A minute-long video showing scores of men, some with skull caps, breaking down and destroying a structure is being widely shared on social media with the claim that is of Muslims in Bangladesh demolishing a Hindu temple.
The allegations and video have surfaced amid several instances of communal attacks on minority communities in the country, including Hindus. The unrest, which started off as protests against former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, have not died down even after a new government was formed under the leadership of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.
The video was posted by X user Tathvam-asi (@ssaratht), who has a verified account, claiming “Izlamists (Islamists) are attacking and vandalising Hindu houses, Hindu Temples and Hindu establishments”. At the time of writing this, the post had over 25,000 views and was shared over 1,000 times. (Archive)
Dire situation of Hindus in Bangladesh.
Izlamists are attacking and vandalising Hindu houses, Hindu Temples and Hindu establishments
Hindus in India should watch this without fail. pic.twitter.com/kKX21MaBpn
— Tathvam-asi (@ssaratht) December 2, 2024
Soon, others, such as ‘Kreately’ (@KreatelyMedia), reshared the video. Kreately’s post added that while Hindus line up for “Made in Bangladesh” goods, “Sunni Bangladeshis” are destroying sacred Hindu spaces. (Archive) The post was eventually deleted. Alt News has, several times in the past, fact-checked and debunked false claims by this X account (see this, this and this) and extensively investigated the misinformation shared on its website.
Another X user (@ajaychauhan41) posted the video, adding that the “whole world is silent on the genocide of Hindus in Bangladesh.” (Archive)
देखिए बांग्लादेश के अलग-अलग शहरों में किस तरह हिंदू मंदिरों में तोड़फोड़ की जा रही है और हिंदू श्रद्धालुओं को पीटा जा रहा है।
लेकिन बांग्लादेश में हिंदुओं के नरसंहार पर पूरी दुनिया चुप है। pic.twitter.com/QZuB6igCAS
— हम लोग We The People
(@ajaychauhan41) December 2, 2024
Note that Alt News has fact-checked and called out false claims by this account in several instances. (Examples 1, 2, 3)
Jitendra Pratap Singh (@jpsin1), a verified X user followed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on X, posted a slightly longer version of the viral video. Singh too called it a “massacre of Hindus” in Bangladesh. The post has already received much traction on the social media platform. (Archive)
देखिए कल बांग्लादेश के अलग-अलग शहरों में किस तरह से हिंदू मंदिरों में तोड़फोड़ की गई और हिंदू भक्तों को मारा पीटा गया
लेकिन पूरी दुनिया बांग्लादेश में हिंदुओं के कत्लेआम पर खामोश है#SaveBangladeshiHindus #YunusTheButcher pic.twitter.com/eTCLhAC0NB
—
(Read our earlier stories identifying on misinformation shared by this account here and here.)
Meanwhile, X account @RealBababanaras), which also has a history of posting misleading claims on social media, alleged that the video was indeed a Hindu temple being vandalised. (Archive)
See how Hindu temples were vandalized and Hindu devotees were beaten up in different cities of Bangladesh yesterday. But the whole world is silent on the massacre of Hindus in Bangladesh.#SaveBangladeshiHindus#YunusTheButcher pic.twitter.com/u4KZYxPTCz
— Baba Banaras
(@RealBababanaras) December 2, 2024
Various other users on X propagated this viral video, with the same claim. (Archives- 1, 2, 3, 4)
Click to view slideshow.Fact Check
Alt News ran a reverse image search on one of the key frames from the video. This led us to a Facebook post featuring the same viral video claiming that a Hindu place of worship has been demolished by a large group of Muslims in Bangladesh.
However, a comment on this video caught our attention. It said that the video was actually the shrine of an Islamic Peer being demolished.
Taking cue from this, we ran a keyword search on Google and came across a report from September 14 in a Bangladesh news publication called The Daily Star.
The report talks about the shrine of Ali Khwaza, alias Ali Pagol, that was vandalised by a mob on August 29, allegedly owing to drug abuse in the surrounding area. The report also cites a devotee claiming that the mob was backed by fundamental groups.
To verify that the vandalised structure in The Daily Star’s report is the same one viral with the claim as an attack on a Hindu place of worship, we ran a keyword search in Bengali. That led us to a Facebook video uploaded on August 29 this year. It shows the same structure being demolished as in the viral videos. The accompanying caption puts the location of the mazaar or shrine as Ward number 9, South Kumaria, Mansur Nagar, Kazipur, Sirajganj.
Thus the structure shown being vandalised in the viral video is actually of a Muslim Peer’s shrine in Bangladesh’s Kazipur and not a Hindu place of worship. So, the claim that the video depicts Muslims in Bangladesh systematically targetting a temple is false.
The post Old video viral with false claim that Muslims demolished Hindu temple in Bangladesh appeared first on Alt News.
This content originally appeared on Alt News and was authored by Prantik Ali.
Prantik Ali | Radio Free (2024-12-03T10:34:30+00:00) Old video viral with false claim that Muslims demolished Hindu temple in Bangladesh. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2024/12/03/old-video-viral-with-false-claim-that-muslims-demolished-hindu-temple-in-bangladesh/
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