave me an opportunity to candidly discuss various issues facing the community.
During the session I noted the passionate enthusiasm of the office bearers to
serve and felt this was a good time to obtain clarifications on certain burning
issues.
We
talked about the Madagascar situation, the state of tabligh in the community,
progress towards sending more children for higher education, the success of
resettling Somalia refugees, the need for improved health facilities,
globalisation of the media, strengthening of Jamaats and many other issues. I
noted that Chairman Zulfikarbhai Khimji was particularly zealous about uplifting
the financial well-being of our community and to quote him, he said “We need
to ensure that no member of our community is deprived of….roti, kapda or
makaan.”
After
dinner, I spent some two hours with the Chairman and took this opportunity to
ask him a few questions. I put up frank questions and said that though I
expected answers to all questions, he was free to refuse answers to questions he
considered inappropriate. He left no question unanswered and we finished our
talk at about 12.30 a.m. He was least disturbed about this despite having spent
the whole day in an Education Fund-raising programme at the Jaffery Sports Club
and notwithstanding the fact that he was scheduled to travel to China with a
trade delegation of about 20 members in about 18 hours.
INTERVIEW:
Q1.
Editor:
Last week you had an extra-ordinary meeting in Mombasa to discuss the intended
withdrawal by the Conseil Regional Des K.S.I. Jamates De L’Ocean Indien –
Madagascar from the Africa Federation. The Conseil Regional Des K.S.I. Jamates
De L’Ocean Indien – Madagascar has previously expressed an intention to
withdraw but why has this situation emerged again?
Chairman:
The Council has expressed certain wishes pertaining to its current status with
the Africa Federation which we are hopeful can be amicably sorted out. The
issues raised by them are not new but have re-emerged. This includes a request
by them to have a representative in the office bearers committee of the Africa
Federation.
In
Mombasa it was decided that a delegation would visit Madagascar but the
following day we had a healthy telephone discussion with them wherein they
agreed to withdraw this discussion from the agenda of their own meeting. We
agreed to mutually resolve this issue by having a joint meeting. Like I said
earlier, their expectations date back to many years and instead of
diplomatically sidestepping the issues concerned we have decided to grapple with
the situation at face value.
Q2.
Editor:
Consider this as a hypothetical situation. Say the Conseil Regional Des K.S.I.
Jamates De L’Ocean Indien – Madagascar withdraws from the Africa Federation.
Would the World Federation constitution then allow them to be members of the
World Federation?
Chairman:
The World Federation has a ‘condition for eligibility clause (clause no. 3)’
which outlines how one can qualify for membership of the World Federation. While
the situation you have mentioned is not expected, we would expect the World
Federation to side by us on such issues.
Q3.
Editor:
Please tell me about Tabligh propagation that has become a sensitive topic ever
since it was discussed at the Arusha meeting.
Chairman:
Our objectives on tabligh are simple but we know that we are being
misinterpreted. We know that some quarters are of the opinion that we have
raised this issue simply because we have a hidden agenda to include one
religious institution in Nairobi under the umbrella of the Africa Federation.
This is far from the truth.
The
truth is that there are many institutions undertaking tabligh work in Africa and
the Africa Federation has a religious obligation to be also concerned, in
whatever small way, about the propagation efforts of our fellow brothers. In our
enthusiasm we may have treaded on slippery territory but we have remained
focused on our objective of having tabligh efforts co-ordinated.
The
Bilal Muslim Mission has done great work since it’s inception and in our
objective to boost tabligh efforts we have no intention to undermine our very
own institution. What we are looking into is to see the possibility of operating
the Tabligh Board, Bilal Muslim Mission and other tabligh institutions side by
side so that we ensure that money disbursed by our community members towards
tabligh in Africa is spent meaningfully. We know that our community is currently
disbursing only about 20% of its donations towards the Bilal Muslim Mission
while the remaining 80% is paid by individuals or organisations to other tabligh
organisations outside the ambit of the Africa Federation. To obtain a solution,
there will need to be compromises, understanding and accountability. Without
this it will be difficult to ensure cohesion.
Q4.
Editor:
Is your intention then to ensure some form of control over individual tabligh
organisations with no interference in the normal operations of the Bilal Muslim
Mission?
Chairman:
The main objective is to have proper accountability and consolidate brotherhood
as preached by Islam and we know that with unity we can boost tabligh efforts by
taking advantage of the many locations we have centres and by avoiding
duplication of facilities like schools, hospitals and libraries. There has never
been an intention to undermine the Bilal Muslim Mission at any time or in any
way.
Q5.
Editor:
Do you have a work plan to achieve this?
Chairman:
Rather than a work plan we believe joint meetings with the parties concerned
would enable us to share notes. Any compromise that ensures accountability and
that does not jeopardise the efforts of the Bilal Muslim Mission would be
acceptable to us. Of course whatever is accepted will be taken to the next
Council meeting for adoption or rejection.
Q6.
Editor:
With your proposed approach it is still very possible that this could lead to a
stalemate because of misunderstandings.
Chairman:
That is correct but at least we will have tried.
Q7.
Editor:
Take the example of World
Islamic Propagation and Humanitarian Services (WIPAHS).
They are doing a fine job in tabligh activities but there is this worry about
the lack of accountability to the local Jamaat and to the Federation. There is
also the fear that if more organisations emerge this could undermine the
administration of Jamaats. How do you intend to approach this?
Chairman:
During the Open Forum in Dar es Salaam I did touch on this subject after a
question was raised. We intend to form a committee of ten to eleven people to
analyse the situation with two members from Bilal Muslim Mission, two from
WIPAHS, two from Dar-es-Salaam Jamaat, two independent members, two members from the
Council along with one impartial observer. If this committee can come up with
practical modalities and guidelines we can take the proposals to our next
meeting for adoption. If the committee ends with a stalemate there is little we
could do thereafter.
Q8.
Editor:
You have visited many Jamaats in Africa and overseas. Tracking on your recent
travel itinerary I can see that you were in Dubai, Toronto, Vancouver, Seattle,
New York, Orlando, Allentown, London Stanmore, Peterborough and Birmingham. What
is the purpose of visiting these overseas Jamaats?
Chairman: While in some cases my overseas visits are to attend official meetings or to undertake opening ceremonies, in most cases the objective is to enlighten our brethren overseas of what is happening in Africa, especially in Jamaats that have expressed desire to support our community upliftment programmes. Public relations overseas is important especially because there are many people from East Africa who have a soft corner for offering assistance in kind and monetary to needy people back home through Africa Federation.
Q9.
Editor:
Can you outline what are the immediate projected plans of the Africa Federation?
Chairman:
The need for all our Boards to function effectively is of great concern to us.
Additionally I have outlined improvement of education, economic upliftment and
strengthening of Jamaats as the key areas to be focused upon.
Q10.Editor:
Can you briefly tell us about education? When talking of education please tell
us on the earlier plans to build a community college.
Chairman:
When we talk about strengthening the community educational infrastructure, the
objective is to ensure our schools provide a high standard of education and to
ensure that more students can take advantage of higher education loans.
As
for the college I have been misconstrued as having built up hopes within the
community pre-maturely. My announcements on the proposed university were made
with a sincere belief that the university project would take off especially
after the initial gusto. However subsequently the paper provided by your
committee when you were the Education Secretary of Dar es Salaam Jamaat
discouraged the need for a university and we have therefore decided not to
venture into this at present. It is not our intention to forcefully pursue
projects just for the sake of glorification.
Q11.Editor:
There is an impression among some quarters that you announce community projects
prior to them being officially completed. Do you agree with this?
Chairman:
I
want the community to know that during the course of our honorary duties we have
to make many decisions and my many public addresses are not meant to glorify
what we are doing but instead the objective is to enable community members to
comprehend on the state of affairs. We know that when projects are announced
people will question us if they find this is not implemented but at the same
time members need to understand that in life not all plans do work out as
planned.
For
example, the university project was announced with a good intention and we
wanted to move fast, probably too fast, but when we received the ‘word of
caution’ report from the Dar es Salaam Jamaat we decided to temporarily stop
on this idea in the community’s interest rather than forcefully pursuing the
project.
When
it comes to public announcements, one must remember that my addresses outside
Nairobi are to members who I don’t often get a chance to see or communicate
with. This is why there is a temptation to be more elaborative.
Q12.
Editor:
Can you enlighten us on the state of higher education? How many students have
been given loans and what level of finance are we talking about?
Chairman:
On higher education we supported 41 students during our first year in office. We
however knew that more students would come forward if there were more awareness.
We therefore invited career guidance professionals from the UK to visit and
address students in Arusha, Mombasa, Dar es Salaam and Nairobi where we have
schools. Following this, the demand for higher education increased to 57
students. In the Arusha meeting, a budget of $680,000 was approved for education
of which 50% is supposed to be paid by Jamaats where students come from. This
increased budget has placed pressure on the Africa Federation especially because
in the case of some Jamaats there is a problem in settling their 50% payment.
Despite the financial bottleneck we have in principle decided not to refuse a
single deserving application.
With
the World Federation having declared this as a term of education we approached
them for a grant of US$100,000. At this stage the WF have offered this by way of
a loan. We know adequate finance is a key to the success of the higher education
programme and if need be, we may need to look towards other alternative measures
to boost funds.
Q13.
Editor:
The Africa Federation had established the Jaffery Education Trust Fund during
the Chairmanship of Alhaj Habibbhai Mulji. I am advised that the charitable
status of this account has been relinquished because no funds were deposited for
a fair number of years. Is there any way to initiate a similar scheme through
international donors worldwide or to revive this scheme?
Chairman:
This is something that can be considered but we should not have allowed
this Fund to lose its ‘charitable’ status.
Q14.
Editor:
Tell me about the Open Forum that was held in Dar es Salaam.
Chairman:
We believe that to serve the community we cannot live in ivory towers. We want
to serve by mixing in with the people and allowing people to air their
expectations to us. Previously, the general public had a feeling of a great
length of distance or barrier between them and the Office Bearers, which we
would like to remove and let the public have a feeling that the Office Bearers
are easily accessible and they can air their views freely to the Office Bearers.
This is why we held the Open Forum in Dar es Salaam, the
attendance for which was very good.
Q15.
Editor:
Please tell me something about the economic upliftment programme?
Chairman:
In
addition to consolidating our educational infrastructure and ensuring more
students are provided loans to pursue higher education, we know that the need
for funds will remain endlessly and with difficult economic times the
community’s funds will keep on reducing as the years roll by.
This
is why we have come up with a proposal for economic upliftment in the community.
There is a whole working plan to this effect but the gist is that we want to
provide loans to families so that they can multiply their resources and take
care of their own finances instead of depending on the Jamaat for welfare. For
this noble cause we have been pledged support by prominent donors from around
the world. We want Jamaats to be the driving force to implement this and we will
give all Jamaats a free hand in implementing this along the guidelines provided.
The benefit in the long-run will be to uplift welfare of families, to reduce
dependence on the Jamaat for financial assistance and to enable parents to
independently plan for higher education finances in the long run. We know this
cannot be achieved at a 100% level but even if 30- 40% of the community is
uplifted in this way we would consider this worthwhile.
Q16.
Editor:
In about 18 hours you will be leaving for China with a delegation of about
twenty from various countries around the world. Is this part of the economic
upliftment programme and if yes, in what capacity has the Golden Crescent group
come in as being the organisers of the trip?
Chairman:
Indeed this is part of the proposed economic upliftment programme we have been
talking about. This programme covers two aspects. One is to promote existing
business to venture into industries, that is, to think macro instead of micro by
venturing into new projects and blending with international business set-ups. To
be more focused we assigned the Golden Crescent Group of Nairobi to administer
this and they have handled all arrangements with fine efficiency. Our trade
delegation to China includes 20 members from Kenya, Tanzania, Canada, Uganda,
South Africa, Dubai and the United Kingdom. The announcement for this trade mission was made by way of a
circular and through the Africa Federation Web Page. The second aspect covers
the provision of providing loans to individuals for them to start their own
businesses.
Q17.
Editor:
Please enlighten me on your plans to strengthen constituent Jamaats?
Chairman:
Essentially Jamaats can function better if they have a stronger financial base.
Through various addresses made during my visits to different Jamaats we have
asked members to consider the Jamaat in their life planning because any dues
allocated for religious purposes during one’s lifetime is much more rewardable
in the eyes of Allah (s.w.t.) as compared to money paid out of one’s bequeath.
Have we not heard of many children squandering the money they have inherited and
are we not also warned in our Islamic teachings on how accountable we are for
money ill-spent after our death? Our
suggestions to community members are:
suggest
that community members should develop a culture of donating part of their
bequeth, say 20% to the community;
suggest
that Jamaats should establish an endowment fund by encouraging that those
holding trusts to allocate between 20-25% to their respective Jamaats
those
having life insurance should consider 20% donation to Jamaat;
request
individuals to buy insurance, the benefit of which can go to the Jamaat.
Lastly the Office Bearers feel that if we manage to make Jamaats stronger, then automatically the Council will be stronger.
Q18.
Editor:
Do you have any long-term income generating ideas for tabligh, setwel and
education which have historically been problem areas as far as finance is
concerned?
Chairman:
Now that you have asked me this question I will point out some developments to
this effect at the risk of some calling it a pre-mature announcement as pointed
out by you in one of your earlier questions.
The
Africa Federation has received a proposal to obtain, lease and develop plot(s)
of land at the Athi River Export Processing Zone site at very nominal rates
following which these can be rented out to ensure permanent income for the
Federation. The Trustees of the Africa Federation visited the site on 9th
August 2002 and agreed to pursue the project by raising required funds. This
would require the setting up of an investment company following which it is
intended to proceed on the first phase of one hectare (two and a half acres) and
subsequently take option on the second phase of another hectare.
Q19.
Editor:
Finally can I have an honest opinion on the Federation Samachar and the Africa
Federation Web page?
Chairman:
Your committee is doing a fine job but we would like to see more news about the
community in Africa. As for the Web Page, I know there are individuals who are
visiting this as far away as Hong Kong and this surely has become an effective
means of communication. It is important that our Web page is updated promptly
and regularly.
Editor:
Thank you and have a nice and successful trip to China.
Chairman: Thank you.
If you have any opinion on this interview, you may send your comments to federation@raha.com