Islamic views on wealth seem to be similar to those of Christians. They believe it is acceptable to be wealthy but you must share it. It is one of the 5 pillars of Islam, Zakah, which means purification.” Protect your property by giving Zakah and help your relatives to recover from disease by giving charity”, this is stated in the Hadith. This means that if you give to charity you will be protecting your own wealth.
There are many Muslim charities, which help countries that are suffering from poverty due to there being war or other problems, this usually being in third world countries. An example of this is countries where there is inadequate water and sanitation and hygiene not only cause sickness and death, but also increase health costs, reduce people’s ability to earn a living and reduce school enrolment rates, especially for girls. Shortages in water can lead to harvest failure and even famine. All these factors contribute to the continuing cycle of poverty in developing countries. Islamic relief run projects like immigration rehabilitation in Afghanistan, community water and sanitation programmes in Azad Jammu Kashmir, quick impact projects in Albania, these are just a few examples of work done by Islamic relief. “He who eats and drinks while his brother goes hungry is not one of us”, (Hadith quote), Islamic relief are fulfilling their duties as Muslims to help those have no food or water by sharing their wealth.
A problem that occurs for Muslims living in non-muslim countries is getting a mortgage or loan as it is against Islam to pay interest on loans. “If the debtor is in a difficulty, grant him time to repay. But if ye remit it by charity, that is best for you if ye only knew”, this quote means that if a muslim knows a debtor can’t repay or is in difficulty repaying a loan it is better to write it off and put it down to charity as god will reward them. Muslims can find non-interest loans and mortgages at Al-Ahli United bank. It was corporated in Kingdom of Bahrain in May 2000.
Both Christian and Islamic views on wealth seem to be similar, as they both agree it is acceptable as long as it is shared amongst those in poverty and those less fortunate. Both religions encourage giving charity and helping those in need. Although Christians dearly warn the dangers of falling into the trap of wealth, Islam tends to concentrate more on the teaching of the rewards from god for those who share their wealth. In conclusion, both religions agree that wealth is to be shared with those in poverty, but then again if you shared all your wealth then you may no longer be wealthy yourself.
(b) Explain why there is a need for world development
World development is the process of helping poorer countries, today known as “third world countries” by helping them to reduce their problems. Countries are divided into “first world”, these are the wealthier countries such as USA, Switzerland, Australia, “second world”, and these are the communist countries like USSR, Turkey and China. Third world countries would be the poverty struck countries like Sudan, Bangladesh and Somalia. It is countries like these that need world development, and are known as less developed countries.
The first reason we need world development is because of war. After war many developing countries are shattered into 100 pieces. People’s homes are destroyed, they are left with no food or drink, no shelter and families are lost. It its almost impossible for them to rebuild themselves as they have no money. An example of this is the war on Iraq. Most of the Iraqi people are suffering as they are homeless and in poverty. They need help from the developed countries to rebuild what they have lost. “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of god”, Matthews 5:9, this is a clear instruction that Christians should make peace yet there are still many corrupted people in the world who believe war is the answer to everything.
Secondly, we need world development because of natural disasters. Areas of the world where natural disasters like earthquakes, floods, droughts etc occur need other countries to help them. They need to be re-built as they may top trade and there is a humanitarian concern for people suffering. Countries like Bangladesh where there are floods leave many people homeless and in the Caribbean where recently they have had hurricanes, they need help and support of other countries.
Thirdly, there is a need for world development because many countries rely on cash crops to survive, and if one year their crops don’t grow then the country is in trouble. For example tobacco and coffee crops, rather than using these to feed their own people they are sold. If one year your crops don’t grow, the countries only supply of income will fail, leaving harsh poverty.
Another reason why it is so hard for countries to develop is because they are in too much debt from other countries that they can’t develop themselves because they are still paying off loans that they have borrowed from other countries. Most third world countries struggle to pay debts due to the high interest charges. An example of helping countries to beat their debt is the jubilee campaign. There vision is in which the people of the poorest countries are liberated from the crushing burden of debt, and in which the future financial arrangements between rich and poor nations are founded on fairness, accountability and transparency. The types of thins they do are campaigns and tours.
It is important we help third world countries to develop not only because there development is needed for our own selfish needs but because we believe it is our moral responsibility as a human being to help those in suffering. “If anyone has material possessions and see’s his brother in need, how can the love of god be in him? Dear children let us not love with word or tongue, but with actions and in truth,” John 3:17, 18. This quote is saying that if we are better off than someone else then there is no point in feeling sorry for those less fortunate than you; you have to help them with actions.
(c) Analyse and explain the work of one religious agency working for world development
Religious agencies across the world have willing volunteers giving up there time to help those less fortunate and as good religious followers, there are people who donate money for those agencies to stay working to help the suffering. The religious agency I am looking at is Christian aid. I will be looking at the types of work they do to help the poor and needy.
The first job Christian aid do is fundraising; this is so they can raise money for the projects they set up. Since 1957, Christian aid week has been an organised event in May every year, churches persuade people to donate money to Christian aid. In 1995 Christian aid week raised £8.9 million. Some ideas Christian aid use to raise money are running, you can take part in your local marathon or fun run, or you could jump out of an airplane for Christian aid.
Secondly, they also help with emergency aid, like when there has been a war of a natural disaster. For example, they helped in Iraq, as for the Iraqi people the battle against thirst, hunger and disease goes on Christian aid look forward to the day when Iraqis can live without poverty or fear of oppression and can participate in decisions that affect their lives.
Emergency aid usually has more priority over long-term aid because without it people would die, but that doesn’t make it any less important. Christian aid have many long-term projects to help people provide for themselves. An example where they have been helping is in Bangladesh where they are funding a group of Christian health workers who have built a factory to make basic drugs that Bangladesh cannot afford. Christian aid finds helping people for the long term important as it is helping people to help themselves.
Christian aid spends about 5% of their budget on educating people and churches of Britain on why world development is important and how they can help them. They have helped people in Afghanistan, where under the taliban regime education for girls was banned and now they are allowed they need the money to be able to pay for it which Christian aid is helping them with.
Although all the work Christian aid participate in is very important, the long-term help they provide is probably the most useful as it can help people to help themselves. If people are educated then they can make a future for themselves. “Give a man a fish; feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish; feed him for a lifetime”.
