A video showing Muslim men arguing loudly and exclaiming has gone viral on social media. The video has gone viral in the context of the recent controversial decision to remove loudspeakers from mosques in Uttar Pradesh.
The Uttar Pradesh government has ordered the removal of ‘illegal speakers’ from religious venues in the state. Following this, Maharashtra Chief Navanirman Sena, Raj Thackeray, demanded the removal of loudspeakers from Maharashtra mosques. He warned that if not, “Hanuman Chalisa will be played at a higher volume (than azaan) in front of mosques.”
Say:
The viral video shows a large gathering of Muslim men raising their hands in protest. They are seen protesting loudly in front of a mosque, and some policemen can be seen in the crowd. Muslims in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh are said to have created a ruckus when they were prevented from offering prayers in the open air during prayers on the last Friday of Ramadan.
A Twitter user shared this video and wrote: “Breaking: यूपी के में सड़क पर नमाज़ पढ़ने लिए प्रशासन से लोग लोग | कोई समझाओ घर का लोटा भी बिकवा देंगे बाबा बाबा” “”
[English Translation: Breaking: People clashed with the administration to offer Namaz on the road in Saharanpur, UP. Someone make them understand that Baba will get everything of theirs sold.]
The caption with the viral video claims that Muslims clashed with officials in Saharanpur, UP, after they were prevented from offering Namaz on the way.
A Facebook user shared this video and wrote a legend that says: “सड़क पर पढ़ने को लेकर हुआ जमकर, पुलिस ने सड़क पर पढ़ने से ोक रोक रोक Ok.”
[English Translation: There was a fierce ruckus about offering Namaz on the road; the police stopped them from offering Namaz on the road.]
It is being widely shared on social media with a similar claim.
Fact check:
The Logical Indian Fact Check team verified the claim and found it to be misleading. The protests did not happen because Muslims were prevented from offering Namaz on the way.
We ran a keyword search on the keywords ‘Saharanpur’ and ‘Namaz’ and found this report from AmarUjala, showing the same images that were noticed in the viral video. The report states that the incident depicted in the video took place in Saharanpur, UP. The incident took place after Namaz prayers were read at Jama Masjid. After this, District Judge Akhilesh Singh and Senior Superintendent of Police Akash Tomar also arrived at the scene and somehow settled the matter. According to the report, the arguments and slogans began after some journalists asked provocative questions.
According to the report, a large number of people from the Muslim society came to the main Jama Masjid located at the Chowk Fountain to offer the Friday “Alvida” prayers. The police administration had held talks with the committees of all the mosque administrations a day earlier for not offering Namaz on the street, which was also implemented, and people offered Namaz inside the mosque. The media asked provocative questions of some Muslims who had left the mosque after Namaz was offered. This caused the youth to break into a protest and slogans began. We also found a Jansatta Report who reiterated the same thing.
We did a keyword search on Twitter and found this statement from the Saharanpur Police. The translated caption of the Twitter post reads: “Saranpur Senior Superintendent of Police statement regarding slogans by people from the Muslim community outside Jama Masjid Saharanpur that took place after Alvida Jumma prayers in Thana area Kotwali Nagar”.
In the statement, the SP affirms that the young people felt offended after the media asked them provocative questions. The Muslims began to make slogans; however, the situation was brought under control when District Judge Akhilesh Singh and Senior Superintendent of Police Akash Tomar arrived at the scene.
There was no discussion, and all officials present at the scene maintain law and order.”
Conclusion:
The caption with the viral video claims that Muslims clashed with officials in Saharanpur, UP, after they were prevented from offering Namaz on the way.
In reality, the incident took place after some Muslims left the mosque after offering Namaz. Media and SSP reports from Saharanpur, UP state that the youths were offended after being asked provocative questions by the media. The protests did not happen because Muslims were prevented from offering Namaz on the way, as social media posts claim.
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Also read: The incident was related to a robbery and the arrested defendants included both Hindus and Muslims. There is no indication of a communal angle in the case.
Reference-thelogicalindian.com