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.
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14 Responses
So Newsom and Bass and the agents of the diety? They will never live it down.
A typical Yishmoeili…with as much seichel as a חמור….
it’s SO much easier to spot the crazy when you aren’t on the same side. the torah warns us against false prophets, but so many of us ignore the warning.
“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..”
Your article is full of kefirah. we have Gemaras that tell us that thunder and earthquakes are not natural disasters and are there to send a message and to punish. normally for not following the way of hashem.
Dever bah laolam
Reeymin
Where have you gone ywn
They should try blaming the women for not wearing their hijab correctly. That also works.
I’ve heard Rabbanim do the same about other events.
“Crazy” doesn’t discriminate based on religion.
In fact, in just the last decade hasn’t numerous events been blamed on “Tsnius” & “Smartphones”?
Who is All-h in quotation marks here? All-h is simply another way to say G-d.
Kuvult : Actually the secular world has come around to the idea that smartphones are a problem. We figured it out long before they did.
Plenty in the Non-jewish religious world & even nonreligious in the Non-jewish world realized this long ago.
It always amazes me (just in America) there are over 335 million nonjews & so many Jews who never leave their Shtetl mentality believe that they are monolithic in beliefs, culture, & society. Well they’re not. There is more diversity than even exists in Jewish America.
Lehavdil, this PereAdom’s tone (not the actual message) sounds like a magid shiur I know.
the irony is he is right that if is divine punishment, albeit, not the way he describes.
The majority of those affected voted for Kamala “amalak” harris הרס (it’s around 75 percent). So his theory makes no sense.
They were essentially pro hamas and pretended to care about the destruction in gaza, but it was in reality anti semitism.
Hashem said to them “you cried crocodile tears as if to care about the destruction of gaza aka Hamas, now you’ll have something to cry about for real”
while of course this is a generalization with many that were Not pro hamas, once the Desstroying Angel is given the green light he doesn’t differentiate.
The main problem with his theory is that, especially in liberal CA, most of the gentiles are obviously not Zionist.
This fanatic bigot imam knows that:
1. The anti Israel left is strong in the Southern CA.
Take major Hollywood actors for example…
2. The kibbutzim hit on Oct/7 by 6,000 Arab “Palestine” Islamists murderers/rapists/beheaders, were very liberal and very much for 2 state…
Does this “intelligent” Mosque leader explain why Islamist fascist Republic of Iran, the main backer of self-inflicted Arab “Palestinians” has been through this?
Since 27 February ‘(24), persistent heavy rains have led to the overflow of four dams in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan province, causing floods that have affected 110,000 people across 14 cities…