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In the Quran, Allah has used natural disasters as a way of punishing those who have acted against his will (such as the people of Lut whom he destroyed for being homosexuals).
Is the hurricane Allah sent an example of his displeasure with the US? Their refusal to embrace Islam, their violence towards muslims and refusal to help remove the Alawite tyrants in Syria?
Are there anything else in islam which could back this up?
If you go to the pages of holy Qur'an, As an example of storm (Maybe a hurricane), you'll find this:
Surah Al-Ahqaf (Ayaah 21 - 25):
And mention, [O Muhammad], the brother of 'Aad, when he warned his people in the [region of] al-Ahqaf - and warners had already passed on before him and after him - [saying], "Do not worship except Allah . Indeed, I fear for you the punishment of a terrible day."
They said, "Have you come to delude us away from our gods? Then bring us what you promise us, if you should be of the truthful."
He said, "Knowledge [of its time] is only with Allah , and I convey to you that with which I was sent; but I see you [to be] a people behaving ignorantly."
And when they saw it as a cloud approaching their valleys, they said, "This is a cloud bringing us rain!" Rather, it is that for which you were impatient: a wind, within it a painful punishment,
Destroying everything by command of its Lord. And they became so that nothing was seen [of them] except their dwellings. Thus do We recompense the criminal people.
The 'Aad are actually the people of Prophet Hud (pbuh). They had disbelieved in Allah and had suffered the punishment. Taking this incident as an example, Allah has warned the people of Muhammad (pbuh) against disbelief in:
Surah Al-Qamar (Ayaah 18 - 22):
'Aad denied; and how [severe] were My punishment and warning.
Indeed, We sent upon them a screaming wind on a day of continuous misfortune,
Extracting the people as if they were trunks of palm trees uprooted.
And how [severe] were My punishment and warning.
And We have certainly made the Qur'an easy for remembrance, so is there any who will remember?
In light of these Ayaah, you can draw a conclusion that Allah brings disasters to punish the disbelievers.
But if you look at another Ayah, you'll realise that punishment may not be the only motive.
Surah Al-A'raf (Ayah 94):
And We sent to no city a prophet [who was denied] except that We seized its people with poverty and hardship that they might humble themselves [to Allah].
Apart from the punishment to the disbelievers, Allah also imposes these disasters as a test to believers. Making the believers humble before Allah is also another motive.
As for the Hurricane Sandy, it is not good to say Allah sent this as a punishment to the U.S because there is nothing to confirm it, unlike the calamities over the people of Prophet Hud (pbuh) which were confirmed by The Holy Qur'an. Though owing to the coincidences, you may believe that it is a punishment, and though there are many Ayaah in the Holy Qur'an which state generally that Allah may bring calamities as a punishment, we still have no knowledge of Allah's motive. So, claiming that this was a punishment or expressing it to others or asking questions such as this one (in open) will only spread unpleasant arguments and hatred among people.
The hurricane on the east coast is the result of well understood weather conditions that are endemic to that region due to equally understood geographic, coastal and atmospheric conditions. The infrastructure impact, while significant, has resulted in remarkably few deaths, and is mainly inconvenient. High population density contributes to the number of people affected.
Contrast, however:
Death Toll Event Location Date
280,000 Indonesian Tsunami Indonesia December 2004
110,000 Ashgabat earthquake Turkmenistan October 1948
79,000 Kashmir earthquake Pakistan October 2005
50,000 Manjil-Rudbar earthquake Iran June 1990
45,000 İzmit earthquake Turkey August 1999
28,000 Khait earthquake Tajikistan July 1949
26,000 Bam earthquake Iran December 2003
The numbers here are only primary deaths - not secondary impact (such as the 12 million displaced/stranded by the Pakistan floods of 2010)
It would be in poor taste to express a judgement on the US, without first considering a much more significant and damning judgement on these countries with a Muslim majority.
Perhaps we should simply consider: natural disasters happen.
