Fact Check: IUML did not call for a ban on Vijay-starrer `Beast'
Social media users are claiming that the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has demanded a ban on Vijay's 'Beast'
By Tejal Sinha Published on 14 April 2022 1:30 PM GMT
Hyderabad: Social media users are claiming that the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has demanded a ban on Vijay's 'Beast'.
The post includes an image that seems to be a screenshot of a news report. Along with the image, a text is also being shared which read, "Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), which is allied with the opposition UDF in Kerala and the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu, had demanded the ban on 'Beast'."
Fact Check
The claim is False.
NewsMeter firstly noticed that the viral image mentioned 'Mathrubhumi'. We searched for the news related to the viral claim published by the organization.
We found a report published by Mathrubhumi on April 07, 2022. The report was similar to the one being shared by users. The report was titled 'The Muslim League has demanded that the release of Beast be banned'.
The report further reads, "The Muslim League has demanded that the screening of Vijay starrer 'Beast' be banned in Tamil Nadu. Muslim League Tamil Nadu President VMS Mustafa, President of the Tamil Nadu Muslim League, has now demanded to ban 'Beast' from being released in Tamil Nadu. He had issued a letter to the Tamil Nadu Home Secretary SK Prabhakar. It is alleged that the film portrays Muslims as extremists. Unfortunately, the films are distorted in such a way that only Muslims are behind the bombings and shootings. The letter also said that the arrival of the "Beast" show would lead to an extraordinary situation. He also pointed out that 'Beast' was banned in Kuwait."
The report had no mention of the Indian Union Muslim League.
We then found a report published on the website of OpIndia on April 10, 2022, titled, 'Islamist outfit demands a ban on Joseph Vijay-starrer `Beast'.
"The Tamil Nadu Muslim League has asked the state Home Secretary to ban the release of the film," read the report.
The Times of India had also published a similar report which stated, "After the film got banned in Kuwait, VMS Mustafa, President of the Tamil Nadu Muslim League, has now demanded to ban 'Beast' as the movie portrays Islamists as extremists."
The Indian Union Muslim League had shared a post on Facebook and refuted the viral claim. The post read, "'The news related to the demand for banning Beast has nothing to do with Indian Union Muslim League. The post mentioned that it was VMS Mustafa, founding leader of the Tamil Nadu Muslim league. He had written the letter to the home secretary asking for the ban ".
Apart from this, we also found a tweet by verified Twitter user Anshul Saxena stating, "Tamil Nadu Muslim League demands ban on the film 'Beast' because the trailer of the film is hurting religious sentiments. The trailer shows: A mall gets hijacked by a group of terrorists, and a soldier, played by Vijay, is called on for the mission to free the hostages."
Hence, it is evident that the claim made through the viral post is False. It was not the Indian Union Muslim League but Tamil Nadu Muslim League leader VMS Mustafa who demanded a ban on 'Beast'.
