I read with interest the article “Suicides — result of materialism” (July 11) by Harun Yahya. I couldn’t agree more. The writer has raised an important issue. People in our part of the world link happiness to wealth or material progress. This is a wrong perception, as is evident by the statistics cited in the article in question. In pursuit of material wealth, people tend to forget the true purpose of their lives. I personally know some individuals, who are doing great in terms of material progress but the course they took to reach to the top has left them spiritually bankrupt. They may not admit it and try to live in a state of self-denial but deep down they must be fully aware of the ugliness of their characters. Working hard to maintain a decent lifestyle is not prohibited in Islam but people don’t really bother about Islamic teachings in their dealings with their fellow human beings. They have reduced Islam to a set of rituals. I think it is an important issue and this mindset is responsible for the decadence of our society.