The Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) has announced that Naeem Baig has been re-elected as the President of ICNA for the 2015-2016 term. According to the announcement:
December 31, 2014 JAMAICA, New York – In a press release issued today, the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) National Election Committee announced that Mr. Naeem Baig has been reelected as president of ICNA for the 2015-2016 term.
Mr. Baig will be sworn in on January 17 at the Annual General Assembly in Orlando, Florida. Annual elections for presidents of local ICNA chapters were also held throughout the country during December 2014.
The President of ICNA is elected through secret ballot from among members of the ICNA General Assembly (MGAs). The General Assembly currently consists of 530 MGAs from 28 states and is the final authority in all matters concerning the organization. The president is entrusted with the responsibility of guiding ICNA and making decisions with input from the Majlis Ash-Shura (Central Advisory Council) and members of the General Assembly.
Mr. Baig currently serves on the board of Interfaith Workers Justice and co-chairs the National Muslim-Christian Initiative. He is also a member of the Taskforce on Global Initiative on Faith, Health and Development. He additionally worked as a consultant on the ‘Study on Christian-Muslim Relations,’ sponsored by the Department of Interfaith Relations of the Presbyterian Church (USA).
According his biography, Naeem Baig is a graduate of Veterinary Sciences and lives in Northern Virginia with his wife, son and three daughters. Nothing further appears to be known about his personal background. Mr. Baig has previously served as Secretary General of ICNA for three terms, as a member of the Majlis Ash-Shura from 2010-2012, and is also the ICNA Vice President for Public Affairs and the Executive Director of the ICNA Council for Social Justice. In addition to his ICNA duties, Mr. Baig is the Chairman of the the American Muslim Taskforce (AMT), an umbrella group comprised of the most important US Muslim Brotherhood organizations and which has said that it is committed to holding voter education and registration drives, encouraging Muslims to work in political campaigns, hosting candidates’ town hall meetings, issuing candidate scorecards on issues of importance to the Muslim community, and to forming coalitions with like-minded groups.
The Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) is a part of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood and considered to be closely tied to the Jamaat-e-Islami organization of Southeast Asia, itself allied with the Global Muslim Brotherhood. ICNA is particularly close to the Muslim American Society (MAS) and the two organizations have been holding joint conferences in recent years. The organization is probably best known for its national billboard campaigns.
The GMBDW has also reported today on the close of the annual ICNA/MAS conference.