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X-Last-Updated: 1995/03/27
Organization: none
From: [email protected] (Asim Mughal)
Newsgroups: alt.religion.islam,bit.listserv.muslims,alt.answers,news.answers
Subject: Islam FAQ (Part 2/15): Info on Islamic News Groups
Followup-To: poster
Approved: [email protected]
Summary: This posting contains Frequently Asked Questions for
Islam. Part 2 of 15.
Originator: [email protected]
Date: 17 Apr 2004 11:24:07 GMT
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Archive-name: islam-faq/part2
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Last-modified: 1995/3/27
Version: 3.3
Organization: Alumni Association, Caltech, Pasadena, California

Copyright 1993,1994,1995 Asim Mughal ([email protected])

Redistribution for profit, or in altered content/format
prohibited without explicit written permission of the author.
Any other redistribution must include this copyright notice and
attribution.

Frequently Asked Questions: Part 2
__________________________________

This message is automatically posted to Islamic News Groups
every month and when updated. This lists answers to most
commonly asked questions on the forum. Contributions & changes
are requested and should be directed to: [email protected]

OVERVIEW: The Frequently Asked Questions document for
Islam has been divided in parts. Below is the index.

Part 1 - Welcome & Index
Part 2 - Info on Islamic News Groups
Part 3 - Introduction to Islam
Part 4 - God & Worship
Part 5 - Islam, Quran & Muhammad (PBUH)
Part 6 - Marriage Laws in Islam
Part 7 - Women In Islam
Part 8 - Life after Death, Moral System & Human rights in Islam
Part 9 - Islam: Prophethood, Jesus & Trinity
Part 10 - Islam: Farrakhism & Malcom X
Part 11 - Islamic Internet Guide: Islamic Resources on Internet
Part 12 - Other Islamic Resource Guides on Internet
Part 13 - Islamic Literature: Books & Video
Part 14 - Islamic Calendar & Prayer Time Table for 1994
Part 15 - Misc: List of Halal Foods

________________________________________________________

PART 2: Info on Islamic News Groups

This part lists the detailed info on Islamic News Groups
on USENET.

PART A: Info on bit.listserv.muslims
- Will be added in the next revision -

PART B: Info on alt.religion.islam
- Will be added in the next revision -

PART C: Info on soc.religion.islam

Contents

--Articles--
1. Guidelines for Posting ....................................................
2. Email Addresses for S.R.I. ................................................
3. List of Moderators & History ..............................................
4. Moderator Selection Procedure .............................................
5. Guidelines & Rules for Moderators .........................................
6. Direct Submissions, Resubmissions & Format ................................
7. Acknowledgment Process ....................................................
8. Grievance Process .........................................................
9. E-mail Submissions ........................................................
10. Proper USENET format ......................................................
11. Test Messages .............................................................
12. Anonymous Submissions .....................................................
--Announcements--
13. Archive Info ..............................................................
14. Credits ...................................................................

Articles .....................................................................

1. Guidelines for Posting ....................................................

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.

2. Email Addresses for S.R.I. ................................................

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. [email protected]
2. [email protected]
3. [email protected]
4. [email protected]

3. List of Moderators & History ..............................................

ACTIVE MODERATORS:

[email protected] Nauman Mysorewala

[email protected] Cynthia Sulaiman

HISTORY:

1989 : Soc.Religion.Islam established.

FOUNDER:
[email protected] Basalat Ali Raja

Moderators voted in Fall 1989:
------------------------------
[email protected] Behnam Sadeghi Fall '89 - 11.15.91
[email protected] Naim Abdullah Fall '89 - 11.15.91
[email protected] Shari Deiana VanderSpeck
Fall '89 - 11.15.91

Moderators Selected in 1991:
---------------------------
[email protected] Asim Mughal 11.15.91 -
[email protected] Cynthia Sulaiman 11.15.91 - 4.02.92
[email protected] Hanan Lutfiyya 11.15.91 - 11.19.92
[email protected] Salman Azhar 11.15.91 - 9.15.93
jodar%[email protected] Nick Jodar 11.15.91 - 2.12.92

Moderators Selected in 1992:
---------------------------
[email protected] Basalat Ali Raja 4.02.92 - 2.20.94
[email protected] Zartaj Majeed 4.02.92 - 6.05.92

[email protected] Sadeka Hedaraly 12.04.92 - 2.14.93
[email protected] Zeeshan Hasan 12.04.92 - 9.08.93

Moderators Selected in 1993:
---------------------------
[email protected] Dina Wooten 5.04.93 - 6.08.93
[email protected] Ahmad Hashem 5.04.93 - 2.05.94

[email protected] Iraj Mughal 12.25.93 -
[email protected] Cynthia Sulaiman 12.25.93 - 1.20.94

Moderators Selected in 1994:
---------------------------
[email protected] Nauman Mysorewala 3.01.94 - Current
[email protected] Cynthia Sulaiman 3.01.94 - Current

Coordinator Selected on MAY 22, 1992:
------------------------------------
[email protected] Asim Mughal

4. Moderator Selection Procedure .............................................

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.

5. Guidelines & Rules for Moderators .........................................

IMPORTANT NOTE:

The following guidelines are the lastest ones available.

At the time of selection,the current moderators pledged to uphold &
consider the following guidelines binding on them. Appended is also the
'affidavit-b' which the current moderators signed.

Any changes in the guidelines will be done at the request of the
moderators.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

By: 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 [email protected] 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 -B _________________________________________________________

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 is removal from the
moderator position if voted so uanimously by the moderators of SRI.

If a no-confidence vote is passed against me, at any time, it shall
be final, acceptable & binding for me. I agree to step down from the
position of moderator SRI if requested after such a no-confidence
vote.

I hereby, give up the right to contest such a decision in front of
any third party, in public or private.

Signed,

Dated:
===========================================================

6. 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

7. 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.

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.

8. 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.

9. E-mail Submissions ........................................................

Please post your articles to USENET group soc.religion.islam.

The address : [email protected] 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.

10. Proper USENET format ......................................................

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.

11. 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 -

12. 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.

Announcements ................................................................

13. Archive Info ..............................................................

This FAQ is archived at several sites and is available for public
retrieval thru anonymous FTP, E-MAIL, Gopher & World Wide Web.

-- Anonymous FTP --

Login: anonymous
Password: Your e-mail address

Site: rtfm.mit.edu
Dir: /pub/usenet/news.answers/islam-faq/

Site: ftp.uu.net
Dir: /pub/usenet/news.answers/islam-faq/

Site: ftp.cco.caltech.edu
Dir: /pub/calmsa/islam-faq/

-- E-MAIL --

Send E-mail to: [email protected]

Text of E-mail Message:

send usenet/news.answers/islam-faq/part2
quit

-- GOPHER --

Site: gopher.caltech.edu 70
Path: Computing Information/
CCO anonymous ftp archive/
pub/
calmsa/
islam-faq/

Site: latif.com 70
Path: Resources relating to Islam/
Soc.Religion.Islam

-- World-Wide-Web (WWW) --

One recommended interface is 'mosaic,' below are mosaic 'home pages.'

URL at USENET Archive site:
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/islam-faq/faq.html

URL at Caltech MSA site:
http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~calmsa/links.html

14. Credits ...................................................................

The author wishes to thank all those who contributed in any capacity for
the original one part FAQ or this multi-part FAQ.

-- SOURCES --

The basic introduction and literature presented in the FAQ is from
brochures on Islam distributed by Institute of Islamic Information &
Education (III&E). These brochures were typed in electronic form by
Ms.M.Ahmed.

The information on soc.religion.islam forum (in Part 2) has been
compiled from USENET archives and administrative logs of
Soc.Religion.Islam moderator panel.

What is III&E?

III&E is an acronym for the Institute of Islamic Information & Education
which was established in Chicago, Illinois in 1985. The III&E is
registered in the State of Illinois and recognized by the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) as a not-for-profit religious organization.

More information can be obtained by contacting Dr. M. Amir, III&E, P.O.
Box 41129, Chicago, IL 60641-0129, U.S.A.; Fax: (312) 777-7199; or
Tel: (312) 777-7443.

-- FORMAT --

The format of the FAQ series has been done by utilizing resources of
Islamic Information & News Network (IINN). A custom program, Nebula,
written by editors of IINN for generating newsletters has been used.

What is IINN?

Islamic Information & News Network is a forum dedicated to educate the
network community on issues relating to Islam and Muslims in an academic
& non-political environment. Weekly digest is available on internet by
subscribing to [email protected] (A Bitnet listserv list) and on
USENET: bit.listserv.muslims.

-- Permissions --

Permission to post this multi-part FAQ has been obtained by the
following:

o Institute of Islamic Information & Education (III&E)
o Islamic Information & News Network ([email protected])
o Moderator(s) of Soc.Religion.Islam (Br.Nauman Mysorewala)
o Moderator(s) of News.Answers (Thomas Khoenig & P.Huang)
o Moderator(s) of Soc.Answers (Thomas Khoenig & P.Huang)

# End of Islam FAQ Part 2 #