Nabeel Hamid, Student, Jamia Ahmadiyya UK
“Economic progress depends on peace”.
This was the message of Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadaa, Khalifatul Masih V, at the 2009 City of Glasgow Reception, where he urged world leaders to shift their focus towards attaining world peace; in turn, they would witness their economies prosper.
16 years have passed since this advice, and we have not only seen our economies get worse (think of the cost of living crisis in the UK alone) – but this economic slump has coincided with the lack of efforts for lasting peace.
As of June 2025, the world remains gripped by major armed conflicts and escalating geopolitical tensions. Most notably, Israel – backed by Western powers – has continued its brutal assault on Palestinians in Gaza, while also targeting nuclear facilities in Iran. This has triggered a relentless exchange of missile attacks between the two nations.
The Ukraine-Russia war rages on and shows no signs of ending. India and Pakistan recently faced a near-catastrophic standoff, and tensions between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda remain high. Meanwhile, China’s stance towards Taiwan is causing increased regional instability, and Saudi Arabia, backed by the United States, persists in its assault on Yemen.
Behind these wars is a lot of governmental spending – they continue to increase their military spending, and the military-industrial complex is making profits like never before.
Lack of peace is harming the economy
The pro-war atmosphere of our world has led to economic downfall as well, as Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa had warned.
Let’s take the UK as an example.
By spending on war and conflict, the British government has subjected the country to a challenging period of slowed growth, recessions and economic instability following the 2008 financial crisis. The UK’s biggest shortcoming towards its economic progress lies in its low worker productivity. According to the Economics Observatory, UK Output per Hour Worked is almost 40% below the United States, and around 20% below France and Germany.
The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) has pointed towards wasteful spending as the root cause for the decrease in productivity.
In the 2023/2024 financial year, the UK spent £2.6bn on foreign military aid all the while cutting investment in skills by £1bn since 2010.
To put it bluntly, the UK’s government has prioritised funding wars and suffering in foreign countries over giving valuable professional skills to the future generation.
There is a clear problem within the UK with chronic underinvestment leading to low worker productivity, but the government decides to focus its spending on foreign conflicts.
Decisions like these, which only incite hatred and bring the world further away from peace, have had a detrimental effect on our economy. Since the 2008 financial crisis, UK Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per head today is nearly £11,000 lower than it would have been according to pre-crisis trends.
From 2007 to 2023, it grew just 4.3%, compared with 46% over the previous 16 years, according to research by the Resolution Foundation Think Tank. This is the lowest growth rate since 1826.
The UK has granted arms export licences to Israel amounting to £574m since 2008, including £42m in 2022. That is over half a billion pounds being spent on military weapons, which are being used to murder an entire population. The money that our government supplies to Israel fuels their ability to sustain this slaughter and incites further hatred and dispute between nations. The UK has said it is “hoping” and “working for a ceasefire” in Gaza, but it is clear from their policy that they are doing nothing but the opposite.
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa also spoke on this matter at the 18th National Peace Symposium hosted by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK. He stated:
“Although many people are raising the alarm warning of a world war, many still seem unwilling to consider what must be done to end these conflicts and remain reluctant to hear the genuine voices for peace that exist in the world.”
On top of the UK’s pledge of billions to Ukraine to fight Russia, we continue to hear constant top-ups to the military funding – in April 2025, it pledged a further £450 million pounds. The trend continues. It seems the UK will not learn its lesson anytime soon. The trajectory shows that even more money is projected to be spent on military weapons and conflict each year.
Even if we set aside the moral arguments and look only at the economic impact, war proves to be one of the most destructive forces imaginable. It wrecks infrastructure, reduces the workforce, fuels inflation, creates shortages, spreads uncertainty, and drives nations deeper into debt. And yet, this is the very war being supported by the UK Government.
If our leaders looked towards their own countries before pumping money into their allies’ militaries, they would conclude how useful it can be. According to Crisis, the total cost of ending homelessness in the UK is £1.9bn. Moreover, homelessness costs our government a further £1bn every year.
This is due to a less efficient workforce as well as a huge strain on public services such as the NHS. Therefore, the detrimental effects of homelessness in the UK are apparent, and our government must prioritise solving it. Despite this all, why has our government spent more than double the amount of money it would take to solve this issue into something which will take our world further away from peace?
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa has highlighted the issue of military spending and the economy for decades. Back in 2009 at a reception in Glasgow he said:
“Superpowers are involved on the pretext of helping to maintain peace; and a huge sum is being spent on this. If one analyses this deeply one would realise that apart from creating animosities, these military activities are also a major cause of today’s financial crisis. This crisis has engulfed the rich Western countries to the degree that they are now proclaiming a state of economic depression.”
At the 2017 Peace Symposium, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa said the following while responding to those who argye that weapons act as a detterent and encourage peace:
“It is sometimes argued that the sale of weapons may actually ‘encourage’ peace, as weapons can act as a ‘deterrent.’ In my opinion, this view is completely senseless and only encourages the further production and sale of extremely dangerous weapons. Indeed, it is such justifications that have caused the world to become embroiled in a never-ending arms race. For the sake of the good of mankind, governments should disregard fears that their economies will suffer if the arms trade is curbed. Instead, they should think about the type of world they wish to bequeath to those that follow them.”
The UK Government – and the all others – must take the advice of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa if they want any chance of making a comeback towards peace, otherwise the future looks bleak.
In Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V’saa words:
“Peace depends on justice, and economic progress depends on peace”.
