The Division of National Wealth
Amongst the Rich
This situation, described by our Prophet (may God bless
him and grant him peace) as a portent of doomsday, is widely
experienced all over the world. As the wealthiest people
in the world today control a large part of the world's wealth,
billions of people are condemned to live in poverty and
hunger. The poverty and hunger suffered by millions in Africa
alone is clear for all the world to see.
The International Work Organization,
in its 2003 reports, declared that 2 billion people survive
on $1 a day and approximately 1 billion people struggle
to survive on $2 a day. In the press release, the organization
declared that the gap between the 20 percent of the poorest
population in the world and the 20 percent of the richest
population has multiplied by two during the last forty years.
1
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The unbridgable
gap between the poor and the well-off is one
of the signs of the End Times. The Prophet Jesus'
(pbuh) sojourn will solve all these problems.
Yeni Safak, August, 2000
Vatan, August 6, 2003
Ozgur Gundem, August 4, 2003
Milliyet, March 14, 2001
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Radikal, the Turkish
daily, reported that, based on the lists of the Forbes magazine,
“the top 400 richest Americans” wealth, amounting to 1,2
trillion dollars, is six times the total of the Turkish
national revenue. The wealth of Bill Gates, who was for
a long time the wealthiest man of the USA, is estimated
to surpass the total national revenue of Peru, a country
with 25 million population. Meanwhile, it is one third of
the Turkish national revenue, which is around 200 billion
dollars. In the same report, the personal income of Warren
Buffet, which is more than 28 billion dollars is more than
the national revenue of Kuwait, which is an oil-rich country
with a population more than 2 million. Ted Turner, who ranks
the 21st in the same list, holds a wealth of 9.1 billion
dollars, an amount that equals to the national revenue of
Panama with a population of 2.7. This picture reveals that,
on the national and international scale, the ratio of the
poor increase whereas the wealthy become even richer. The
total amount of the wealth of the 400 people in the list
increase by 20 percent in a year. 2
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The world's wealthiest people control a great
portion of the riches of the world while billions
of others live in poverty and starvation.
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In Aksam (a Turkish daily paper) dated 2 February
2003, the inequality of income around the world was expressed
as follows:
“The most important problem of the world: According to
the World Development Report of 2003, the inequality of
income among countries is getting even deeper. The report
indicates that the most important problem of development
on the world agenda is to find jobs for three million
people whose daily income is less than 2 dollars a day
so as to make them individuals contributing to production
and to provide them better qualities of life. One of the
foremost of the factors threatening world peace today
is global poverty.
The Situation of the World: the average income of the
20 wealthiest countries is 37 times greater than the average
income of 20 poorest countries of the world. The developed
countries where 20 percent of the wealthiest people live
hold 86 percent of the world national revenue, 82 percent
of the world’s export markets, 68 percent of all foreign
investments, 74 percent of all telephone lines. Meanwhile,
the share of the 20 percent of the poorest in these areas
never exceed 1.5 percent.
Figures related to the gap between the 20 % of the wealthiest
and 30 % of the poorest are striking:
Year Ratio of Gap
1960 1/20
1990 1/60
1997 1/74
2000 1/79
The number of people living in extreme poverty, who survive
on less than 1$ a day, is over 200 million.
Today, the total wealth of the 3 richest people of the
world is more than the total gross national product of
the poorest countries where 600 million people live...
The 80 percent of the total
natural resources of the world is consumed by 16 percent
of the world population. Meanwhile 5 percent of the entire
world population are deprived of safe water resources.
The number of people dying of diarrhea alone is over 50
million. As the great part of the population in underdeveloped
countries live in rural areas, these people become even
poorer as the natural resources on these lands diminish.
Indeed, 4-5 hours of the women and children living in
poor countries are spent in looking for wood. These same
people spend 4-6 hours to find safe water and carry it.”
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Sayim
Ozel, 221
Yeni Mesaj, March 17, 2002
Radikal, August 26, 2002
Radikal, January 19, 2002
Damga, September 1, 2002 |
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This situation is the sign of the End Times related in
our Prophet’s (may God bless him and grant him peace) hadiths.
By our Lord’s Will, this situation heralds the closeness
of the coming of the Mahdi and the Prophet Jesus (pbuh)
and the Golden Age, a time when people will not suffer from
such miseries. In the Golden Age, this situation of the
world will be just the reverse, for in this period, people
will fully abide by the morality of the Qur’an.
God commands to people in the Qur’an as follows:
… so that it (booty) does not become something
which merely revolves between the rich among you. Whatever
the Messenger gives you you should accept and whatever he
forbids you you should forgo. Have fear of God-God is severe
in retribution. (Qur’an, 59:7)
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1.
ntvmsnbc, 7 Temmuz 2003;
http://www.gezegenimiz.com/NewsTopic.asp?KategoriAdi=A%C3%A7l%
E2%80%BAk&idKategori=2
2. Radikal Gazetesi, 23 Eylül 2003;http://www.radikal.com.tr/2000/09/23/ekonomi/01tur.shtml
3. Akşam Gazetesi, 2 şubat 2003;http://www.aksam.com.tr/arsiv/aksam/2003/02/02/ozgurplatform/ozgurplatformprn4.html
