People must be active in their pursuits for their own...

People must be active in their pursuits for their own futures and should continue their struggle against oppression and oppressive rule. History has recorded that when the oppressed rise against their oppressors in unison, their might and power crushes the fort of the oppressors. The uprising of the people against the apartheid in South Africa and the rising of the people against the Pahlavi regime of Iran are some valid examples.

This indicates that real power is in the hands of the ordinary, when they are driven with faith in their struggle for justice. Then no matter how sophisticated the weaponry or military, the opposition have, the will of perseverance leads the down trodden to victory. The Mahdi's (a) revolution will bring triumph of the downtrodden people as in reality they are the majority and form the real manpower.

The world scenario depicts the stage being right for the coming of the saviour as narrated from the Hadith. However at this point it cannot be ascertained as to how close we are to that time, since that will depend on the will and actions of the people and God's command. The number of true people needed to set off this revolution may just be 313 (Al-Bahrani H., 2006). This is indicated as the initial force required by the Imam when he reappears.

In assessing this number one cannot be sure whether we have reached the target or not, or have we surpassed this number and wait for it to dwindle to these few? It is difficult to conclude; however the general feeling is that there may not be enough individuals with the will to save humanity at large. Although there are those who are willing and are concerned with fighting oppression and injustice, they may be operating within their own regions.

The scale of this global revolution requires those who will fight for all mankind. This will then pave way for the global rule of Imam Mahdi (a) as mankind's problems can no longer be solved by national governments whose interests lie only in promoting national interests. World governance is now necessary to match global institutions of civil society with a global reach. A need for structural change reflecting a full range of world member states is direly essential.

The power of veto which gives favour and power to certain 'godly' states is unrealistic and needs to be abolished. What is needed urgently is one unified government to take control of governing the globe. Re-distribution is the core political issue of the coming century.