Following the tragic earthquakes in Turkey and Syria in February 2023, in which tens of thousands of people died and many more were left injured or homeless, BBC Radio 4’s The Moral Maze convened a panel exploring the question: Why does God allow natural disasters to happen?
Dr Ramon Harvey (Cambridge Muslim College Lecturer and Head of Research) was among the panellists invited to address this perennial question, who represented an array of diverse religious or agnostic backgrounds.
In his segment, Dr Harvey highlighted the importance of anchoring ourselves in a belief in God’s wisdom by understanding that there is meaning and purpose behind every occurrence. Drawing on Islamic teachings, he emphasized that we live in a world of opposites, thus there is always the possibility of harm, tragedies and disasters which, rather than leading to confusion and despair, should be received as opportunities to cultivate and exercise courage, virtue, and patience. However, at times, the wisdom behind some of these calamities cannot be understood as, ultimately, God transcends the world and the horizons of our understanding and rationalisation. Catastrophes, he reminded listeners, should not shake one’s faith but rather represent an opportunity to focus on the real question: how does this experience illuminate our lives?
Dr Ramon Harvey lectures in Islamic theology at Cambridge Muslim College. He undertook his postgraduate studies at SOAS, University of London, and also holds an ʿalimiyya qualification. His publications include monographs and articles in both Islamic theology and Qur’anic studies. Currently, his research focuses on kalām in early Māturīdism and on constructive Islamic theology, especially in conversation with Christian theology, analytic philosophy and phenomenology. He is Series Editor of Edinburgh Studies in Islamic Scripture and Theology, which is published by Edinburgh University Press.