Fact Check: Muslims are not converting Telangana's Jogulamba into mosque; viral claims are false

Social media users are claiming that Muslims are turning Telangana's Jogulamba temple into a mosque. Users said Jogulamba Shaktipeeth is in the process of being converted into a Dargah (mosque).

By Newsmeter Network  Published on  25 May 2022 8:57 AM GMT
Fact Check: Muslims are not converting Telanganas Jogulamba into mosque; viral claims are false

Hyderabad: Social media users are claiming that Muslims are turning Telangana's Jogulamba temple into a mosque.

Users said Jogulamba Shaktipeeth is in the process of being converted into a Dargah (mosque).


Click here to view.

FactCheck

The claim is false.

NewsMeter conducted a reverse search and found a tweet by Raja Singh, Telangana BJP MLA, who shared the same video. In his tweet, he talks about a temple in Alampur of Jogulamba Gadwal district, Telangana. He requested the Telangana government to remove illegal encroachments such as Dargah and Masjid from Hindu temple premises.

In a letter to the Archaeological Survey of India, he sought the removal of non-Hindu religious structures from the 'Ancient Jogulamba Shakti Peetham premises. "It is observed that long back there is a Darga (which) appeared all of the (a) sudden in the temple premises and a Kaman constructed overnight. But, there is no action initiated by the Government Departments for the illegal encroachment into Hindu religious temple," he said.

We did not find any recent report from mainstream media about Muslims turning the Telangana Jogulamba temple into a mosque.

When we searched the Archaeological Survey of India Hyderabad circle, we found details of the Alampur in Telangana. Alampur is a temple town with many ancient temples such as the Sangameshwara temple, the Papanasi temple, and the Navabrahma group of temples. In Alampur, however, there is a 17th-century dargah known as Shah Ali's Dargah.

https://www.asihyderabadcircle.com/menu?menuid=19&&l=1

The Shah Ali Dargah was built between the 15th and 17th centuries in Alampur, among the Navabrahma temples. Hindu temples were built between the seventh and ninth centuries. "These Temples and the Dargah were surveyed for the Nizam of Hyderabad by Muslim archaeologist Ghulam Yazdani in 1926ā€“1927 and were published as an Annual Report of the Archaeology Department in 1929," according to Yazdani. "This site was a focal point of religious wars, with Islamic monuments utilizing some of the temple walls and masonry ruins."

https://heritage.telangana.gov.in/monuments/muslim-fort-and-shah-alis-dargah/

https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.73287/2015.73287.Annual-Report-Of-The-Archaeological-Department-1926-1927_djvu.txt

We checked the Google maps and found the recent pictures of recently constructed Dargah. Dargah can also be seen in this YouTube video, which shows it in the background near the Jogulamba temple complex's parking area.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/RVskEaHKTH1KJEZk9


Hence, the claim is false.

Claim Review:Muslims are turning Telangana's Jogulamba temple into a mosque.
Claimed By:Social Media Users
Claim Reviewed By:Newsmeter
Claim Source:Social Media
Claim Fact Check:False
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