Oxfam: 1% to own more than 50% of world’s wealth

Source: voanews.com

By: VOA News

The richest 1 percent of people in the world will have a majority of the wealth on the planet next year, according to development nonprofit Oxfam.

The most-affluent’s share of global wealth climbed to 48 percent in 2014, compared with 44 percent in 2009, and will likely pass 50 percent in 2016.

The report was released Monday ahead of the annual World Economic Forum meeting this week in Davos, Switzerland.

Oxfam warned that the ‘”explosion in inequality”‘ is holding back the fight against global poverty at a time when one in nine people do not have enough to eat and more than a billion people still live on less than $1.25 a day.

The report said the 80 wealthiest people in the world own $1.9 trillion, nearly the same amount shared by the 3.5 billion people at the bottom half of the world’s income scale.

The international agency’s executive director Winnie Byanyima, who will co-chair the Davos event, plans to use her position at the meeting to call for urgent action to stem this rising tide of inequality.

In order to curb extreme inequality, Oxfam is calling upon states to tackle tax evasion, improve public services, tax capital rather than labor, and introduce living minimum wages, among other measures.

6 Steps to Achieve a Quality Salah

Source: productivemuslim.com

By: Abu Umar

Alhamdulillah, achieving a quality salah is something we, as Productive Muslims, are all striving towards. None of us likes to recite Quran during our salah without having our faith refreshed. We would all like for us to feel that peace from showing our obedience to Allah .

We’re all leading busy lives and this can affect the time we spend in worship to Allah . Therefore, in the little time we spend worshiping Him, we want to make sure this is done right and in a way that is pleasing to Allah . This will help benefit us in this life and our worldly duties, as well as the hereafter.

Here are a few points which, inshallah, will help you improve the quality of your salah in terms of improving the prayer itself and also bearing in mind what can harm it.

Quarreling never settles disputes

By: Eddie

The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “The most hated man (person) to Allah is the one who is the most quarrelsome of the opponents.” [Sahih Bukhari]

Quarreling never settles disputes. Extricate yourself from quarrels as soon as possible. Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) does not like either of quarreling opponents, but the more quarrelsome one is the more hated to Allah (subhana wa ta’ala).

Keep this checklist in mind if a quarrel seems to be in the offing:

1. Let your opponent have the last word (ostensibly). In reality, the one who is quiet is the one who is defended eloquently by angels.
2. Stop trying to prove that you’re right.
3. Accept blame where the fault is yours.
4. State your position just once and then listen.
5. Before the blaming becomes unbearable, politely, either change the topic or physically leave the place of argument.
6. Remember that all cases will be reopened and settled on the Day of Judgement, and on that day none will be able to lie, trick or deceive in any way, to support their position.

Advice on Interactions with Others

It is reported that ‘Umar b. Al-Khattab May Allah be pleased with him – said:

Whoever exposes himself to suspicion, let him blame only himself for whoever suspects him.

He who covers his secret is in a position to choose [to correct himself].

Assume the best about your brother until what comes to you from him overcomes you [and you have to change your opinion].

What is an Imam?

Source: suhaibwebb.com

By: Leila Adam

Being left without an imam (religious leader) at your local mosque makes you realise things that never occurred to you before. Exposure to new and different styles of leadership helps you to learn what will be good for your community and what will cause them to suffer. It’s a strange experience if a city has never been without spiritual leadership in living memory.

In that situation, one can really take off long-worn blinkers and realise the possibilities and profound nature of an imam’s position in the community. An imam carries the community on his back. At the very least, he keeps them safe from wolves and packs of marauding dogs – the troublemakers who fill the void when leadership is absent.

Position of the Heart

Source: blog.islamiconlineuniversity.com

By: Bint Mirza

The Prophet  said: “Beware! There is a piece of flesh in the body if it becomes good (reformed) the whole body becomes good but if it gets spoilt the whole body gets spoilt and that is the heart.” (Saheeh Bukharee) ¹

Unlike the belief of several doctors and philosophers who say that the function of the human heart is to merely pump blood throughout the human body, Qur’an emphasizes on the role of the human hearts in mental, emotional and spiritual decisions of man. Allah  mentions the heart or “qalb” in the Qur’an more than 130 times. Of these Qur’anic statements, some describe this sentient organ as having the capacity of being a center of reasoning, intentions and decision-making. Consequently, human hearts can either be healthy or diseased.

Questions to ask your pro-Israeli friends

Source: http://www.redressonline.com

By: Paul Kinzelman

Daniel Patrick Moynihan once said that you’re entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts. However, one of the reason that genuine dialogue and finding a solution to the Gaza conflict are so elusive is because the two sides can agree on very few facts thanks to the perfection of propaganda campaigns featuring selective recall, rewriting of history, and the constant repeating of lies…

Latin America turns against Israel on Gaza

Throughout Latin America, criticism of Israel’s operation in the Gaza Strip is on the rise. Nations with a colonial history of their own regard Israel as an occupying power.

Source: http://www.dw.de

In Latin America, Brazil is on the forefront of politics critical of Israel.

After Brazil recalled its ambassador to Israel for consultations in July, several other countries in the region quickly followed suit: Chile, Peru, El Salvador, Ecuador and Nicaragua.

Baroness Warsi Quits Over Gaza: First Interview With Former Foreign Office Minister

By: Mehdi Hasan

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/

Foreign Office minister Baroness Warsi has dramatically quit the government, citing the UK’s “morally indefensible” position on the conflict in Gaza.

In her resignation letter to the prime minister, David Cameron, Warsi wrote that Britain’s support for Israeli military action against Hamas, which has resulted in the deaths of more than 1,800 Palestinians over the past month, “is morally indefensible, is not in Britain’s national interest and will have a long term detrimental impact on our reputation”.