CLEMMONS ISLAMIC CENTER (CIC)
Clemmons Islamic Center · Operating Guidance
Political Candidate Appearances at Clemmons Islamic Center
Primary route, secondary routes, what fails, what to keep
Operating guidance under the Candidate Appearance Policy adopted by the Shura Council. Approvals under that policy come from the President.
The equal-opportunity requirement applies only when someone speaks as a political candidate. If the person is not there as a candidate, the requirement never engages and no opponent needs to be invited.
Throughout, “candidate” means a candidate for public office, the phrase used in the policy and by the IRS. It covers races with no party on the ballot, including judicial, school board, and municipal elections.
The five conditions, all required
- The individual is chosen to speak "solely for reasons other than candidacy for public office."
- The individual speaks only in that non-candidate capacity.
- Neither the individual nor anyone from Clemmons Islamic Center mentions the candidacy or the election.
- No campaign activity occurs in connection with the appearance: no materials, no sign-up sheets, no literature table, no fundraising.
- Clemmons Islamic Center maintains a nonpartisan atmosphere, states the capacity in which the person appears, and keeps the candidacy and the election out of its announcements.
Who qualifies
| Fits the route | Does not fit |
|---|---|
| A sitting county commissioner briefing the community on a rezoning or permit matter affecting the property | A challenger holding no office, with no reason to be in the building other than the campaign |
| A state legislator who is a physician speaking at a health event on a medical topic | An officeholder invited to speak on a subject outside anything they hold office over, selected because of the race |
| A sitting official attending a groundbreaking, iftar, or open house and welcomed the way the Center welcomes any official | An officeholder given the khutbah slot or the main address at Jumu'ah during the campaign season |
| A longtime congregant who happens to be running, attending prayer as a worshipper and not introduced from the front | That same congregant introduced from the front, by name, during the campaign |
| A former officeholder speaking on their record in office | Anyone whose invitation was first discussed in a conversation about the election |
The test is why the invitation exists. If the campaign is the reason, the capacity is fiction and the structure collapses on examination.
IRS worked examples
| Example | Facts | IRS conclusion |
|---|---|---|
| Ex. 10 | A historical society president customarily welcomes public officials at meetings. The lieutenant governor, running for governor, attends. The president welcomes him in the usual way and makes no reference to the candidacy or the election. | No political campaign intervention. |
| Ex. 11 | A hospital board chairman invites a congressman running for reelection to a groundbreaking. Neither mentions the candidacy or the election. No fundraising occurs. | No political campaign intervention. |
| Ex. 12 | A university alumni newsletter prints an item stating that an alumnus is running for mayor. The item contains no other reference to the election or the candidacy. | No political campaign intervention. |
| Ex. 13 | At a free public concert, a symphony board chairman thanks the mayor, who is up for reelection, for his support and adds "please support Mayor G in November as he has supported us." | Intervention. The appearance was lawful. The closing line was the violation. |
Ex. 10 and Ex. 11 are the pattern to copy. Ex. 12 means a newsletter may note that a member is running, with nothing else attached. Ex. 13 is the single sentence that undoes the whole thing.
Introduction script
Write it down, hand it to whoever holds the microphone, and do not improvise. Template:
USE
"We are joined this evening by [Name], [office held]. [He or she] is here at our invitation to speak about [specific non-political subject]. Please join me in welcoming [him or her]."
DO NOT SAY
Anything referring to the election, the race, the ballot, November, "support," "vote," "campaign," or the person's opponent. Do not thank the person for anything connected to the campaign. Do not close with a line about the future.
What breaks it, and what to do
- The speaker pivots to the campaign. Decide in advance who interrupts and how. A short, neutral redirect from the host ("let us keep to the topic this evening") is enough, and it goes in the file.
- Campaign staff bring materials. No literature, signage, sign-up sheets, or tables anywhere on the property. Tell the office in advance, in writing.
- Cameras. Decide before the event whether the campaign may film or photograph, and put the answer in the invitation. The Center controls who speaks, not how footage is used afterward.
- The posting afterward. A Center photo captioned in a way that reads as support converts a lawful appearance into intervention. Approve the caption before it goes up.
- Selective access. Ex. 9: a minister invited one Senate candidate to address the congregation and invited no other candidate during the campaign. The IRS found intervention through selectively providing facilities. A "personal capacity" disclaimer did not help.
If a campaign wants the hall rather than a speaking slot, rent it at the Center’s published usual rate, paid in full, with no discount or waiver, first come first served, on terms offered equally to every candidate, and do not announce or promote it as a Center event. A free or below-cost booking is a prohibited in-kind contribution, and for a federal candidate it also runs into the corporate contribution ban at 11 CFR 114.2(b).
| Route | In one line | When to reach for it |
|---|---|---|
| Invite all, accept declines | Identical written invitations to every candidate for the office, same day, same event, same terms. Keep the declines. One of four declining is not a violation (Ex. 8). | A political candidate asks for a speaking slot as a candidate and no other route fits. |
| Nonpartisan forum | Written participation criteria applied uniformly, neutral moderator, broad topics, equal time, no approval or disapproval signaled. | A contested race the community wants to hear about directly. |
| Separate 501(c)(4) | Separate entity, books, and governance. Political activity must not be its primary activity. Do not fund or staff it from the Center without counsel. | Sustained advocacy, not a single event. |
| Approach | Why |
|---|---|
| "Personal capacity" disclaimer from the minbar | Ex. 9: selectively providing facilities to one candidate is intervention regardless of the disclaimer. |
| Inviting the opponent to a slot they cannot take | The IRS weighs "the nature of the event to which each candidate is invited." |
| Bulletin, email blast, or livestream favoring one candidate | An organizational communication is direct intervention. The non-candidate route protects an appearance, not a publication. |
| A voter guide built so one candidate wins every line | Fails the nonpartisan test. |
| Leadership endorsing under the Clemmons Islamic Center name or title | A leader may endorse privately. Using the Center’s name, events, or channels attributes the endorsement to Clemmons Islamic Center. |
0 of 8 reviewed in this session
Intent is evidence. This is a facts-and-circumstances test, so a written record showing Clemmons Islamic Center set out to get around the rule counts against it. File this as compliance planning, because that is what it is.