Fact Check: Viral video doesn't show Hindu professor being forced to recite Quran in Bangladesh
NewsMeter found the claim misleading as the video shows the forced resignation of a Mulsim professor, not a Hindu at Dhaka University.
By Md Mahfooz Alam Published on 21 Aug 2024 11:08 AM GMT
Claim: The video shows a Hindu professor at Dhaka University who was forced to recite the Islamic prayer and compelled to resign by students.
Fact: The claim is misleading. The video shows Prof Abdul Bashir, the Dean of the Faculty of Arts, who was forced to tender his resignation.
A video circulating on social media shows a bearded man reciting an Islamic prayer in the office of a middle-aged individual, while others film the recitation. The accompanying claim suggests that a Hindu professor at Dhaka University was forced to recite the Islamic prayer and compelled to resign by members of the Jamaat-e-Islami student organisation.
An X user shared the video and wrote, āThe resignation of a Hindu professor of Dhaka College was taken in a very strange manner by the student organisation of Jamaat-e-Islami. First, the Hindu professor was made to recite the Quran, i.e., verses from the Quran were recited and then his resignation was taken.ā (Translated from Hindi) (Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found the claim misleading as the video shows the forced resignation of a Mulsim professor, not a Hindu at Dhaka University.
Upon conducting a reverse image search of the videoās keyframes, we found it published by the verified YouTube channel of Dhaka Post on August 19. According to the channel, students at Dhaka University forced Prof. Abdul Bashir, the Dean of the Faculty of Arts, to tender his resignation after he took disciplinary action against students who had recited the Quran during the holy month of Ramadan.
According to a report by the Dhaka Tribune published on August 19, students of Dhaka University forced Professor Bashir to resign due to his alleged involvement in attacks on DU students and for previously attempting to punish those who participated in a Quran recitation program on campus during Ramadan.
After his resignation, a recitation from the Holy Quran took place, followed by a prayer for peace and discipline at Dhaka University and across the country, as well as an expression of concern over Islamophobia and hostility toward the Quran.
Several other media outlets, including Indian Times Now, also reported the forced resignation of Professor Bashir. (Read reports here and here.)
Hence, we conclude that the video does not show the forced resignation of a Hindu professor in Bangladesh.
