Islamic State Editorial on the California Wildfires
Commentary on the wildfires that have engulfed parts of the Los Angeles area in southern California would suggest that the scale of the fires and the damage they have caused reflect a combination of factors including a flip state between a previous wet winter and current dry conditions (perhaps influenced by climate change), location of buildings and materials used to build them, and the local government response to the fires.
For the Islamic State however, the fires are to be explained as a result of divine will and punishment against the disbelievers- an interpretation in the Islamic world that is by no means exclusive to the group. Rather, this view has roots in a widespread standpoint in Islamic thought that natural phenomena in this world are the result of God’s will and management. In other words, when there is rain, the rain is being sent by God’s command. When lightning strikes, it is the result of God’s will. As Nicolai Sinai suggests in his dictionary of Qur’anic terms, interpreting natural phenomena as the result of God’s determinations and interventions is quite a logical reading of the Qur’an’s portrayal of the relationship between nature and God.
Other points of interest in the editorial: