Ailing economy will undermine religion

If economy collapses, this will affect negatively the status of religion in the people’s eyes, Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli stated on Thursday.

It not possible to manage the country’s affairs with idealistic dreams, he noted.

“If we want to manage the country (efficiently), we should see in what conditions we live,” the ayatollah said in a meeting with the director of Iranian National Tax Administration, Ali Askari.

“People’s culture is built by their faith, and people’s faith is safeguarded by the economy,” he stated.

National affairs cannot be handled smoothly, when poverty exists, he explained.

“We cannot sit behind our desks and demand taxes while disregarding what services we have done and the level of production (in the country),” he said.

The tax system should distinguish between the income and the capital, he noted.

“If a businessman makes money, he can spend in proportion with his income; but the day he falls back on his capital to cover his living expenses, it is the beginning of the bankruptcy,” he said.

The ayatollah said that fact that the country is dependent on oil revenues is not sensible.

“Oil is a tremendous asset for our country, the day that we sell oil to run the country’ affaires, we go bankrupt; and the next generation will ask why you sold our assets?” he pointed out.

An Islamic system should take Islam’s guidelines into consideration when making economic decisions, ayatollah Javadi Amoli added.

“When a (country) has assets like land and water and imports food, it proves its incompetency.”

Some people may put up with living in poverty in slums due to their modesty and thriftiness, but the God does not confirm this, he opined.