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Path: bloom-beacon.mit.edu!hookup!swrinde!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!nntp-server.caltech.edu!mughal
From: mughal@alumni.caltech.edu (Asim Mughal)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.islam,news.answers,soc.answers
Subject: [soc.religion.islam] Frequently Asked Questions
Followup-To: poster
Date: 26 Feb 1994 20:51:28 GMT
Organization: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
Lines: 1015
Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu
Expires: Fri, 1 April 1994 00:00:00 GMT
Message-ID: <2kocog$5vl@gap.cco.caltech.edu>
NNTP-Posting-Host: alumni.caltech.edu
Summary: This posting contains Frequently Asked Questions for
Soc.Religion.Islam.
Originator: mughal@alumni.caltech.edu
Xref: bloom-beacon.mit.edu soc.religion.islam:5126 news.answers:15680 soc.answers:912
Archive-name: islam-faq
Last-modified: 1994/2/26
Version: 2.6
***** ANSWERS TO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS *********
READ THIS BEFORE YOU POST A QUERY.
This message is automatically posted once a month to provide
answers to commonly asked questions on this forum.
If you have any contributions or changes to this document
please send me an email message. If you never wish you see
this document again, please add the above subject in your
KILL file.
Sincerely,
Asim Mughal
mughal@alumni.caltech.edu
[Standard Disclaimer]
=================================================================
NOTE:
This FAQ posting is now in USENET digest format. If you are
using "rn" (or it derivatives) to read news ^G (Ctrl- G) will
take you to the next question. If you are using any other news
reader search for the next line that begins with "Subject:".
=================================================================
*****************************************************************
This periodic posting is now archived. It is available via
anonymous ftp from
rtfm.mit.edu (18.70.0.209)
OR
sending email to
mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu with the body of the message as
send usenet/news.answers/islam-faq
quit
******************************************************************
*****************************************************************
Contents:
1) What is Islam?
2) Guidelines for posting to Soc.Religion.Islam (SRI)
3) List of FTP Sites for Islamic Material
4) Islamic Material thru Gopher Sites (Articles/Info/Hadith)
5) List of Muslim Forums: Listservs/Mailing Lists/USENET
6) Email addresses for submissions to Soc.Religion.Islam
7) List of Current Moderators
8) History of Soc.Religion.Islam Forum
9) Administrative Setup of Soc.Religion.Islam
10) Procedure for Selection of New Moderators
11) Guidelines & Rules for Moderators
12) Policies on Direct Submissions, resubmissions & format
13) Acknowledgment Process
14) Grievance Process
15) E-mail submissions
16) Proper USENET format for submissions
17) Test Messages
18) Anonymous Submissions
19) History of this FAQ & Credits
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Subject: 1) What is Islam?
The word "Islam" in Arabic Language means "submission" & "peace" A
Muslim is a person who submits to the will of Allah and finds therein
peace. Islam is derived from the Arabic word "salaam" meaning peace.
Who are the Muslims? The common answer is "the Arabs." This is a
mistaken impression that is true only insofar as Islam arose among the
Arabs, its Prophet and many of its adherents were and are Arabs, and its
scripture, the Holy Quran, must be recited in original Arabic form. The
Arabs comprise only 25 % of the present population of Islam. They form
majority of the population in roughly thirty-six (36) countries and
nearly half of the population in five others. The estimated strength of
Islam is estimated to be one billion people, almost one fifth of world
population. Islam is the world's third largest religion, behind
Christianity and Buddhism,and its present rate of growth and vitality
rivals both traditions.
Muslims represent many races and socioeconomic settings. There have been
however significant divisions of opinion within the umma (commonwealth
of Islam or Islamic Community). Despite these differences, Islam brings
unity by incorporating divergent interpretations of basic beliefs.
SUNNI: The recorded practice and teachings of Prophet Mohammad were
early regarded as his Sunnah, meaning 'path' or 'way.' These traditions
became powerful symbols for the Islamic religion, models of right belief
and practice. The collection of Prophet Mohammad's sayings are called
"Hadith" comprising Sunnah or "authoritative examples." These required
further interpretations and application to a variety of situations of
everyday life.
Majority of Muslims following Sunnah of Prophet Mohammad are termed
"Sunnis." Islam developed four schools of jurisprudence whose functions
were to decide upon the proper application of Holy Quran and Sunnah to
virtually all aspects of life of the community. Each of the four schools
takes its name from early jurist to whom later followers trace many of
the school's distinctive opinions. The four schools are:
1. Hanifi's (after Abu Hanifa, d.767)
2. Maliki's (after Malik ibn Anas, d.795)
3. Shafi'is (after Muhammad al-Shafi'i d.819)
& 4. Hanbali's (after Ahmad ibn Hanbal d.855)
Acceptable differences of interpretation exist among the four schools,
and a Sunni may seek to conform his or her pratice of Islam to any one
of them. Matters pertaining to marriage, divorce, inheritance, and
proper government come under the jurisdiction of Islamic Law.
The learned scholars of law are called "Ulema."They are highly respected
for their learning in the religious sciences. Islam has no clergy or
priesthood as such. The basic principles of Islamic Law are established
by the following:
i) The Holy Quran
ii) The Prophet's Sunnah
iii) The learned consensus of Ulema
iv) Reasoning by analogy from accepted
interpretations of i) & ii) to new
problems not directly addressed therein.
All of the four above form a concept of revelation of God's will to the
community of Islam. This concept is called, Shari'a, it is more than
scripture, it implies a composite source of teaching and practice
involving the Holy Quran, the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad and
authoritative human interpretation and application.
SHI'IA: A significant minority of Muslims, 10-15 %, differ on certain
religious and political matters almost since the beginning of Islam.
They are known as Shi'ia 's. The historical and religious differences do
not obscure the broad lines of agreement between Shi'ias and Sunnis.
Shi'ias differ little from Sunnis in belief and practice. Their
differences lie mainly in the modes of leadership and piety. Although
Islam united the Arabs of North and South under the same banner but the
cultural and traditional differences remained strong and surfaced at the
time of choosing the successors of Prophet Muhammad after His death. The
majority believed in choosing from the closest companions of Prophet
Muhammad while others sought guidance in political and religous matters
from Hazart Ali, Prophet Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law. Hazart Ali
was chosen as the fourth Caliph (leader of Islamic community) but was
assassinated in 661. The civil strife that resulted left and indelible
mark upon Islamic Umma (community).
Shi'ias believe Prophet Muhammad passed on a significant part of his
teachings directly to Hazart Ali, and hence to subsequent Imams (
sprititual leaders). Although the twelfth and last Imam disappeared late
in the ninth century, expected to return before the Judgement Day. The
Shia Ulema carry on the distinctive teachings and interpretations they
trace back through the Imams to Prophet Muhammad. The teachings of the
sixth Imam, Jafar al-Sadiq (d.765) became the basis of Jafari schools
among Sunnis.
The emotional intensity that characterizes Shi'ia beliefs culminates on
the tenth day of Muharram (the first month of Islamic calendar). On this
date in Karbala, Iraj, in 680, Hazart Husayn, son of Hazart Ali and
grandson of Prophet Muhammad, was brutally murdered by troops of
Ummayyad Caliph,Yazid. For nine days, Yazid's troops besieged the camps
and deprived Hazart Husayn and his followers (72 of them) of any water.
Remembering the tragedy of Hazart Husayn on every year on 10th of
Muharram is done by Sunnis as well as Shi'ias.
FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
The pillars of Islam are considered obligatory for all Muslims although
Sunni and Shia schools of law have slight variations.
The pillars of Islam play important roles in intellectual and social
dimensions of Islamic life. The five pillars of faith and practice are:
1. The Shahada (Witness)
2. The Salat (Prayer)
3. The Zakat (Alms)
4. The Sawm or Siyam (Fasting)
5. The Hajj (Pilgrimage)
SHAHADA: (Witness) The Shahada is:
In Arabic "La ilah ha il Allah, Muhammadan Rasul-Allah"
Translation: "(There is) No diety but Allah (and) Muhammad is His Messenger"
or
"There is no God but Allah" and "Muhammad is His Apostle"
Islam is one of the three monotheistic religions to arise in the Middle
East; along with the other two - Judaism and Christianity- it stresses
the oneness and uniqueness of God. The world 'Allah' means 'The God.'
The second phrase of the Shahada declares that Muhammad is God's
messenger to humankind. Accepting the Judaeo-Christian Biblical
tradition in large part, Muslims believe that God had sent prophets and
messengers to other nations in the past with the same revealed message
Muhammad was to recite to the Arabs. Muhammad's mission brought the
final positing of divine Truth, and thus Muhammad is regarded as the
"Seal of the Prophets."
SALAT: (Payer) Performing daily prayers is an act of communication
between humans and God. Five daily prayers are considered a duty for
all Muslims,and on these occasions preparations in ritual purity are
required. The prayers are Fajr (early morning before the sun rise), Zuhr
(afternoon), Asr (later afternoon), Maghrib (after sunset) and Isha
(evening). The prayers must be said while facing in the direction of
Mecca. The congregational prayer of Friday afternoon is compulsory and
must be said in a Mosque, Muslim's place of worship. There is a sermom
and then the prayers in uniform rows.
ZAKAT: (Alms) The Zakat is a form of giving to those who are less
fortunate. It is obligatory upon all Muslims to give 2.5 % of wealth and
assets each year (in excess of what is required) to the poor. This is
done before the beginning of the month of Muharram, the first of new
year. Giving the Zakat is considered an act of worship because it is a
form of offering thanks to God for the means of material well-being one
has acquired.
SAWM or SIYAM: (FASTING) Another form of offering thanks to God is
fasting. It is duty to all Muslims to fast during the ninth month of
Islamic calendar, Ramadan. During this month, Muslims refrain from food,
drink during daylight. Excepts are those ill health, pregnant women &
travelers. One is to make up lost days of fasting at a later time. The
time of fasting is from just before sunrise to just after sunset. The
breaking of fast is joyous occasion. Sawm during Ramadan or any time is
recognized as physically demanding but spiritually rewarding.
HAJJ: (Pilgrimage) The pilgrimage season begins in the tenth month, the
month following Ramadan, and lasts through the middle of twelveth month,
Dhu al-Hijja. This fifth pillar requires all Muslims who are physically
and financially capable to make Hajj to Mecca once during their lives.
The actual rites and prayers take place at the scred Ka'ba in Mecca and
at nearby locations. Muslims associate the origin of the Hajj and the
founding of the Ka'ba with the prophet Abraham. Nearly two million
Muslims perform Hajj each year.
JIHAD: (Striving) Although it is not a pillar of Islam but is a duty in
one form or another. The most common media misconception is of calling
Jihad a 'Holy War.' The general meaning of the term is "striving for
moral and religious perfection." The broader meaning of this term
encompasses one's life and community. The constant struggle of striving
to remain on the path of Islam by observing the above five pillars of
Islam is Jihad. One who strives is Mujahid.
Being a Mujahid, a striver for moral and religious perfection, involves
numerous forms of public and private devotion that charaterizes the
'practice' of islam. This includes respecting the dietry laws against
eating pork and drinking alcohol, respecting parents and elders, helping
to provide for close relatives and kins, giving to the poor and
disadvantaged. On the other side, theft, murder, fornication, adultery,
lying, cheating, wrongly accusing or testifying are strictly forbidden
by Shari'a (Islamic Law).
In technical sense, Islam means 'the pratice of the religious and social
duties' outlined above.
IMAN: (Faith) The faith, like Five Pillars, can be divided in six parts.
It means belief in the following:
1. God and His Attributes
2. Prophets
3. Angles
4. Sacred Books
5. The Judgement Day
6. Predestination
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Subject: 2) Guidelines for posting to Soc.Religion.Islam (SRI)
This forum is for discussions on Islam as a religion. The
submissions to this forum must:
1. Discuss Islam: directly related.
Includes theology, comparative studies with other religions,
announcements of Islamic conferences & sources of information
for muslims, Ramadan,Eid etc.
2. Academic language must be used.
No verbal abuse, personal attacks, flames, profanity or insults.
Rejected items will be returned back to the sender with a note from
the reviewing moderator.
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Subject: 3) List of FTP Sites for Islamic Material
QURAN ANONYMOUS FTP SITES DIRECTORY/FILE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ariel.unm.edu /pub/misc
cs.bu.edu /amass/quran
cs.ubc.ca /mirror1/next/Literature/working
etlport.etl.go.jp /pub/NeXT/Literature/working
ftp.mcs.kent.edu /pub/islam
ftp.ugcs.caltech.edu /pub/cms
ftp.uu.net /doc/literary/obi/Religion
gatekeeper.dec.com /.8/misc/scripture/quran
nova.cc.purdue.edu /pub/next/Literature/working
ocf.berkeley.edu /pub/religion/quran
phoenix.oulu.fi /pub/quran
pinus.slu.se /pub/etext/misc
princeton.edu /pub/quran.tar.Z
punisher.caltech.edu /pub/calmsa
roxette.mty.itesm.mx /pub/next/Literature/working
slopoke.mlb.semi.harris.com /pub/doc/quran
sonata.cc.purdue.edu /pub/next/Literature/working
sunsite.unc.edu /pub/docs/books/religious
unix.hensa.ac.uk /pub/uunet/doc/literary/obi/Religion
uxc.cso.uiuc.edu /pub/quran.tar.Z
Courtesy: CYBERMUSLIM 1.0
Islamic Information & News Network (MUSLIMS@PSUVM.BITnet)
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Subject: 4) Islamic Material thru Gopher Sites (Articles/Info/Hadith)
A- GOPHER LATIF.COM 70
======================
As of December 01, '93 Islamic material is available thru
gopher services as well. To access:
% gopher latif.com 70
Contact Name: Br. Yaakob Abdullah (yaakob@latif.com)
B- GOPHER GOPHER.CALTECH.EDU 70
===============================
The ftp site maintained by Caltech MSA carrying files archived
by Islamic Information & News Network (muslims@asuacad.bitnet)
is now accessible thru gopher.
The gopher server is: gopher.caltech.edu
\Computing Information
\CCO anonymous FTP site
\pub
\calmsa
For Quick Access: % gopher gopher.caltech.edu 70
gopher.caltech.edu is linked to world-wide network of gophers.
Contact Name: (Asim Mughal) calmsa@punisher.caltech.edu [MSA Acct]
mughal@alumni.caltech.edu
Courtesy: Caltech MSA
Islamic Information & News Network (MUSLIMS@PSUVM.BITnet)
C- HADITH AVAILABLE THRU GOPHER:
================================
TO ACCESS: % gopher
This will connect to your root gopher. If gopher is
NOT setup on your site, go to the end of the document
for 'Public Telnet Sites for Gopher.'
STEP 1: For illustration, Connection to gopher.caltech.edu is shown.
Display follows:
----------------------------------------------------------------
Root gopher server: gopher.caltech.edu
1. About this Gopher.
2. Library Information/
3. Research Information/
4. Institute Information/
5. Computing Information/
--> 6. Other Gophers and Information Resources/
----------------------------------------------------------------
STEP 2: Select No.6 "Other Gophers and Information Resources"
1. How to use Gopher (free course)/
2. Guides to Internet Resources/
3. Gophers by Subject/
4. Gophers by Location/
--> 5. Gophers by Keyword Search (Veronica)/
----------------------------------------------------------------
STEP 3: Select No.5 "Gopher by keyword Search (Veronica)"
Gophers by Keyword Search (Veronica)
1. Search gopherspace by veronica at NYSERNet <?>
--> 2. Search gopherspace by veronica at UNR <?>
----------------------------------------------------------------
STEP 4: Select No.2 "Search gopherspace by vernoica at UNR <?>"
Words to search for: hadith
Search gopherspace by veronica at UNR: hadith
--> 1. Sahih Bukhari Hadith Database/
2. Hadith--Databases.
3. Forty Hadith Qudsi.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
PUBLIC TELNET SITES FOR GOPHER: From Gopher FAQ dated Jan '94.
Q3: Where are there publicly available logins for Gopher?
A3: Here is a short list, use the site closest to you to minimize
network lag.
Public Logins:
Hostname IP# Login Area
------------------------- --------------- ------ -------------
consultant.micro.umn.edu 134.84.132.4 gopher North America
ux1.cso.uiuc.edu 128.174.5.59 gopher North America
panda.uiowa.edu 128.255.40.201 panda North America
gopher.msu.edu 35.8.2.61 gopher North America
gopher.ebone.net 192.36.125.2 gopher Europe
info.anu.edu.au 150.203.84.20 info Austraa
gopher.chalmers.se 129.16.221.40 gopher Sweden
tolten.puc.cl 146.155.1.16 gopher South America
ecnet.ec 157.100.45.2 gopher Ecuador
gan.ncc.go.jp 160.190.10.1 gopher Japan
Courtesy: Islamic Information & News Network: (Muslims@Asuacad.Bitnet)
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Subject: 5) List of Muslim Forums: Listservs/Mailing Lists/USENET
======= LISTSERVs ============================================================
o Islamic Information & News Network (IINN)
MUSLIMS@ASUACAD & MUSLIMS@PSUVM [ Subscribers = 717 ]
Owners: PAKOWNER@ASUACAD (Asim Mughal & Nauman Mysorewala)
o History of Islam
ISLAM-L@ULKYVM [ Subscribers = 319 ]
Owner: JACOCK01@ULKYVM (Jim Cocks)
o Islamic Information and Issues Discussion Group
ISLAMIAT@SAKAAU03 [ Subscribers = 12 ]
Owner: ENF3006@SAKAAU03 (Abu baker Essahak & Muhammad Moula)
======= USENET ==============================================================
o Moderated Forums:
SOC.RELIGION.ISLAM
Moderators: Asim Mughal,Basalat Ali Raja, Ahmad Hashem &Ms. Iraj Mughal
Contact Address: religion-islam-request@ncar.ncar.edu
BIT.LISTSERV.MUSLIMS
Islamic Information & News Network gatewayed from MUSLIMS@PSUVM.BITnet
Contact Address: Muslims@Psuvm.Bitnet
======= Mailing Lists =======================================================
o MSA-NET msa@htm3.ee.queensu.ca
o AWAIR awair@igc.org
======= COMPUSERV ===========================================================
o ISLAM forum on compuserve.com.
Section Leader: Sister Aisha Musa (71620.3276@compuserv.com)
=============================================================================
Courtesy: Islamic Information & News Network (MUSLIMS@PSUVM.BITNET)
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Subject: 6) Email addresses for submissions to Soc.Religion.Islam
Although one may post to Soc.Religion.Islam Forum using News
Software, it is possible to send submissions as an email
message. Please use any of the following email addresses:
1. religion-islam@ncar.ucar.edu
2. soc.religion.islam-news@newsbase.cs.yale.edu
3. soc-religion-islam@cs.utexas.edu
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Subject: 7) List of Current Moderators
List of current Moderators: As of 2/20/94
mughal@alumni.cco.caltech.edu *Asim M Mughal Coordinator/Moderator SRI
iraj@gnu.ai.mit.edu *Iraj Mughal Moderator SRI
* active
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Subject: 8) History of Soc.Religion.Islam Forum
1989 : Soc.Religion.Islam established.
FOUNDER:
gwydion@gnu.ai.mit.edu Basalat Ali Raja
Fall 1989: MODERATORS SELECTED.
bes@cco.caltech.edu Behnam Sadeghi
naim@eecs.nwu.edu Naim Abdullah
shari@wpi.WPI.EDU Shari Deiana VanderSpeck
NOV. 15 1991: NEW MODERATORS SELECTED, ALL FALL 1989 MODERATORS STEP DOWN..
New moderators:
mughal@iago.caltech.edu Asim Mughal
csulaima@copper.Denver.Colorado.EDU Cynthia Sulaiman
hanan@mcs213k.cs.umr.edu Hanan Lutfiyya
azhar@duke.cs.duke.edu Salman Azhar
jodar%girtab.usc.edu@usc.edu Nick Jodar
FEB. 12, 1992: MODERATOR STEPS DOWN.
Moderator Nick Jodar (jodar%girtab.usc.edu@usc.edu) steps down.
APRIL 2, 1992: MODERATOR RESIGNS. TWO NEW MODERATORS SELECTED.
Moderator Cynthia Sulaiman (csulaima@copper.Denver.Colorado.EDU) Resigns.
New Moderators:
gwydion@gnu.ai.mit.edu Basalat Ali Raja
majeed@math.utexas.edu Zartaj Majeed
MAY 22, 1992: COORDINATOR SOC.RELIGION.ISLAM ELECTED
Moderators elected their following colleague as `Co-ordinator SRI.'
mughal@alumni.caltech.edu Asim M Mughal
Co-ordinater will be responsible for:
1. Reply to administrative questions regarding SRI.
2. Co-ordinate discussions among moderators.
3. Announce administrative actions, e.g. request for new moderators/run the
selection procedure/announce results on SRI.
4. Interact with NCAR & USENET regarding updating the list of active
moderators.
JUNE 5, 1992: MODERATOR LEAVES
majeed@math.utexas.edu, Zartaj Majeed
NOV 19, 1992: MODERATOR's RETIREMENT FROM SRI CONFIRMED
hanan@mcs213k.cs.umr.edu Hanan Lutfiyya
DEC 4, 1992: TWO ADDITIONAL MODERATORS ANNOUNCED
sadeka@binkley.cs.mcgill.ca Sadeka Hedaraly
zeeshan@occs.cs.oberlin.edu Zeeshan Hasan
FEB 14, 1993: MODERATOR-SELECT TENDERS RESIGNATION (posting problems)
sadeka@binkley.cs.mcgill.ca Sadeka Hedaraly
MAY 4, 1993: NEW MODERATORS !
dina@mentor.cc.purdue.edu Dina Wooten
ahmad@cs.umb.edu Ahmad Hashem
JUNE 8, 1993: MODERATOR STEPS DOWN
dina@mentor.cc.purdue.edu Dina Wooten
AUG 12, 1993: NO-CONFIDENCE MOTION.
/SEPT 8, 1993: MODERATOR RELINQUISHES HIS POSITION
zeeshan@occs.cs.oberlin.edu Zeeshan Hasan
AUG 25, 1993: TWO MUSLIMAS JOIN MODERATOR PANEL
ag746@freenet.hsc.colorado.edu Iraj Mughal
csulaima@student.umass.edu Cynthia Sulaiman
SEPT 15, 1993: MODERATOR RESIGNS
azhar@duke.cs.duke.edu D. Salman Azhar
JAN 20, 1994 MODERATOR UNAVAILABLE - NO NETWORK ACCESS
csulaima@student.umass.edu Cynthia Sulaiman
FEB 05, 1993: NO-CONFIDENCE MOTION. MODERATOR REQUESTED TO STEP DOWN
ahmad@cs.umb.edu Ahmad Hashem
FEB 20, 1993: MODERATOR RESIGNS
gwydion@gnu.ai.mit.edu Basalat Ali Raja
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Subject: 9) Administrative Setup of Soc.Religion.Islam
Date: 15 Nov 91 02:45:12 GMT
(Greg Woods)
As you may or may not know, this group is multiply moderated. This means
that all postings are mailed to a program here which randomly selects
a moderator from a fixed list and forwards the posting on. I do not
read this group and have no connection with it other than maintaining
the multiple moderator software and making temporary adjustments to the
list of moderators (for example, when a moderator goes on vacation s/he
asks me to remove him/her from the moderator list while gone).
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Subject: 10) Procedure for Selection of New Moderators
The current moderators post an announcement for new moderators on S.R.I.
All interested applicants are sent a copy of guidelines and a list of questions.
References from others are appreciated. Each new moderator has unanimous vote
of current moderators. The new moderators must:
1. Have some understanding of Islam (not necessarily a Muslim).
2. Agree with guidelines of Soc.Religion.Islam.
3. Be able to recognize flames/insults.
4. Have experience with USENET, preferrably a reader of SRI and have taken
some participation in discussions.
5. Be willing to volunteer at least 2-4 hrs of time for S.R.I. per week.
6. Secure unanimous vote from all current moderators.
As an additional step, the incoming moderators will be requested to
sign an affidavit, declaring their intent to abide by the guidelines
of Soc.Religion.Islam, Guidelines & Rules for the SRI moderators &
acceptance to a unanimous no-confidence motion.
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Subject: 11) Guidelines & Rules for SRI Moderators
By: Coordinator SRI, Asim Mughal
Dated: 1/11/94
SRI MODERATOR RULES:
This does not cover all the established rules for moderators of SRI but
gives a clear picture of need for such rules. These rules have developed
over time & voted by the moderators.
A. CONFIDENTIALITY: 1. Internal discussion among the moderators must not
be revealed to a third party. All votings will be confidential as well.
B. BEHAVIOR: Professional language & behavior is expected when
addressing the readers & moderator colleagues.
C. SUBMISSIONS:
i. To: religion-Islam-request:
Any articles sent to religion-islam-request@ncar.ucar.edu reaches all
moderators. Such articles will be reviewed by the coordinator only, to
avoid duplications.
ii. Directly Sent to a Moderator:
It will not be regarded as an official submission to SRI.
D. COORDINATOR:
One of the moderators will be fully dedicated for for this positions.
The responsibilities include:
i. Take care of duplications
ii. Review cases of 'lost articles'
iii. Handle grievances from readers
iv. Write, update & maintain FAQ.
v. Represent SRI moderator panel
vi. Log activities of SRI, moderators, violations etc
vii. Communicate with third parties, e.g USENET, NCAR
viii. Call for votes on the issues at request of moderators.
ix. Conduct survey/poll of readers
x. Conduct interviews for new moderators.
E. SUBMISSIONS:
i. Review of submissions be held within 48 hrs (weekdays) and 72 hrs for
holidays or weekends.
ii. Acknowledgment must be made at the time of receipt and at the time
of posting of an article.
iii. Not sure: If not sure on making a decision, get a vote/opinion from
other colleagues.
iv. Common Questions: can be resolved consulting 'reference guide.'
v. Rejection Notices: All rejection notices will be Bcc' or CC'd to the
rest of the moderators, along with a rational of rejection.
vi. Approval Notices: All approved articles when posted will be sent to
the author with a cc the coordinator.
F. GUIDELINES:
i. Submitted articles must be:
- Directly or indirectly related to Islam
- No flames/personal attacks or insults
ii. Assumptions:
- Proper USENET format (79 column in width,less quoted text)
- Not a 'test message' or a blank message
G.PROBLEMS:
i. Lost Articles: or 'Second Attempts' will be forwarded to the
coordinator.
ii. Administrative: queries on SRI, asking for status on the article
submitted will be forwarded to the coordinator.
iii. Rejections: If a reader differs with a moderator. The moderator
must give it a second review. If the differences persist,forward
the case to the coordinator to a peer review.
H.VOTING:
i. Issues:For status of an article and for SRI related issues, a
majority voting decides the outcome.
ii. Change of Status: of a moderator. For a no-confidence vote, or for
new moderators, unanimous vote is a must.
iii.Voting will be initiated by the coordinator. All votes will be send
to him within 48 hrs (72 hrs weekends/holidays) or 'Abstain' will
be recorded. Votes will be tallied and results will be announced
by the coordinator.
iv. Binding: All majority voting decisions are binding on the
moderators strictly.
I.NEW MODERATORS:
i. Initiate: Coordinator may initiate the selection procedure by making
a solicitation on SRI or as a result of a request for a reader.
ii. Criteria: Some knowledge of Islam, fairness, honest, willing to work
with a team, spare time, working knowledge of USENET,willing to work
in accordance to the parameters of the forum.
iii.Questionnaire:A questionnaire is sent to all the applicants with some
basic questions based upon above criteria
iv. Affidavit: An affidavit is obtained to ensure in writing the
intentions to abide by the guidelines and agree to be accept a
unanimous vote against him/her.
v. Final voting: is conducted among the moderators. Unanimous voting is
required in favor of the applicant.
vi.There will be probationary period of upto 3 months, during which a
majority voting can remove the new moderator.
J:EMERGENCIES:
i. If coordinator can not be on-line for more than 48 hrs due to an
emergency situation. One of the predesignated moderator,will temporarily
assume the role of the coordinator. If predesignated moderator is also
not available, any other moderator may take up the role of a
coordinator.
K:LEAVE RULES:
i. After a leave of 3 months, a moderator must be reconfirmed for the
position.
ii. One may take upto three weeks (cumulative) of leave every six
months.
iii. Other moderators must be notified in advance.
* AFFIDAVIT *
AFFIDAVIT which all moderators of SRI agree to sign.
___ Affidavit _____________________________________________________________
I agree that I will abide by the guidelines of the SRI newsgroup
while I am a moderator for the newsgroup. These guidelines can be
voted upon further by the moderators and after they have passed
these will also be obeyed by all current moderators.
Repeated violations of the guidelines may result in removal from the
moderator position if voted so unanimously by the moderators of SRI.
Signed,
Dated:
===============================================================================
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Subject: 12) Policies on Direct Submissions, resubmissions & format.
Please be reminded, in order to make this group efficient and
to fairly distribute the load on the moderators your cooperation
is needed. We would like to request the following.
1. Please do NOT send direct submissions to the moderators' accounts.
[Routing software distributes more or less equal number of articles
to each of the moderator.Sending direct upsets this balance unfairly]
2. Please do not re-submit articles again and again. Just ONCE is
sufficient. [This leads to duplication and waste of time & energy]
3. Please keep your column length less than 80.
4. Please 'Spell-check' your articles.
[Moderators are for reviewing the contents of the submission, NOT to
format it or spell check it]
5. Please Keep them within the guidelines 1) Relevance to Islam
2) Academic/prof. language
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Subject: 13) Acknowledgment Process
It has always been our best effort to make this newsgroup run
smoothly & efficiently. In spite of it, there have been cases
where readers feel their articles were lost or never posted.
Effective *immediately* we have decided to send acknowledgment
to each & every message we receive in our mailboxes.
We ask for your cooperation in implementing the logistics.
Once your message is received by the moderator of SRI, you will be
sent a copy of your message back with the statement.
"Your posting for Soc.Religion.Islam appended below has been
received in the mailbox of moderator ____ ______"
o This will let you know 1. Your posting has been received.
2. Which moderator is reviewing it.
o If you don't get an acknowledgment back within 48 hrs. Please
send it again with a header "Second Attempt." Acknowledgment of
"Second Attempt" will be circulated to co-moderators as well.
o In an unfortunate case of "Third Attempt." It should be sent
directly to the email address of Coordinator SRI*
o Your article will be posted on Soc.Religion.Islam from anywhere
between 1 hrs to 48 hrs.
o If you don't see your posting on Soc.Religion.Islam within 72 hrs
of receiving a return receipt - send a copy of your article with
time stamped headers to the Coordinator SRI*
*At present, the Coordinator SRI is Asim Mughal. He can be reached
at mughal@alumni.caltech.edu.
WE REQUEST YOU TO COOPERATE BY:
o Not posting to Soc.Religion.Islam's email address unless you have
absolutely no way of posting thru USENET.
o Not posting your same article again & again. Just ONCE is enough.
o Not inquiring every day about your articles or your friends'.
Lets try to make this new system a success.
P.S. The present guidelines do not require the moderators of SRI
to send acknowledgments or handle the cases of lost articles.
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Subject: 14) Grievance Process
This is an effort to establish a procedure for handling grievances. The
purpose is to make sure due attention is paid to concerns, objections &
criticism from the readers while at the same time it prevents unncessary
hassling of moderator(s). The final decision rests on majority voting
among the moderators.
SUMMARY
o If your article is rejected, you may ask the same moderator for a review.
o If still unsatisfied, request a peer review.
o The moderator in question must decide whether to hold a peer review.
o Majority voting among moderators decides the outcome.
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Subject: 15) Email submissions
Please post your articles to USENET group soc.religion.islam.
The address : religion-islam-request@ncar.ucar.edu is only to
be used in extreme case. Any email sent to this address goes
to ALL moderators. This may lead to:
1. No moderator posting the article (thinking others
may be doing so)
2. All moderators posting the article.
The usual case is (2) which causes duplication and waste of
time translating into one less article from other readers
posted on S.R.I. Hence, we discourge sending articles to this
address.
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Subject: 16) Proper USENET format for submissions.
C O L U M N W I D T H:
The submissions must be trimmed to 79 characters in width.
Without it, the posting software does NOT post the article.
<------------- This makes 79 characters in width ----------------------------->
1234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789
Additional time it takes to format postings translates into unfair
advantage against other readers, whose article face delays.
Q U O T E D T E X T:
The current NetNews software will not post an article if the quoted
text is more than the response. Please trim the quoted text from your
submissions for Soc.Religion.Islam.
Again, please submit your articles in proper USENET format. Thanks.
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Subject: 17) Test Messages
o "Test Message" will be acknowledged but not posted.
This will ensure the sender knows his/her article
made it to the moderators. It is assumed their
article or submission will follow.
o Repeated Test Messages: Will be acknowledged only once.
- Please don't abuse the system -
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Subject: 18) Anonymous Submissions
o Submission from anonymous servers and personal requests from
readers to remain anonymous are acceptable.
o The guidelines apply to anonymous submissions, with regards,
to submission & contents.
o Anonymous postings may not be acknowledged.
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Subject: 19) History of this FAQ & Credits.
V 1.0 Released Dec 25, 1993. 7 Items.
V 1.5 Released Jan 02, 1994. Item 1 expanded
V 2.0 Released Jan 05, 1994, Items 8-14 added
V 2.1 Released Jan 07, 1994, Minor touchup
V 2.2 Released Jan 19, 1994, Item 4 expanded, Trimmed Item 5
V 2.3 Released Jan 20, 1994, SRI mods updated.
V 2.4 Released Jan 25, 1994, New item # 14
V 2.5 Released Jan 31, 1994, New item # 15. Item # 5 updated.
V 2.6 Released Feb 26, 1994, New items # 11, # 17, # 18. Updated: #4,#7,#8
Thanks to the following people for reviewing this FAQ & giving their inputs
to keep this FAQ up-to-date:
Ishaq Zahid, Suhail Farooqi, Masud Khan, Salman Shaikh, Basalat Ali Raja,
Iraj Mughal, Kent Landfield & Ahmad Hashem.