Maria Akbar draws parallels between the destruction of Los Angeles and Gaza and asks whether Allah SWT is enacting revenge on those who have supported genocide.
Los Angeles has seen wildfires sweep through acres of land over the past week, killing 24 people and forcing around 180,000 to evacuate their homes.
Approximately 10,000 homes and businesses have been destroyed. The estimated economic impact ranges from $135 billion to $150 billion, with many affected properties belonging to celebrities (some of them hard-core Zionists) and ranking among the country’s most valuable.
As I watched the extensive 24 hour news coverage I felt these wildfires bore key similarities to the experience of the Palestinians in Gaza, even if stark differences remain.
The similarities are that the victims of the LA wildfires and the genocide of Gaza have both faced death, destruction and displacement. Whilst the casualty figures differ drastically, both calamities have seen people die and be unaccounted for.
As well as this, they have led to people having to evacuate their homes due to the fear of the unknown.
Similarly, both have had issues with resource supply. Whilst Israel turned off water and electricity for the Palestinians, LA residents have also suffered issues with water supply to fire hydrants.
Subscribe to our newsletter and stay updated on the latest news and updates from around the Muslim world!
Most starkly, it is fire that has reduced both areas to rubble. In Gaza, Israeli bombs caused fires scorching Gaza to the ground, reducing everything to rubble, which LA wildfires have burnt acres of the city to the ground in an analogous way.
The differences
Despite this, there are also notable differences.
They differ in that the suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza is at the hands of Israel backed by the U.S., but the wildfires are natural disasters from Allah SWT.
Additionally, they differ in their media coverage – there is nothing but an outpouring of sympathy from the mainstream media for the LA victims, whilst the genocide on Gaza is portrayed as if it is unclear whether their suffering is deserving or not.
There is also a blatant difference in the empathy that is received. In LA, it is crystal clear that the victims – both humans and animals – are deserving of care, concern and compassion.
However, with Gaza, there is a moral dilemma in the West by many who can’t decide whether the innocent Palestinians deserve to be destroyed alongside everything around them.
The hypocrisy is uncanny.
A lesson from Allah
Whilst I feel for the innocents who have lost their homes, and am not suggesting that all those who have been affected deserved it, I can’t help but view these wildfires as a general lesson for us all, from Allah SWT.
It was Israel, backed by the U.S., that set Gaza alight with their bombs and rockets; and now LA is being set alight by the Almighty.
The Israelis/Americans destroyed buildings, homes and businesses in Gaza; now the same is happening in LA. Everything people worked for, their livelihoods, memories, lives, has been destroyed in an instant.
The Israelis/Americans felt that it was okay to cut electricity and water to Gaza; now LA residents lack water to put out these deadly fires.
Isn’t it ironic? Especially given that some of the people affected are hard-core Zionists who support Israel’s genocide on Gaza, such as the actor James Woods.
Let’s not forget that despite the strength of the military which causes the U.S./Israel to behave with impunity and with no regard for Palestinian life, it is incomparable to the strength and might of Allah SWT.
And this is clear in these wildfires that they are unable to contain. With this in mind, I am reminded of the words of a Palestinian child: “Their rockets maybe above us, but they have forgotten that Allah is above them.”
It is as if Allah SWT is showing a sign to those who stood by in silence whilst Palestinians burned alive in Gaza; those who encouraged Israel to continue the onslaught; those who felt it was too complicated to have an opinion on what was right or wrong.
Allah SWT may now be making them taste a fraction of the suffering, so they can be better positioned to have an opinion on what level of suffering is okay and what is not.
But whilst they have faced it for a mere week, Gaza has been ongoing for over a year.
All this serves as a reminder of the vulnerability of this life and the need to acknowledge the power of Allah SWT. He does whatever He so wills.
Allah says in the Quran:
“Do not think ˹O Prophet˺ that Allah is unaware of what the wrongdoers do. He only delays them until a Day when ˹their˺ eyes will stare in horror.”
Surah Ibrahim, 14:42.
