Some Islamic values that rich Muslim leaders try to ignore

Some Islamic values that rich Muslim leaders try to ignore.
(I wrote with the Pseudonym Dr San Oo Aung in Burma Digest and in San Oo Aung Blog)
In Islam if we have no power to fight back the tyrant unjust ruler,

it is compulsory for us to migrate (or Hijrat).

If we stay put, suffer and die under the oppressive ruler,

Allah will not give us any rewards, but will condemn us.

After all, Allah had given the whole world to the victims to escape and start a new life.

Our Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) had ordered his followers to migrate from Mecca to Medina for the same reason. Prophet Musa or Moses had also led the Jews to migrate from the tyrant, cruel Pharos of Egypt.

In Chapter 5 of Book IV of his magnum opus, City of God, St Augustine draws the attention of his readers to the similarities and difference between a government (“kingdom”) and a criminal gang, by posing the following question:

“Remove justice, and what are kingdoms but gangs of criminals on a large scale? What are criminal gangs but petty kingdoms?

“For it was a witty and a truthful rejoinder which was given by a captured pirate to Alexander the Great.

The king asked the fellow, “What is your idea, in infesting the sea?”

And the pirate answered, with uninhibited insolence,

“The same as yours, in infesting the earth! But because I do it with a tiny craft, I’m called a pirate; because you have a mighty navy, you’re called an emperor.” (St Augustine, City of God, London, Penguin, 1984, p139)

It is the value of justice that self-evidently distinguishes a government from a gang of criminals or pirates.
Islam lays down rights for man as a human being.

Inthe Holy Quran, God has said:

“And whoever saves a life it is as though he had saved the lives of all mankind” (5:32).

There can be several forms of saving man from death.

A man may be ill or wounded, irrespective of his nationality, race or colour. If you know that he is in need of your help, then it is your duty that you should arrange for his treatment for disease or wound.

If he is dying of starvation, then it is your duty to feed him so that he can ward off death.

If he is drowning or his life is at stake, then it is your duty to save him.

Regarding the economic rights, the Holy Quran says:

And in their wealth there is acknowledged right for the needy and destitute. (51:19)

Anyone who needs help, irrespective of the race, religion or citizenship has a right in the property and wealth of the Muslims.

If you are in a position to help and a needy person asks you for help or if you come to know that he is in need, then it is your duty to help him.

“Indeed, the noblest among you before God are the most heedful of you” (49:13).
After the end of the War, Niemoller became an important figure in the World Council of Churches, and traveled all over the world, including the United States to share his sorrows and joys, as well as wisdom. In one occasion, Niemoller recalled:

“In Germany they (the Nazis) came first for the Communists and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist. Then they came for the Jews and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew.

“Then they came for the trade unionists and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up for me”.

Martin Niemoller well in his masterpiece on the history of the Nazi Germany, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich – A history of Nazi Germany (New York, Touchstone, 1990; first published in 1959)

“The Reverend Martin Niemoller had personally welcomed the coming to power of the Nazis in 1933. In that year his autobiography, From U-Boat to Pulpit, had been published.