In a sermon delivered at the Middle Ground Muslim Center in California, Imam Marc Manley made a baffling claim linking the devastating Los Angeles wildfires to divine judgment from Allah. According to Manley, the fires were a punishment targeting people who support Israel’s war in Gaza, an assertion that has drawn widespread ridicule and criticism for its glaring detachment from reality.

Manley suggested that the fires were Allah’s way of exacting revenge on Zionists and supporters of what he described as “oppression and evil” in Gaza. He compared the destruction in Los Angeles to scenes of devastation in Gaza, framing the blazes as divine retribution. For “all those horrible people,” Manley said, this was a warning from Allah and a “foreshadowing of what it’s going to be like on the Day of Judgment.”

However, a quick glance at the facts makes his argument difficult to take seriously. The majority of the people affected by the fires are everyday Californians—homeowners, firefighters, families—who have little to no involvement in the Middle East conflict, let alone in anything resembling Zionist policies. From small business owners in Malibu to retirees in Santa Clarita, the victims of these wildfires are primarily people fighting to save their homes and livelihoods from a natural disaster—not political figures orchestrating global conflicts.

Social media users were quick to mock the imam’s sermon. “Blaming wildfires on geopolitics is as ridiculous as blaming a traffic jam on the rain in London,” one user commented. Others pointed out that linking natural disasters to divine punishment has been a frequent trope in conspiracy theories, but rarely one grounded in logic or empathy.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)