Foundations and Purposes of Imam Mahdi’s (a) Global Governmen

To comprehend the foundations and purposes of Imam Mahdi’s (a) global government it is necessary to analyse the prevailing world situation and how the present status will pave way for the ultimate revolution of mankind. In doing so, this paper begins by outlining the prospect of the global government and presenting the existing global conditions to draw from the need of his return. In evaluating mankind’s needs, this paper will not substantiate his return, since his coming has been ordained. It will however examine the ‘time of his appearance’ to meet these needs. These will help to formulate the purpose of his global governance. His coming will be in response to the peaceful kingdom of God on earth that has been promised to man. The paper will then cite evidence of his coming through the Quran and Hadith, to prove his return being authentic and then draw upon past governed systems to project the foundation of his governance. This will lead to proposing the foundations of the Imam’s governance in the global perspective, which will remain purely hypothetical.

The idea of a global government is not wishful thinking; rather it is an aspiration of every individual who believes in the essence of humanity and who looks towards an ideal world where kindness and humanity intertwines in spirit. This expectation of solace is geared towards the ‘Saviours return’ alias the Mahdi (a) who will lead to the emergence of the system of governance that will dominate the entire world arena. This belief in universal peace forms an anchor of faith which one cannot lose hope in, yet stirs resistance to despair and oppression. The foundation of this belief springs from several divine books such as the Quran, Torah and Psalms and the notion that ‘The righteous among my slaves shall inherit the earth". (Surah al-Anbia. 21:105) is a sign towards hope.

The current world governing powers constitutes the Group of Eight (G8) with the United States of America (US) leading. They dictate who is to be supported and maintained, who is to be alienated and sanctioned. Their decisions are based on who tows the line of the big powers or stands up to oppose them. To work against these powers often means walking alone as Iran, Cuba, Venezuela and some other nations have chosen to do. One of the global bodies which was formed to freeze world crisis was the United Nations Organization (UN). However the UN’s inability to establish authoritative rules has been its greatest failure. The genuine desire to make the UN more effective is being underplayed by forces controlling the world economy namely the G8 which is strongly influenced by the US. They are maintaining pressure to ensure international economic policy is kept out of UN’s control and transferred to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank which they totally control. Right now these very nations that talk of democracy make dirty deals with strategic allies who have no use of democratic values. These are double standard policies which govern the world.

The global situation shows that the world economy is being looted by powerful nations under the pretext of democracy. Nearly 80% of the known oil reserves of the world are in the hands of government controlled national oil companies. Countries are attacked and their economies are looted under the guise of terrorism, weapons of mass destruction and undemocratic rule, whereas the real reasons are found in enriching their own coffers and those of their allies.

The world economy is controlled by these oppressive nations. Bribery and corruption is a menace that is undermining democracy. Examples of such are like the British based company, BAE systems, the world’s largest military contactors who landed a $19 million contract with the Arabs through bribery but the prosecutor’s investigation were not concluded as Tony Blair said “it would hurt UK’s relationship with the Arabs’ which was vital to fight terrorism (The War and Peace digest, 1996). Another example is US company Halliburton winning contracts of over $600 million from the Development Fund in rebuilding Iraq, out of which more than half cannot be accounted for (Kerr, S. 2003). The real reason of invading Iraq was to take control of their oil fields and controlling their economy. Weapons of mass destruction were just a cover. This was recently admitted by Australian Defence Minister Brendon Nelson when he said, ‘securing oil supplies is a key factor behind the presence of Australian troops in Iraq’ (Sands, N. 2007). The US is still moving on to gain control of the broader Middle East economy.

It will not be surprising that the drive for Darfur may be under the same pretensions. It is common knowledge that there is oil in Southern Sudan and the reason to rush there now is under the pretensions of ‘war’. Intelligence reports indicate that the policies of the US have created more terrorists than it has killed (Nye, J. 2007). The US has enough nuclear weapons that can wipe off the whole face of the earth, yet they pose restriction to who can have these weapons and who cannot. The US administration’s plotting in acquiring power and control knows no boundaries. It takes them whatever cost to accomplish their greed. It is bent on creating divisions within the Muslim world. Their current strategy is using Muslim allies to fight Muslims within the Muslim world resulting in sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shias. The unrest in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Iraq are a direct result these plottings. Democracy in such countries is no longer free and fair unless the US gives its approval. The rightly voted Hamas government was ousted out by Mahmud Abbas under pressure from Israel and US. This is just one of such example. Freedom of rule is being curbed within Muslim lands for those who do not tow the line. Turkey, Iran, Syria and Lebanon are the current targets.

If we examine our environment, signs are that we are destroying our universe through our selfish ambitions. Humankind faces new untimely challenges of catastrophic climatic changes and without any aggressive preventive actions, it will lead to serious energy and climatic shocks that will disrupt agriculture, industry and people in general. The abstaining of signing the Kyoto Protocol by the US and some of its allies is a sign of defiance in maintaining a peaceful environment. Every nation must be able to take responsibility of its own actions. As Mayur Roshni, a leading urban environmentalist and head of Mumbai based Global Futures Network rightly analysed, ‘it is becoming apparent that the governments ruling the world are in fact being controlled by multinational companies who call the shots’. These trans-nationals buy governments and rule the world. Mayur further comments that ‘trans-national corporations have become the real power of the earth, the de-facto government, outside the rule of law’ (The War and Peace digest, 1996). The UN has proved ineffective in dealing with the challenges of trans-nationals like governments. These companies even walk out of the world court.

Abject poverty and suffering coupled with dependency has risen beyond the control of many nations’ power to resolve it. The benefits of globalization seem to have bypassed more than 3 billion of the world’s neediest people. When self made entrepreneurs can accumulate enough money to purchase that country then it is an embarrassment to human society. When a single person from the elite takes home monthly incomes which are 100 times more than what an average worker in society earns in a year, something is totally out of place. The imbalance in economy, power, and world control being in the hands of dictators is very evident as the gap grows wider between the elite and ordinary citizens.

People have to question their governments and the decisions their leaders make. Why do military budgets in most countries exceed health and education budgets combined?

Shirin Ebadi stated that if people want to free themselves from this cycle of terror and the wars of the 21st century then there is no other way but to put into practice the laws of human rights for all mankind (Gay, A. 2004). If enough people want change it will happen. But it cannot just happen by itself. People must be active in their pursuits for their own futures and should continue their struggle against oppression and oppressive rule. History has recorded that when the oppressed rise against their oppressors in unison, their might and power crushes the fort of the oppressors. The uprising of the people against the apartheid in South Africa and the rising of the people against the Pahlavi regime of Iran are some valid examples. This indicates that real power is in the hands of the ordinary, when they are driven with faith in their struggle for justice. Then no matter how sophisticated the weaponry or military, the opposition have, the will of perseverance leads the down trodden to victory. The Mahdi’s (a) revolution will bring triumph of the downtrodden people as in reality they are the majority and form the real manpower. The world scenario depicts the stage being right for the coming of the saviour as narrated from the Hadith. However at this point it cannot be ascertained as to how close we are to that time, since that will depend on the will and actions of the people and God’s command.