SOCIETY FOR THE STUDY OF MUSLIM ETHICS
BY-LAWS
Article I: Name, Nature, and Purpose
Section 1: The name of this organization shall be the Society for the Study of Muslim Ethics (SSME).
Section 2: The SSME shall be a nonprofit, nonpolitical, and nonsectarian educational organization incorporated as such under the laws of the United States of America.
Section 3: The SSME shall be dedicated to advancing intellectual inquiry in Muslim ethics, including the relation of Muslim ethics to other ethical traditions and to social, political, and economic problems. The Society shall support academic work in both philosophical and applied ethics, historical as well as contemporary issues. The Society shall also promote the teaching of Muslim ethics in colleges, universities, and theological schools; improve understanding of Muslim ethics in the broader society through publications and other educational activities; and provide a community of discourse and debate for those engaged professionally in the study of Muslim ethics.
Article II: Membership
Section l: Eligibility
Persons eligible for membership shall include (1) college, university, or seminary teachers of Muslim ethics; (2) persons teaching in similar institutions in other fields who are concerned with the relation of Islamic ethics to their subject matter; (3) persons whose full-time professional work in religious, government, social institutions or elsewhere is related to the purposes of the Society. Candidates for membership must have at least one of the following: a Ph.D. or equivalent degree, scholarly publications in religious ethics, or a full-time teaching position in ethics or related fields in an accredited institution of higher learning.
Doctoral students in ethics or related fields may become members of the Society upon matriculation into a doctoral program. This status ordinarily may be retained for not more than ten years.
Membership is open to all persons who fulfill the criteria above regardless of their race, sex, age, nationality, ethnicity, religious convictions, sexual orientation, or physical condition.
Section 2: Election to Membership
Membership in the Society shall be granted by a majority vote of the Board of Directors. Applications for membership shall be made in writing to the Chair of the Membership Committee, who shall present the same to the Board of Directors for its action.
Section 3: Professional Conduct of Members
The Society will conduct all its business in a manner appropriate to its purposes (see Article I), and expects members to conduct themselves within the Society in a manner appropriate to the purposes of the Society. Achievement of those purposes—the formation of a community of discourse, debate, and research which engages in scholarly work in and teaching of Muslim ethics in relation to social, economic, political, and cultural problems—requires members to respect both the basic human dignity of all persons and the recognized social and political rights of individuals which proceed from that dignity. Society members, agents, or employees acting within the Society will therefore refrain from any form of harassment or unjust discrimination, in deed or word, based in race, sex, age, nationality, ethnicity, religious conviction, sexual orientation, or physical condition.
Respect for the work and property of others will exclude plagiarism, copyright infringement, and unacknowledged use of the research of others.
Nothing in this Section shall be interpreted to prohibit members of the Society from articulating the positions of their respective religious traditions or belief systems, nor shall this Section be interpreted to prohibit open and vigorous discussion of controversial issues by members of the Society, both within its meetings and elsewhere.
Section 4: Maintenance of Membership
Membership in the Society shall be maintained by payment of the annual dues. Membership shall be terminated by resignation or by failure to pay annual dues. Reinstatement of membership will automatically accompany the payment of annual dues.
Section 5: Dues
The Board of Directors, in consultation with the Membership Committee, shall set membership dues. The term of membership shall be for one calendar year, beginning January 1.
Section 6: Termination of Membership for Cause
Membership in the Society may be terminated, suspended, or restricted for cause by vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the members of the Board of Directors. The Board shall provide the member in question with no less than fifteen (15) days’ prior written notice of the proposed expulsion, suspension, termination, or restriction and the reasons therefore. The Board shall also provide an opportunity ofr the member to be heard by the Board, orally or in writing, not less than five (5) days before the effective date of the expulsion, suspension, termination, or restriction. It shall be the responsibility of the President of the Society, in consultation with the Board of Directors, to formulate and implement further details of a procedure that are fair and reasonable given the circumstances of the case, including but not limited to its timing relative to the regularly scheduled meetings of the Board, and the geographic proximity of the member in question and the members of the Board. Nothing in this provision shall be construed to limit the right of the Society to terminate, suspend, or restrict membership for nonpayment of dues.
Article III: Officers and Board of Directors
Section 1: Officers
The Officers of the Society shall be the President, Vice President, and Secretary-Treasurer.
The President shall serve for a term of two years commencing on the final day of the Annual Meeting. The President shall be the chief executive officer of the Society and shall represent it in all public forums. The President shall have the authority, in consultation with the Board of Directors, to execute on behalf of the Society contracts and other legal documents that she or he reasonably deems necessary to further the successful occurrence of the Annual Meeting and any other regular or special meetings of the Society or its committees. The President shall preside at the Annual Meeting and at the meetings of the Board of Directors, and shall be a member ex officio of all standing and ad hoc committees. The President shall receive, together with the Board, reports from the standing and ad hoc committees, and shall have and exercise such other powers and duties as may be prescribed by the Board. The President shall present an annual report on the work of the Society to the full membership.
The Vice President shall serve for a term of two years commencing on the final day of the Annual Meeting. The Vice President shall chair the Program Committee and in this capacity coordinate the planning and execution of the Annual Meeting and all activities associated with it, including but not limited to the selection of meeting sites, the production of the Annual Meeting Program, and the provision of materials and facilities needed at the Annual Meeting. In the event of the resignation, incapacity, or death of the President, the Vice President shall serve as President of the Society for the remainder of the term.
The Secretary-Treasurer shall serve for a term of two years commencing on the final day of the Annual Meeting. The Secretary-Treasurer shall have responsibility for preparing the minutes of the meetings of the Board of Directors and of the full membership at the Annual Meeting. The Secretary-Treasurer shall give or cause to be given notices of all such meetings, shall authenticate records of the Society, and shall see that records and reports are properly kept and filed by the Society. The Secretary-Treasurer shall also be the Society’s chief financial officer and shall keep full and accurate records of its financial affairs and file any reports as might be required by the Internal Revenue Service and other government agencies. The Secretary-Treasurer shall render to the President and Board of Directors an annual account of all transactions and a report on the financial condition of the Society. A summary of this report shall be included in the President’s annual report on the state of the Society to the full membership.
Section 2: Board of Directors
The Board of Directors shall consist of the following members: the President, Vice President, Secretary-Treasurer, and four (4) other Members-at-Large. The Members-at-Large shall serve for a term of two years commencing on the final day of the Annual Meeting. The Board of Directors shall meet during the Annual Meeting of the Society, and at such other times as the President shall convene them. The Board of Directors shall have power to act on all matters concerning the activities and business of the Society, shall authorize the expenditure of the Society’s funds and provide for the proper auditing of its accounts, and shall have the power to act for the Society in all matters of policy and program between Annual Meetings. A report of the Board’s activities and decisions shall be included in the President’s annual report, and the Board shall review and approve this report before its release to the full membership. Five of the members shall constitute a quorum for the Board of Directors.
Section 3: Eligibility and Election of Officers and Board of Directors
All members of the Society in good standing are eligible to serve as an Officer or Member-at-Large of the Board of Directors. No incumbent Officer will be eligible for reelection to the same office until a full two-year term has elapsed in between. Outgoing Officers are eligible for election as Members-at-Large of the Board of Directors, and Members-at-Large are eligible for reelection indefinitely.
The Nominating Committee shall prepare a list of candidates for each office and the Board of Directors at least six months before the end of the terms of the incumbent Officers and Members-at-Large of the Board of Directors. The Secretary-Treasurer shall mail ballots containing the names of the candidates to all members of the Society at least four months before the end of the incumbent Board’s term. If the Secretary-Treasurer is a candidate in the election, the chair of the Nominating Committee or another member of the Nominating Committee who is not a candidate shall supervise the election. In the election of Officers, should no candidate receive a majority of votes, a run-off election shall be held between the two candidates receiving the most votes in the first round. In the election of the Members-at-Large, the four candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall be elected. The final results of the election shall be announced no later than three months before the end of the incumbents’ terms.
In the event of a vacancy in the office of Vice President or among the Members-at-Large of the Board of Directors, the Nominating Committee shall forward to the Secretary-Treasurer within one month nominations to fill the vacancy, unless the vacancy occurs within six months of the scheduled end of the two-year term. The Secretary-Treasurer shall then mail ballots to the full membership and announce the results of the election within two months of receiving the nominations. In the event that the vacancy is in the office of Secretary-Treasurer, the Vice President shall assume the responsibilities of the Secretary-Treasurer in conducting the special election.
Article IV: Committees
Section 1: Program Committee
The Program Committee shall be chaired by the Vice President and consist of four (4) other members of the Society (not members of the Board of Directors) appointed by the President in consultation with the Board of Directors. The Program Committee shall supervise, in consultation with the Board of Directors, the development of the program for the Annual Meeting, including issuing the call for papers, devising criteria for selecting the papers to be presented, inviting guest speakers, and planning special sessions. The Program Committee may also recommend to the Board of Directors extraordinary meetings of the Society apart from the Annual Meeting.
Section 2: Nominating Committee
The Nominating Committee shall consist of five (5) members of the Society (not members of the Board of Directors) appointed by the President in consultation with the Board of Directors. The committee members shall elect their chairperson. The Nominating Committee shall solicit nominations from the membership for all regular and special elections. It shall forward a list of candidates to the Secretary-Treasurer in accordance with the election procedures outlined in Article III, Section 3 above.
Section 3: Membership Committee
The Membership Committee shall consist of five (5) members of the Society (not members of the Board of Directors) appointed by the President in consultation with the Board of Directors. The committee members shall elect their chairperson. The Membership Committee shall receive and review all applications for membership, and forward names of eligible candidates to the Board of Directors for confirmation. The Committee shall review annually the membership dues and forward recommendations for changes to the Board of Directors. The Committee shall also devise means to publicize the work of the Society with the goal of broadening its membership.
Section 4: Ad Hoc Committees
The President, in consultation with the Board of Directors, may appoint such other committees as are necessary from time to time.
Article V: Meetings
The Society shall hold an Annual Meeting at a time and place to be determined by the Board of Directors, for the reading and discussing of scholarly papers, the convening of special programs, and the conduct of the Society’s official business. Meetings of the Society other than the Annual Meeting may be held upon the recommendation of the Program Committee with the approval of the Board of Directors.
Article VI: Amendments
Any proposed amendment to these By-Laws, along with an explanation of why the amendment is necessary or desirable, shall be submitted in writing to the President. The Board of Directors shall discuss the proposed amendment, and within three months of the proposed amendment’s submission to the President, they shall vote on whether or not to submit the amendment to the full membership. A two-thirds (2/3) majority of the full Board is necessary to move the proposed amendment before the full membership, at which time the Secretary-Treasurer shall send notice of the proposed amendment and instructions for voting on it to the membership. The amendment shall be adopted by majority vote of the full membership.
These By-Laws may also be amended by two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Board of Directors, which shall exercise this power only to make clerical or minor ministerial changes to the By-Laws, or to make changes necessary to conform to applicable law or to protect fundamental legal or financial interests of the Society. In the event that the Board of Directors exercises this power to amend the By-Laws, it shall provide notice of the amendment and its rationale to the full membership.
Approved July 1, 2009.