gTLD	Full Legal Name	E-mail suffix	Detail
.shia	Asia Green IT System Bilgisayar San. ve Tic. Ltd. Sti.	gmail.com	View

Islam and Muslims:
Islam is the monotheistic religion articulated by the Qurʹan (a text considered by its adherents to be the verbatim word of God) and by the teachings and normative example (called the Sunnah and composed of Hadith) of Muhammad - considered by them to be the last prophet of God. An adherent of Islam is called a Muslim.
Islam is a verbal noun originating from the triliteral root s-l-m which forms a large class of words mostly relating to concepts of wholeness, completion and bonding⁄joining. In a religious context it means ʺvoluntary submission to Godʺ. Muslim, the word for an adherent of Islam, is the active participle of the same verb of which Islām is the infinitive. Believers demonstrate submission to God by serving God and following his commands, and rejecting polytheism. The word sometimes has distinct connotations in its various occurrences in the Qurʹan. In some verses (ayat), there is stress on the quality of Islam as an internal conviction: ʺWhomsoever God desires to guide, He expands his breast to Islam.ʺ Other verses connect islām and dīn (usually translated as ʺreligionʺ): ʺToday, I have perfected your religion (dīn) for you; I have completed My blessing upon you; I have approved Islam for your religion.ʺ Still others describe Islam as an action of returning to God—more than just a verbal affirmation of faith. Another technical meaning in Islamic thought is as one part of a triad of Islam, imān (faith), and ihsān (excellence) where it represents acts of service (`ibādah) and Islamic law (sharia). Regardless of personal interpretation of the word, one thread remains continually true; Islam is a word that commands an unparalleled sense of devotion – and level of affinity - amongst Muslims. It denotes not only a religion, but an enormously proud community – and members within that community strongly associate who they are with the word Islam.
Muslims maintain that previous messages and revelations have been partially changed or corrupted over time, but consider the Qurʹan to be both the unaltered and the final revelation of God— his Final Testament.
Most Muslims will accept anyone who has publicly pronounced the Shahadah (declaration of faith) which states, ʺI testify that there is no god except for the God [Allah], and I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of the Godʺ, as a Muslim. Their basic religious practices are enumerated in the Five Pillars of Islam, which are basic concepts and obligatory acts of worship, and following Islamic law, which touches on virtually every aspect of life and society, providing guidance on multifarious topics from banking and welfare, to warfare and the environment. These consist of daily prayers (salat), fasting during Ramadan (sawm), almsgiving (zakat), and the pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj) at least once in a lifetime.
Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable and the purpose of their existence is to love and serve God. Muslims also believe that Islam is the complete and universal version of a primordial faith that was revealed at many times and places before, including through Abraham, Moses and Jesus, whom they consider prophets.
A comprehensive demographic study undertaken in 2009, which examined 232 countries and territories, reported that 23% of the global population, or 1.57 billion people at that time, considered themselves to be Muslims. This number is inevitably larger today. According to the study, there are approximately 50 countries worldwide where the majority of citizens are Muslim. It also found that Arabs account for around 20% of all Muslims worldwide. Between 1900 and 1970 the global Muslim community grew from 200 million to 551 million; between 1970 and 2009 Muslim population increased more than threefold, to 1.57 billion.
The study established that the majority of Muslims live in Asia and Africa. Approximately 62% of the worldʹs Muslims live in Asia, with over 683 million adherents in Indonesia, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh. In the Middle East, non-Arab countries such as Turkey and Iran are the largest Muslim-majority countries; in Africa, Egypt and Nigeria have the most populous Muslim communities. About 13% of Muslims live in Indonesia, the largest Muslim country, 25% in South Asia, 20% in the Middle East, 2% in Central Asia, 4% in the remaining South East Asian countries, and 15% in Sub-Saharan Africa. Sizable communities are also found in Russia and parts of Europe.
Most estimates indicate that the Peopleʹs Republic of China has approximately 20 to 30 million Muslims (1.5% to 2% of the population). However, data provided by the San Diego State Universityʹs International Population Center to U.S. News & World Report suggests that China has 65.3 million Muslims. Islam is the second largest religion after Christianity in many European countries, and is slowly catching up to that status in the Americas, with reportedly somewhere between 2,454,000 (according to Pew Forum) and approximately 7 million Muslims, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), in the United States.

Shia Muslim Community:
Of this extensive Muslim population, it is estimated 10–20% belong to the Shia sect. As such, Shia Islam is the religions’ second largest denomination (or sect). In a 2009 study, it was found that Shia followers may number in excess of 200 million. Countries in which the Shia sect represents the majority of Muslim citizens include Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan and Bahrain. Shias also constitute 36.3% of entire local population and 38.6% of the local Muslim population of the Middle East. Shia Muslims also constitute over 35% of the population in Lebanon, over 45% of the population in Yemen, 20-40% of the population in Kuwait, over 20% in Turkey, 10–20% of the population in Pakistan, and 10-19% of Afghanistanʹs population.
Like other schools of thought in Islam, Shia Islam is based on the teachings of the Quran and the message of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In contrast to other schools of thought, Shias believe that only God has the right to choose a representative to safeguard Islam, the Quran and sharia (based upon verses in the Quran which stipulate this according to Shias). For this reason, Shias look to Ali, whom they consider divinely appointed, as the rightful successor to Muhammad, and the first imam. Shias believe that there are numerous narrations where Muhammad selected Ali as his successor.
Shias believe that Muhammadʹs family, the Ahl al-Bayt (ʺthe People of the Houseʺ), and certain individuals among his descendants, who are known as Imams, have special spiritual and political authority over the community. Therefore, Shias prefer hadiths attributed to the Ahl al-Bayt and close associates, and have their own separate collection of hadiths. All Shias agree on the succession of Hassan and Hussein after Ali, but they may differ after Hussein. Hassan and Hussein are described by Shias as ʺleaders of all youths in Paradiseʺ, and believe that these sons of Ali were the true leaders and caliphs of the Muslims. Shias regard Ali as the successor of Muhammad not only ruling over the community in justice, but also interpreting Islamic practices and their esoteric meaning. Hence he was regarded as being free from error and sin (infallible), and appointed by divine decree of God (nass) to be the first Imam. Ali is known as ʺperfect manʺ (al-insan al-kamil) similar to Muhammad, according to Shia viewpoint.
Shias believe strongly in their interpretation of the Islamic faith, and thus feel a prodigious sense of association between their belief and who they are as a people – and an affinity with fellow believers. The .SHIA gTLD will thus allow these disparate but related peoples--connected through their religion and beliefs--to unite online as a full and robust community, enjoying the connection and exchange of information empowered by faith, and community in beliefs.

gTLD	Full Legal Name	E-mail suffix	Detail
.Corp	Dot Registry LLC	hotmail.com	View

DOT Registry plans to serve the Community of Registered Corporations. Members of the community are defined as businesses registered as corporations within the United States or its territories. This would include Corporations, Incorporated Businesses, Benefit Corporations, Mutual Benefit Corporations and Non-Profit Corporations. Corporations or “CORP’s” as they are commonly abbreviated, represent one of the most complex business entity structures in the U.S. Corporations commonly participate in acts of commerce, public services, and product creation.
Corps are the oldest form of organized business in the United States, with the first organized corporation dating back to the 18th century. In 1819 The US Supreme Court formalized their policy on corporation formation by enhancing the rights granted to US Corporations. This policy change for the United States spurred increased corporate registrations and acted as an early economic boom for the states. Well-known early corporations included the British East India Company, Carnegie Steel Company, and Standard Oil. The creation of corps is synonymous with the development of free enterprise in the United States and much of our countries infrastructure and services were created by early and innovative corporations.
Corp. creation has been viewed as especially unique throughout US history because corporations are considered the only business model that are recognized by law to have the rights and responsibilities similar to natural persons. Corps can exercise human rights against real individuals and the state. Additionally, they themselves can be responsible for human rights violations. This unique human element makes corporations acutely responsible for their actions as an entity. This feature becomes especially applicable when we begin to view corporations as a community. “Community” is defined by Merriam Webster’s dictionary as a group sharing common characteristics or interests and perceived or perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it exists. DOT Registry believes that corporations fall well within this definition due to their specific registration requirements, which set them apart from individuals and other business entities, while granting them operating privileges and distinct rights and responsibilities.
A corp is defined as a business created under the laws of a State as a separate legal entity, that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. While corporate law varies in different jurisdictions, there are four characteristics of the business corporation that remain consistent: legal personality, limited liability, transferable shares, and centralized management under a board structure. Corporate statutes typically empower corporations to own property, sign binding contracts, and pay taxes in a capacity separate from that of its shareholders.
Business formation favors the corporate entity structure because it provides its shareholders with limited personal liability and a unique taxing structure. Common benefits to forming a corporation include:
1) Limited liability protection to the owners (often called shareholders). Typically, the owners of a corp are not personally responsible for the debts or liabilities of the business, thus creditors cannot pursue owners’ personal assets to repay business debts.
2) Corps often gain tax advantages, such as the deductibility of health insurance premiums paid on behalf of an owner-employee, savings on self-employment taxes as corporate income is not subject to social security, workers compensation, or Medicare.
3) Incorporating may help a business establish credibility with potential customers, employees, vendors, and partners.
4) A corporation has an enduring life-span, not dependent on its owners. A corp possesses the feature of unlimited life, meaning that ownership can be transferred, sold, or redistributed amongst other owners without affecting the businesses ability to function. This feature allows corps to transcend time and play a lasting role in driving the economy and supporting the communities in which they exist.
5) Corps can easily raise capital through the sale of stock and bank related lending, as they are often seen as a more credible source to lend to.
Corps provide the backbone of the American business culture. Fortune 500’s top ten US corporations for 2011 include: Wal-Mart Stores, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Fannie Mae, General Electric, Berkshire Hathaway, General Motors, Bank of America and Ford Motors. From this listing one can ascertain that corps span every genre of business and play an intricate role in the daily lives of consumers. From gas stations to hospitals, grocery stores to financial lending institutions corps drive the stock market, industry production, and consumer spending.
With almost 470,000 new corps registered in the United States in 2010 (as reported by the International Association of Commercial Administrators) resulting in over 800,000 total corporations in the US, it is hard for the average consumer to not conduct business with a corp. Through the creation of DOT Registry’s “.CORP” string, consumers can quickly validate that they are working with a member of the Community of Registered Corporations, providing consumers with brand reassurance and peace of mind. Dot Registry believes that it is essential to identify corps online in order to expand on their creditability and further highlight their privilege to conduct business in the US. Proper representation of this community would allow consumers to make educated choices in choosing businesses to patronize and support.
Corps can be formed through any jurisdiction of the United States. Therefore members of this community exist in all 50 US states and its territories. Corp formation guidelines are dictated by state law and can vary based on each State’s regulations. Persons form a corp by filing required documents with the appropriate state authority, usually the Secretary of State. Most states require the filing of Articles of Incorporation. These are considered public documents and are similar to articles of organization, which establish a limited liability company as a legal entity. At minimum, the Articles of Incorporation give a brief description of proposed business activities, shareholders, stock issued and the registered business address.
Corps are expected to conduct business in conjunction with the policies of the State in which they are formed, and the Secretary of State periodically evaluates a corp’s level of good standing based on their commercial interactions with both the state and consumers. DOT Registry or its designated agents would verify membership to the Community of Corporations by collecting data on each Registrant and cross-referencing the information with their applicable registration state. In order to maintain the reputation of the “.CORP” string and accurately delineate the member to consumers, Registrants would only be awarded a domain that accurately represents their registered legal business name. Additionally, DOT Registry will not allow blind registrations or registration by proxy, therefore DOT Registry’s WHOIS service will tie directly back to each member’s state registration information and will be publicly available in order to provide complete transparency for consumers.Membership in the Community of Corporations is established through your business entity registration. In order to maintain your membership to this community you must remain an “Active” member of the community. Active” in this context can be defined as any corp registered with a Secretary of State in the United States and its territories, that is determined to be authorized to conduct business within that State at the time of their registration. Registrant’s “Active” status will be verified on an annual basis as described above in question 18.