Fact Check: Old video of Muslims praying on streets shared with false claims amid loudspeaker ban
Several states in the country have imposed a ban on loudspeakers in public and religious places. Following this, a video of a group of men loudly reciting the azan (Islamic call to prayer)
By Newsmeter Network Published on 4 May 2022 1:00 PM GMT
Hyderabad: Several states in the country have imposed a ban on loudspeakers in public and religious places. Following this, a video of a group of men loudly reciting the azan (Islamic call to prayer) is being shared on social media, implying that it shows Muslims praying on the streets as a retaliation to the recent loudspeaker ban.
Sudarshan News shared the video and tweeted, "If you stop loudspeakers, will you find this way out? That means you will not obey the law?" (Archive)
A Twitter user shared the same video and claimed that the incident took place in Mumbai. The caption claims that as a retaliation to a ban on loudspeakers, Muslims prayed on the streets. (Archive)
FACT CHECK
NewsMeter performed a reverse image search and found that the same video was published by One India Kannada on 8 April 2020. The description of the video reads, "With the lockdown in effect in India, all temples and mosques have been closed, because of which Muslims did not get an opportunity to offer prayers in the mosque. They then stood on the road and prayed..."
The same video was also shared on social media in 2020. This indicates that the viral video is at least two years old and has nothing to do with the ongoing loudspeaker ban.
NewsMeter was able to identify a few shop names and signs shown in the video. The name "Yashika Stores", Canara Bank, and a homeopathy clinic by "Dr N Rai" can be seen. After a search on Google Maps, we found a "Yashika Stores" in Howrah, West Bengal, that was located between Dr. N. Rai's clinic and a Canara Bank branch.
Another shop named "New Shimla Biryani" could also be seen in the video. According to Zomato, it is located on GT Road in Pilkhana, Howrah.
Although we couldn't independently verify the context of the video, it is clear that the incident took place prior to the recent loudspeaker ban row. The incident took place at least two years ago in Howrah, West Bengal, and not in Mumbai.
Clearly, an old video of people reciting the azan is being shared with false claims amid the loudspeaker ban row. Thus, the claim is false.
