CALL FOR VOTES  This is the official 2nd Call For Votes for this newsgroup.  NAME OF PROPOSED NEWSGROUP:  ==========================       soc.religion.islam.ahmadiyya   CHARTER:  =======       A religious newsgroup, which would mainly be devoted to  fostering an understanding and appraisal of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, its beliefs, ideology and philosophy. It will also  discuss the distinction between Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and  other branches of Islam.            In addition this newsgroup will also discuss the beliefs,   teachings, and philosophy of all the other major religions to pro- mote universal religious appreciation, awareness, and tolerance.       The newsgroup may also be used to post important religious events within the world wide Ahmadiyya Islamic Community.   VOTING INSTRUCTIONS:  ====================  Voting is being held since the first call for votes appeared (May 4, 1993), and will continue untill May 25, 1993 (23:59:59 GMT)  All votes should be received within this period. It gives a total of 21 days for all to vote.  All votes in _favor_ of creation of the proposed newsgroup should be sent in a form of a e-mail message to:                                   SRIA-YES@UCSU.COLORADO.EDU   with a clear statement in the  body of the message like:       I vote YES for soc.religion.islam.ahmadiyya      I vote in favor of s.r.i.a.      etc.  Similarly all votes _against_ the proposed newsgroup should be  sent in a form of a e-mail message to:                   SRIA-NO@UCSU.COLORADO.EDU   with a clear statement in the body of the message like:       I vote NO for soc.religion.islam.ahmadiyya      I vote against the creation of s.r.i.a.      etc.   *  You may also include your vote in the SUBJECT header of your mail.  *  Please make sure to include your FULL NAME, if your mailer does    not do that for you.   *  One person may only vote ONCE. No matter how many e-mail accounts    s/he has. Only one vote per person shall be considered valid.  *  Any ambiguous votes like "I vote YES for S.R.I.A., if ...." shall     only be considered comments and would NOT be counted as votes.  *  Votes received _after_ 23:59:59 GMT, on May 25, 1993, will not    be valid and not counted.  *  In the event of multiple votes being received from the same    person, only the last one will be counted. If you change your     mind regarding the way you have voted, send your new vote again,    your previous vote shall be discarded.     *  Posting to USENET will NOT be counted a vote.  *  Please DO NOT send any votes to the e-mail address of the per-    son who has posted this CVF. Those votes shall not be counted    either.   NOTE: An acknowledgement shall be sent to everyone who votes.Two  additional CFV's will be posted during the course of the vote. Number(s) of "YES" or "NO" votes will not be disclosed during the the voting period, at the end of which all votes shall be made public.   PURPOSE OF THE NEWSGROUP:  ========================      The following are the main purposes this group shall achieve:      i)    To highlight the common beliefs of all major religions            and philosophical traditions as they relate to Ahmadiyya            Muslim Community.      ii)   To discuss the doctrines, origin and teachings the Ahmad-           iyya Muslim Community, a dynamic world-wide movement.      iii)  To expound Islamic teachings and beliefs in the Holy            Quran and Islamic traditions from the Ahmadiyya Islamic           perspective.      iv)   To emphasize and discuss the similarities between Ahmadi            Muslims and followers of other religions of the world and            to explore how understanding and respect for each other's           faith can be brought about to eliminate religious intol-           erance and malice among people of all religious and phil-           osophical traditions.                v)    To look into the origin and teachings of all religions in           general and of Islam and Ahmadiyya Muslim Movement in par-           ticular, and to use the commonality of origin to foster           better understanding among Ahmadi Muslims and other people           and to promote an acceptance of universality of fundamental           rights to the freedom of conscience.      vi)   To point out current world problems and suggest solutions            to these problems, as offered by different religions and            systems of ethical philosophies.      vii)  To investigate the implications of science on religion            with particular emphasis on the Ahmadi Muslim perspective,           but with openness to dialogue with people of all religions           and philosophical traditions with reasoned positions as to           the relationship between religion and empirical science,           logic, and scientific ethics.                 viii) To exchange important news and views about the Ahmadiyya           Muslim Community and of other religions.      ix)   To add diversity to the existing religious newsgroups pre-             sent on Usenet in the interest of promoting a forum for           decorous dialogue.       x)    To inquire why religious persecution is on the rise in the           world and suggest solutions to remedy the ever deterior-           ating situation in the world in general and in the Islamic           world in particular.       xi)   To commemorate the contributions to humanity, society and           world peace made by the founders and followers of all           religions in general and by the International Ahmadiyya           Muslim community in particular.   TYPE:  ====  The group will be MODERATED for orderly and free religious dialo- gue. The moderation will NOT prevent disagreement, dissent, or  controversy based on a difference of beliefs or doctrine; rather, the moderators will seek mainly to discourage gratuitously deroga- tory, abusive, or squalid language, and the introduction of issues which are irrelevant based on the provisions of this charter.   The moderators have been chosen through personal e-mail and through a general consensus among the proponents by discussion in news.groups. The following moderators have been proposed and agreed upon:  Moderator:     Nabeel A. Rana  <rana@rintintin.colorado.edu> Co-Moderator:  Dr. Tahir Ijaz  <ijaz@ccu.umanitoba.ca>    A  BRIEF  DESCRIPTION  ABOUT  AHMADIYYA  ISLAM: ===============================================           The Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam, an international organi- sation, was found in 1889 in Qadian, India. The founder of this movement, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908), was proclaimed to  be the Promised Reformer of this age as foretold in the Scriptures of almost all major religions of the world. He claimed to be the  fulfillment of the long awaited second comming of Jesus Christ (metaphorically), the Muslim Mahdi, and the Promised Messiah.          The claims of Hazrat Ahmad raised storms of hostility and extreme opposition, which are often witnessed in the history of  divine reformers. Even today this sect is being persecuted especial- ly in some of the Muslim regimes. The right of Ahmadi Muslims to  openly practice their religion and to define themselves as Muslims has been severely restricted in many Muslim Countries. The United Nations, human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and top leaderships of some countries have voiced their concerns  against this denial of basic human and civil liberaties to the members of this movement, but so far to no avail.          Despite the opposition and persecution, the movement cont- inues to grow with a current membership of millions from around the world in over 130 countries, who come from diverse ethnic and cul- tural backgrounds.          The movement is devoted to world peace and strives towards developing a better understanding of all religions. Ahmadi Muslims have always been opposed to all forms of violence, bigotry, reli- gious intolerance and fundamentalism.          Among its many philanthropic activities, the sect has es- tablished a network of hundreds of schools, hospitals, and clinics in many third world countries. These institutions are staffed by volunteer professionals and are fully financed by the movement's internal resources. The movement stresses the importance of educa- tion and leadership. Its members have included a high number of professionals as well as world class individuals.          The Ahmadiyya mission is to bring about a universal moral reform, establish peace and justice, and to unite mankind under one universal brotherhood.   NEWSGROUP CREATION:  ==================          The  discussion for this proposed newsgroup has now offi- cially ended. Voting will be held for three weeks. If the news- group gets 2/3rd majority AND 100 more "YES/Create" votes than "NO/don't create" votes; the newsgroup shall be created.    ABOUT THE VOTE-TAKER:  ====================          Mr. Anthony Lest has been asked by the proponents of this newsgroup to act as an official impartial vote-taker for the proposed newsgroup. He has no objection to  use his workstation for the purpose of vote-taking. Neither the University of Colora- do, nor Anthony Lest has anything to do with the proposal of the newsgroup.  They are just collecting the votes as a neutral third party.  QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS: =====================          Any questions or comments about the proposed newsgroup may be sent to:      Nabeel A. Rana  <rana@rintintin.colorado.edu>