Mauritius and the World

 

The Situation at National Level & In the World

 

Alhamdulillah, Summa Alhamdulillah, I have chosen to speak to you today about the situation around the world, and especially in Mauritius. The situation is alarming with pandemics, as well as natural disasters, economic crises, loss of jobs [sudden unemployment]. The prices of all commodities have skyrocketed across the world; many people suffer greatly.

 

But what is happening in Mauritius really has exceeded all limits, especially concerning the increase in the price of medicines, vegetables, meat, chicken, food, fuel, as well as the increase in the price of transport.

 

All Mauritians will agree with me that the current crisis is more serious than the pandemic [of Covid-19 and its variants]. The economic and social crisis currently shaking the country is more serious than Covid-19. This crisis is not only about health but about the ability to see if we can live together as a society with dignity.

 

You know, many people these days live in anguish and suffering at the rising prices of essential consumer items. This rise in the cost of living was felt as a blow and a shock by the poorest in society. All the prophets (pbut) [Chosen Men and Servants of God] since the creation of this temporal world - and it will go on until the days of the Last Judgement - value [we value] work and sharing. Faced with problems of all kinds that seize the disciples who are subsequently taken by discouragement, the Messengers of God not only take an interest in their pain and their daily activities, but also trust them.

In Mauritius, there is public concern about the deterioration of the quality of life. Faced with these brutal price increases that can last, people are very worried and when people suffer they tend to shout or make a fuss and mess.

 

I absolutely do not approve of violence but I say that if we want to cure their anguish, we must first understand what is behind their cry. If we want to heal these people, we must understand what is behind these cries, understand their suffering and share what we have.

 

Our beloved Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) taught us that when we prepare our meal, to add a little extra sauce so that we can share it with our neighbour.

 

The blessed month of Ramadan has just left us; a month of sharing, distributions with the poor of what we have withdrawn such as Zakaat, Fidya, Fitra, Sadqua-ul-Fitr, and Sadqua [All these contributions are forms of Sadaqaat in order to distribute with the poor, destitute [very poor], travellers, people in debt or those in difficulty]. It is the money that must be distributed, not money to be stored in the bank. This is money for people in need.

 

Look at what Islam, the universal religion, has taught us. One must not become miserly or selfish. So, I make a call and encourage every family that can afford to spend on another family that is in need and has nothing to eat. A society that leaves out part of its population will never be able to live in peace. If it knows how to take care of the poorest, then it [the society] will live again. This leads it to focus on the common good. A company should not only care about its employees and profits, it should also care about the common good and the good of the country as a whole. Every [political] party has the right to take care of its organization, etc.

 

However, once in power, its concerns must go beyond partisan considerations to take care of the common good. This also applies for the opposition parties who should not be only interested in their popularity, in scoring political points - or even the rapacious among them [who seek to betray their own party for their own political gain, in terms of money and power] - but must go beyond partisan considerations to look after the common good. They must have the common good at heart, especially the weakest. It is a sacred duty for the good of the country.

 

However, there can be no work for the common good without constant dialogue and collaboration between government and private companies, civil society, and religions. No one can flatter themselves that they are dealing with the situation, the current crisis, on their own. Everyone must be able to sit around a table to discuss [and find solutions] to the current crisis. If those who hold the economic and political powers fight among themselves, it will lead to nothing. [Creole Expression] When two elephants fight, it’s the little grass that gets crushed under their weight. [That is to say, when the powerful fight, it is the weak, dependent countries that pay the price].

 

The current economic and social crisis is more serious than Covid-19 [and its variants] because it is not only health that is concerned but the ability to see if we can live as a society with dignity. This crisis challenges us to see if we can work together in dialogue to ensure that people have enough to eat, without waste, and by producing the maximum food locally without waste and by producing the maximum food locally without waste by sharing; and in organizing sharing, we must do so while valuing everyone’s work and contribution to the oppressed and the working class. We must remember that every Mauritian has contributed to the development of the country, and when we make an appeal, we are appealing to all Mauritians [all citizens of our own country – here the Khalifatullah refers to the land of each of his disciples and of humanity as a whole]. It’s not just politicians who contribute to the country. The people contribute, but politicians should not abuse [of] the situation. It is very regrettable that development today is in complete degradation. All the progress made by the workers since independence has been in vain.

Nowadays democracy is flouted. Let’s look at the energy file, with the case of the Terragen company which interrupted its production, saying that it did not have enough resources at this stage. However, it does not hide its concerns about the risks that other companies are considering stopping production. If this really happens, there will be big problems.

 

O you Mauritians! Take note of what is happening! The rupee depreciates and there are repercussions on the price, whether it is on food products, or medicines, or even on the price of fuel. And believe me, soon, there will be another increase in the price of electricity, a price that is going up [which will not stop increasing]. And it’s happening in parallel, as the country continues to go into debt [to sink into debt]. This government has also wasted public funds and made a series of official missions abroad [to other countries] once the borders have been reopened. It is not us who are going to pay all this; it is your children and your grandchildren who are going to pay these debts.

 

Covid and the war in Ukraine have increased inequalities between the rich and the poor around the world. But Mauritius has exceeded all limits in this gap where its people are suffering a lot. The excesses of the government and its way of doing things [against its people] are no strangers to the practices of “money-politics”, corruption and racing money that plague our democracy. I know that we are all facing a difficult situation at international level, but locally, however, we see that this situation is aggravated by record waste and mismanagement, which leads to a loss in the value of the rupee and a desperate situation. We have inherited a government that has gone astray. This government finds itself unable to restore the value of the rupee in the economy. Seychelles, Maldives and South Africa are among the countries that have restored the local currency to the same level as before covid, why not Mauritius? Why is Mauritius not successful in this initiative?

 

The reason is that Central Bank funds have been squandered and wasted here and there. Just think that there are some 40,000 products in a supermarket. The government prides itself on having subsidized [only] 300 items. The Minister announces a drop in prices while the Council of Ministers specifies that this aid makes it possible to maintain prices at the current level. The government has introduced a control on 15 medicines while there are 4,800 drugs [medicines] in pharmacies in Mauritius. And remember that it is us through the payment of various taxes that have paid the bosses, the workers. Rs. 27 billion was taken from public funds to pay the workers’ wage package and out of the Rs. 27 billion, corporate bosses only returned Rs. 1.2 billion as of November last year.

 

So the government is financially containing the big capital while the future of the young generation is scary because the dignity of the workers is questioned. Workers these days simply work to enrich the big capital. There is no control over soaring prices and the government is doing all that it pleases [governing with sovereignty] with anti-worker laws.

 

I appeal with the government to let the people express themselves. We must not provoke the demonstrators as has been the case lately. There must be effective communication between the authorities and the demonstrators. I appeal to all Mauritians; we must remain united and vigilant. This is why I ask all Mauritians to forget our small differences which will always exist, and to gather us all together to pray to one God, our Creator, the Unique Lord.

 

Only God the Unique can solve all our problems; put your trust therefore in the Creator of the universe, and not in the creatures who keep leading you away from the right path, the path of mutual respect and a healthy and prosperous life. I have come to lead you on the right path and to unite you all on divine command and to pray to one God. Do not turn before several gods who have no power. Only God the Unique holds supreme power.

 

May Allah accept our prayers and remove from our path all corruption and all corrupt and powerful who abuse the power they hold. Ameen, Summa Ameen, Ya Rabbul Aalameen.

----Friday Sermon of 13 May 2022~11 Shawwal 1443 AH delivered by Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam Hazrat Khalifatullah Munir A. Azim (aba) of Mauritius.