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201 Volunteers | 42 Groups | 6 Projects
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Wednesday, August 27, 2008 | 24 Shaaban 1429
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Don't see a group you like? Create your own group and let other people join you
Don't see a project you think is needed? Create your own and we'll help you get it off the ground
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HOME → FAQ Frequently asked questions about unitedmuslims.org 1. What does this site do? This site was designed to provide a place for Muslims to collaborate on a wide variety of public-service projects benefiting Muslim and non-Muslim alike. The aim is to promote civic participation among Muslims regardless of time availability, skill set, connection with Muslim organizations, or geographic location. For now, it is operational in the USA, Canada, and the UK. The groups feature allows users to self-aggregate and share information based on interest, while the projects feature allows users to perform real-world or virtual-world tasks to address a particular cause. Additionally, this site will proactively invite you to projects and groups that match your interests, so you don't have to visit the site on a regular basis in order to stay involved. This site is built to take advantage of many new features popular on other "Web 2.0" sites, and can be loosely described as "Facebook + Digg + MoveOn.org" in terms of functionality. (With a few new ideas of our own, of course.) 2. Why is a site like this necessary? Many of the problems facing the Muslim community - isolation, prejudice, exclusion from the public square, accountability, and more - can be effectively addressed by harnessing the talents and time of ordinary Muslims for targeted public service projects. A framework is needed in which to aggregate and organize the energy of committed Muslims and direct it towards grassroots efforts (both within and outside the Muslim community). In short, the goal of this site is to heal our community and gain the trust of our fellow citizens through good works. 3. Who are you? We are Muslims who were born and/or raised in the West who are troubled by the growing chasm between Muslims in the West and our fellow citizens. We have worked our entire adult lives in the service of both Muslim and non-Muslim communities, and have seen firsthand the benefit that even small efforts can make towards closing this gap. We wish to see as many people as possible devote even a small amount of time in public service, and feel that applying Muslim energy towards making society at large a better place is in the best spirit of our religion. Our advisors are people who work full-time in public service, and are people who we feel share our vision of a Muslim community that helps to make society at large a better place. 4. Are you affiliated with any existing Muslim organizations? We are an independent, not-for-profit site, not formally affiliated with any existing Muslim organizations. However, we cooperate with many of them and they may be represented here as "groups," so long as they fall within our vision of constructive Muslim organizations working for the common good. We are also strongly non-partisan. 5. Can non-Muslims participate? Absolutely. This site is intended to involve Muslims in broad-based activism that extends beyond identity politics and applies shared Islamic values across society at large to specific issues. Although the projects and groups may be Islamically inclined, anyone who supports these efforts, Muslim or non-Muslim, is welcome to participate. 6. Can I use this site for social activities? No. There are other social networking sites, such as naseeb.com, that have been created for this purpose. 7. What is the difference between a "group" and a "project"? How do they work? A group is a semi-permanent discussion forum where people who share concerns about an issue can trade ideas and information. It is also a place where group members can embark on projects related to the group's purpose. Each group may create or sponsor many projects. A project is an action item that is to be delivered by a particular date. A project can be part of a larger campaign, such as a call to bring Muslims into a political campaign through a group sponsored concerned Muslim voters. It can also be an independent, grassroots initiative, such as volunteering to speak about Islam to schools in your community. The administrator of a group can sponsor a related project that has specific criteria (i.e., availability, skills, location, finances, political affiliation, etc.). Our site then automatically invites volunteers who fit the criteria to join the group (if the volunteer is not currently a member) and project. Volunteers can then choose to participate or not. Alternatively, volunteers can browse projects and groups and join at their convenience. At the end of the project, the results are rated by participants, and successful projects may be replicated by others at a future date. 8. What kind of projects and groups will be allowed on this site? Projects can be created by anyone under the auspices of an existing group and regardless of political affiliation. Anyone can create a group, though the project should be issue-oriented (i.e., fighting Islamophobia, addressing poverty, justice in Palestine, etc.) and not identity-oriented (i.e., Pakistanis, Shia, Progressives, etc.). The point is to promote unity towards addressing specific critical issues in society, not to promote division between Muslims or people in general. Projects (and related groups) that are not allowed include:
Groups linked to existing organizations will require a verified representative of the organization as a group administrator. If the organization is not directly linked to the group, a "Friends of..." group can be created by anyone (i.e., "Friends of Amnesty International"). Then the group administrator can create projects linked to the organization for volunteers to accept (i.e., letter writing campaigns, etc.). Group categories have been created as a guideline, though they may not necessarily be an accurate representation of the purpose of the group. Groups created by or on behalf of for-profit organizations violate the spirit of this site, and their presence on this site will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. This is a moderated site, and any projects, groups, or members may be removed at our discretion. 9. How do you determine whether or not I get a project invitation? After a project has been created, we eliminate obvious candidates from the list of possible recipients. For example, if you do not live in the required geographic area, are already commited to projects, have not expressed an interest in the general issue, or do not have the requested skill sets, you will not be considered for invitation. The remaining eligible members are scored using an algorithm that takes into account past project performance, peer ratings, and invitation acceptance rate. These members are then sent invitations on a first-come, first-serve basis until the maximum project membership (if any) has been filled. After invitations have been sent and replied to, those projects that still have openings for participants will be visible to all members for perusal and joining, regardless of how closely that user's profile matches the project need. 10. What are the responsibilities of a group/project creator? A group/project administrator? A group creator is expected to provide a degree of authority regarding the purpose of the group, and as such will act as a resource for others who join the group. The group creator can moderate comments, lead discussion, and suggest projects that the group can work on. Administrators are expected to support the creator in these efforts, and take them over if the creator cannot perform his/her duties. 11. What happens if I commit to a project, but am unable to complete the requested task? Users of this site are encouraged to accept project invitations only if they feel there is a reasonable chance that they will finish the task. Projects that have been accepted but not completed by site members will be recorded and considered when issuing future project invitations. This is because some projects - but not necessarily all - will have a membership cap, and your role in that project precludes someone else from joining. 12. How much of my personal information is made public? Your name is only published if you choose not to be anonymous. (If you do choose anonymity, you will be identified by your username.) Your city and state/country will be visible by other members, as will your self-reported skills and political party preference. Anything you publish in your bio will be visible to all, as will any photo you attach to your profile. People will be able to contact you through the site, but your email address will not be revealed. We will not in any circumstances willingly release your email address or other contact information to any party. 13. How will user ratings work? When activated in the near future, site members will be able to rate the performance of people with whom they have worked on a project. These ratings will be used along with the following factors in determining a rating for each member:
Updated 14 February 2007
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