The article in the Economist magazine of 25 September 2021 under this title superficially deals with this complex and emotive subject. Both Karl Mrax and Seneca (Roman philosopher) were factually correct when they expressed their opinions about religion as: “Opium of the people” and “false” respectively. Both these great thinkers were pointing out that by creating this man made barriers of rituals, called religions, mankind has not only distanced itself from spirituality of self-sacrifice, humility and brotherhood, but also fallen into a creed of hate and exploitation which is perpetuated by the vested interests, be they in the forefront of religion, politics or business. They have successfully manipulated the public to play their tune without thinking about it. This allows them not to share their riches with others and blame God for not providing the poor and continue to exploit the poor nations.
This character of the world today is reflected in the thesis of Dr Jana Berkssel of the University of Mannheim, who suggests that religion retards economic development, whereas the godless nations tend to be richer. This is a misleading concept which presumes that all riches are the outcome of human efforts only. The so-called richer nations today were not rich even a few hundred years ago. When one looks back into the history of the nations, the riches of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, China and India were great, then came Greeks, Romans and Arabs. But what is their position today?
With their wealth and power they should have stayed at the top of the world till today? This shows that this matter is beyond human control. For example, all footballers who reach the top of their talent had to work equally hard from a tender age but only a few become millionaires, others not. It is not possible for most of them to become Pele or Messi, doesn’t matter how hard they try.
One must wonder why the Industrial Revolution came about in a cold damp place called England and not in sunny Greece or Egypt- these had been far advanced nations in the
past! This proves beyond doubt that there is a Power (call it Nature, Creator, God or any other name) that determines human abilities to perform. What that power expects from humans, is to alleviate their sufferings (even the rich suffer) is to practice self-sacrifice, humility and justice. At this point humanity is lacking on all three, so the sufferings continue to multiply.
The inner truth in mankind is inbuilt from birth and even before birth; following that inner truth would fulfill all the material as well as the spiritual needs of all the people on earth. But greed of the few is harmful to all.
For almost past fifteen millennia the Creator through the process of evolution and by sending His messengers has been telling mankind to behave. He has blessed mankind with sight, hearing and understanding to live decently, help one another and be equitable in their dealings with other humans. When persistently that edict of God is derided, nature takes its course, the power and riches are passed on to other nations. We are only placed on this earth for trial. All the scriptures point to this spiritual truth. Those who persist in following the manmade laws contrary to the spirit of the divine pronouncements will suffer in this world and life after. There are none more blind than those who do not learn from the history of mankind.
Ahle Qur'an 