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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Battle brewing over leadership of Islamic group

By: Kevin Rollason

Posted: 08/31/2010 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

BITTER infighting, duelling court actions and allegations of death threats at the Manitoba Islamic Association threaten to tear the organization apart during the holiest time of the Muslim year.

Right in the middle of Ramadan, a time when Muslims pray, fast, and perform charitable deeds, Naseer Warraich and Idris Elbakri are both claiming they are the legal head of the organization founded in 1969. Warraich was elected for a two-year term during the MIA's annual general meeting last December. Elbakri was elected by members who were at a special meeting in June.

Warraich has filed documents in Court of Queen's Bench asking for the results of the June election to be tossed and asking for an order preventing the president and council elected during that meeting from making decisions or exercising authority over the MIA.

In the other corner, Elbakri and the rest of his executive council have filed documents asking for the courts to order an entirely new election for all seven executive positions and to have a judge appoint someone to oversee the election.

The whole matter ends up back in the lap of a Court of Queen's Bench justice on Sept. 27.

Warraich said on Monday he has received death threats, which he has referred to police, for continuing his battle to retain the organization's top job.

But Warraich said he would be willing to drop his battle if everyone would agree to have an outside firm audit the MIA's financial books for the last few years.

"It's a charity organization with a charity status," he said. "I was going to do an audit, but then all this came together. The government should look into how the money is spent."

Elbakri could not be reached for comment.

But in an affidavit, Elbakri said many people in the Muslim community regret the actions of Warraich and find it embarrassing.

"No one wants a dispute within the community to be resolved in such a litigious manner," he said.

Shahina Siddqui, the executive director of the Islamic Social Services Association of the United States and Canada, who was at the meeting and later tapped to be head of the election steering committee, said with both Ramadan and the flood devastation in Pakistan, local Muslims should be coming together instead of flying apart.

"It's very unfortunate," Siddqui said. "We just want to get it over with and save everybody time and money.

"A lot of our energy could go into something more productive than this."

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition August 31, 2010 A4

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