Fact Check: Indian Muslims are not planning to take over river Ganga, viral video is from Bangladesh
A video showing people offering namaaz in knee-deep water is going viral on social media with the claim that Muslims in India are planning to take over river Ganga.
By Newsmeter Network Published on 8 Aug 2021 7:47 AM GMT
Hyderabad: A video showing people offering namaaz in knee-deep water is going viral on social media with the claim that Muslims in India are planning to take over river Ganga.
The claim reads, "This is a plan to take over river Ganga after performing azan at a secluded spot. As per their plan, they would make temporary houses along the banks of river Ganga and later these houses will be converted into permanent residences. Since the next war of the world will be for water, the experiment to convert mother Ganga into aab-e-jamjam has begun." (translated)
The link to the post can be seen here.
Fact Check:
The claim is false.
NewsMeter ran a keyword search in Bangla using the text "হাঁটু পানিতে ঈদের নামাজ" (Eid Namaz in knee-deep water) and found several news reports.
Independent Television, a Bangladeshi news channel, had uploaded a video on its YouTube channel on 25 May 2020 with the title "Koyra devastated by Amphan, people offered namaz in deep water during Eid" (আম্পান তাণ্ডবে ক্ষতিগ্রস্থ কয়রা, তাই পানিতেই ঈদ জামাত || Khulna || Koyra). This video has similar visuals as seen in the viral video.
The Business Standard on 25 May 2020 had reported that around 5,000 Muslim devotees of Koyra in Khulna performed the Eid-ul-Fitr prayer standing in knee-deep water on an embankment. "On May 20, the devastating cyclone Amphan broke 24 points of the Koyra embankment and submerged it in the saltwater," it said.
Bangladeshi news outlet Dhaka Tribune had also published a report on 25 May 2020 about the incident in an article titled "Thousands offer Eid prayer in knee-deep water".
We also found a video report by Jamuna Television.
Hence, the claim that Muslims in India are planning to take over the river Ganga is false. The video is from Bangladesh and not India.
