Bulletin Board

DAT Election and Nomination Announcement

Assalamu Alaikum DAT Community,

Dar Al-Taqwa is pleased to announce that the election committee (see names below) will conduct the 2026 elections for open seats on Board of Directors (BoD) and Board of Trustees (BoT) as per the Bylaws.

As such, to remove any conflict of interest, the election committee members are not eligible to run for nor nominate anyone for DAT BOD or BOT elections. For more information about election rules, process, and procedures, please refer to the DAT Bylaws.

According to the Bylaws, only those that maintained membership of DAT for at least the current and past year are ELEGIBLE TO VOTE in the elections on Saturday, April 11, 2026.

Number of nominees

Please note that as per the new bylaws and in this new election, there will be:

· Three (3) open positions for Board of Directors (BOD), and

· Three (3) open positions for Board of Trustees (BOT).

Election timeline

The committee is planning to run an expeditious and transparent process. Our goal is to conduct the 2026 elections for the new BoD and BoT within the following timeline:

· Monday. January 12: Nominations Open

· Sunday, February 01: Nominations Close

· Friday. February 13: Announce nominees who meet qualifications.

· Saturday.  April 11: Elections (2-4 pm)

· Monday. April 13: Election results shared with community.

Provisional dates TBD for town halls to meet the nominees (final dates will depend on availability of the nominees). On weekdays the town halls will be after Maghrib until Isha. On weekends, the town halls will be 2-4 pm.

Process for Nominations

The nomination form can be accessed at

https://taqwamd.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/IQCnlDQ3kXPvQpYYsawGxlU7Ae_5ekRKc2mylCf8TFRl3cU?e=MKcqyi

Please complete and send the signed and completed form to elections@taqwa.net or it can be hand delivered to any of the election committee members.

Information for those wishing to vote via ABSENTEE ballot will be sent via email (tentatively) by Saturday, March 28.

 

Eligibility for Run for BOD and BOT Positions:

A person’s eligibility to run for a position on the Board of Directors (BOD) or the Board of Trustees (BOT) will be strictly adhered to as is stated in the DAT Bylaws. The following sections (Part 5 and Part 7) pertain to the election process in the Bylaws:

Part 5

To be eligible for election to the BOD, a person must:

1. Be a DAT Member in good standing.

2. Be a DAT Member for at least two years.

3. Be a U.S. citizen or hold a visa that entitles him/her to an extended stay in the U.S. (such as an immigrant visa or international civil service visa).

4. Have lived in the State of Maryland for at least three years.

5. Have never been convicted of a felony criminal offense in the U.S. or elsewhere.

Part 7

To be eligible for election as a Trustee in the BOT, a person must:

1. Be a DAT Member in good standing for at least two years.

2. Be a U.S. citizen or hold an immigrant visa.

3. Have lived in the State of Maryland for at least five years.

4. Have never been convicted of any major civil or criminal offense (except traffic violations) in the U.S. or elsewhere.

5. Not currently serving as a board member or trustee of any other Masjid or Islamic Center.

All nominees and nominators must be members for at least the current and past calendar year (2025 and 2026)

Should you have any questions as to your DAT membership, please do not hesitate to email membership@taqwa.net or shura@taqwa.net

Should you have any questions about the election process, please do not hesitate to email elections@taqwa.net.

Jazakum Allah Kheir

From the election committee:

§ Saad A. Waqas (Chair)

§ Syed Khurshid Ahmad

(Member)

§ Sherif Halawa (Member)

§ Jeloni Shabazz (Member)