About Us
The Altrincham Muslim Association was formally established in September 1995 with the first constitution, although the association had been going since 1992 (see 'Our History' page). The Islamic Cultural Centre was set up in July 2003, when the Association purchased the former St David's Church in Grove Lane, Hale. The Association subsequently applied for registration as a charity and was accepted on the Charity Commission for England and Wales Register of Charities in January 2004, and as a company limited by guarantee with Companies House.
As a registered charity and company, the Association is governed by a Memorandum and Articles of Association. These are downloadable from this website as a pdf file.
The number of trustees is a minimum of seven (at least two of whom must be female members of the Charity) but (unless otherwise determined by ordinary resolution) but not be more than ten (at least three of whom must be female members of the Charity).
In addition no two trustees can be close relations (i.e. spouse, parent/child, sibling, uncle/aunt, nephew/niece, cousin, or in-law).
The following are the Trustees (in alphabetical order - as at June 2007):
- M. Ahmed
- M. Akram
- B. Akhtar
- S. Chaudhary
- M. Farooq
- G. Javaid
- A. Latif
- N. Kurdy
- A. Rauf
The Trustees are legally responsible for the proper use of funds and property belonging to the Association and ensuring that activities meet the objects of the Charity. They are also responsible for appointing a Management Committee to manage the day-to-day running of the Charity.
The Management Committee consists of 18 people (as at June 2007). In addition to the Trustees, these are (in alphabetical order):
- S. Akram
- I. Awan
- S. Awan
- K. Farooq
- S. Finn-Caille
- B. Hatehat
- M. Hussein
- C. Latif
- J. Shafi
In addition to the Management Committee, there are a number of sub-committees, to focus on specific areas. The Sub-Committees and the Head of the Sub-Committee are (as at June 2007):
- Prayers - M. Ahmed
- Education - R. Muhammad
- Finance - S. Chaudhary
- Building - M. Akram
- Public Relations - I. Awan
Process for Starting Activities
The Association was set up for the benefit of the community and the Islamic Cultural Centre is to be used for the community. We have been very pleased that individuals have come forward and offered their ideas and help. As a result we have a wide variety of activities at the Centre (see 'Activities' page).
Members of the community are welcome to propose new activities/events. The process is as follows:
- Have an informal discussion with any member of the Committee about your proposal as a sounding board but also to ensure that something similar is not already taking place or is being planned.
- If nothing similar is taking place or is planned, and the idea looks like it could have appeal to the community, then you should put together a formal proposal. This should include the following information:
- Outline of your activity/event
- Target group - i.e. who is the activity/event aimed at
- Types of activities that will take place - ideally include a plan for the first six months
- Days of the week activity/event will take place
- Times activity/event will take place
- Who will have overall responsibility for running the activity/event
- Who are other members of the team
- Costs for running the activity/event (give a budget)
- How the activity will be financed (self-financing, external grant and/or funding from Association)
- How the activity/event will be advertised/marketed
- How the activity will be sustained We do not want to start an activity and find out it fizzles out after a few weeks due to lack of commitment, interest, or finance.
- Timescales for starting the activity/event
- Once you have the proposal you can pass it to the Management Committee via any member, who should ensure it is put on the agenda of the next Committee Meeting. These are held monthly. The Committee will discuss the proposal and take one of three steps:
- Accept the proposal
- Ask for further information before agreeing to the proposal
- Reject the proposal
- Once you have the final agreement, you can start the activity.