Become a Member
Within the context of the membership fee we would like to point out the following, as a message for our IBECO members and the members of our other jamaats here in North America and broader. The membership fee is not, as it is unfortunately wrongly understood by a larger number of our people, an investment in death. Actually, it is an investment in the dunya, because thanks to it we here have our jamaat and our mosque, just like our villages and towns in Bosnia and Herzegovina have their living mosques and they are their identity.
The membership fee is also an investment into the akhira, the real one because it is a good deed, it represents the fight on Allah’s way of property, it is a faithful investment in our akhira because sharing in Islam is defined as, giving from oneself to others. Being a member and paying the membership fee stands for humanity, simpathy, love and care towards the jamaat and the organization, all categories of believers and the contents, figures, plans and needs of the religious and cultural life.
By being a member and paying the membership fee we publicly and organized witness and acknowledge, not only that we are mumins but also muslims, and in our case also Bosniaks. By being a member and paying the membership we are conscious about the religious and cultural identity and the wish to live together. This means without being a member and paying the membership fee there is no jamaat and community, and with no jamaat there is no ummah-muslim community, there is no us, we are not recognized. Based on the Quran and the Sunnah, we are convinced that Allah’s Mercy, Help, Protection and Direction are in the community-ummah. Solidarity in the muslim community is based on Islamic doing good and the feeling of justice that rules amongst muslims.
Being a member and paying the membership fee is the best and the strongest form of solidarity because at the same time it is a voluntary and institutional solidarity which verifies muslims as a public faithful community-ummah.
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
At the time of Sulayman saasone castle caught fire. Everyone hurried to put it out by carrying water. In this uproar, everyone was astonished to see that even the little ant was carrying water as much as he could. They asked him: “little ant, why do you struggle to carry water when you cannot help to put out the fire?”, the ant answered: “I want Allah to see on whose side I was.”
There are people who only give crumbs from their wealth. And there are those who have little and give all. And again, their chest is never empty. They know that all we have will be given away one day. People often say: “I would give something, but only to those in need.” But, the fruits in the gardens do not say so, nor do the flocks on meadows do. They give in order to live, because to keep means to get worse.
Paying the membership fee means to give-invest in life, not in death. The muazzin who testifies the singularity of the Creator every evening and early morning; children who return from maktab and other school activities on foggy weekend mornings; grandfathers and others at the mosque harem-they are all part of life, not death, the islamic life here, which continues to exist and which will, in sha Allah, survive thanks to the giving of those who were brave and had trust in their community.
HOW TO BECOME A MEMBER OF THE JAMAAT AND THE COMMUNITY?
In order for someone to become a member of the jamaat and the community it is enough to approach the Imam or the person responsible for this (treasurer) in the jamaat, provide basic personal data of oneself and his/her family, and filling out the membership admission card. The membership is voluntary and family-connected. You don’t pay any tax or admission fee for the entry.
When you pay the first anual membership fee for the year of entry you become a member of the jamaat and the community. The membership fee may be paid in the mosque, at the treasurer’s or another person helping the treasurer. You can send your check or money order to the IBECO address.
As a rule, the membership fee is paid annually, but it may be paid half of the year or quarterly. If a person had been a member of another jamaat and paid the membership fee there, but does now want to continue paying the membership fee, it shall be enough to provide certain documents on membership from the previous jamaat in order to make the membership fee valid and for the person to have the status of a permanent member.
This shall also apply to a member who returns to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Persons who have a discontinuation in paying the membership fee can pay the debt according to the valid Rules on membership fee in the área of our jamaat. Members have special rights as well as benefits which arise from the membership.