Fact Check: Muslim women did not sing Ram Bhajan in Dubai mosque as claimed by a viral video
Bengaluru: In a viral video that is being widely shared across social media platforms several Burqa-clad women are seen singing Ram Bhajan. The video is being shared with claims that the video was shot in a Dubai mosque where the Muslim women were singing the Bhajan.
In the video, several men are also seen wearing Arab attires suggesting that the Arab leaders enjoyed Ram Bhajan and lauded the women singing it. Claims also add among the women singing Bhajans, there were many from the Arab community as well.
The video has gone viral several times in the last five years and several news agencies including ABP News, The Quint, and Alt News have fact-checked the story and have nulled the claim over the years.
The video actually dates back to 2012 and is being shared with various claims and captions ever since. The latest claims are being made in the Kannada language adding that the Muslim women sang Ram Bhajans in a mosque in Dubai and the Sheikhs of Dubai were seen dancing during their performances.
The video was earlier shared with a caption in Hindi, translated to: “If Modi is there then it is possible, Jai Shri Ram, Muslim women in Dubai performed Ram Bhajan in the mosque while taking a new initiative and their Sheikh husbands clapped and supported them. If it was in India, Islam would have been in danger. Share and reach 125 crore people)”.
While the participants in the video are certainly Muslim & are singing bhajans, it is not in a mosque or in Dubai, as claimed.
The video has been widely shared on Youtube and several other social media platforms.
The video is in fact from Sathya Sai Baba’s ashram in Puttaparthi — Prashanti Nilayam in Andhra Pradesh, India.
SO WHO ARE THE WOMEN IN THE VIDEO?
The original video, shared by Radio Sai, dates back to 10 July 2012, and the singers are from Region 94 of the Sri Sathya Sai International Organisation (Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey and United Arab Emirates), a fact-check report of The Quint had earlier claimed.
The viral video has been edited from the original video and can be traced back to 44:00 minutes in the former.
Clarifying the video over an email interaction with The Quint, the Sathya Sai Baba International Organisation said that while not all the participants seen in the video are Muslims or Arabs, some of them most definitely are.
“Devotees often perform in Prasanthi Nilayam, dressed in the traditional attire of the countries/regions they represent and that explains their appearance. But it is a regular event in Puttaparthi, of people from different religions and nationalities coming together and chanting Vedas, singing bhajans, Christmas carols, and Sufi songs.”
The clarification added that such events were often held in Prashanti Nilyayam to signify the unity of religions, which was one of Sathya Sai Baba’s primary messages to his devotees.
In conclusion, the video of burqa-clad Muslim women singing bhajans is not from a mosque in Dubai, but from a cultural event organized at Sathya Sai Baba’s ashram in Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh.
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'Well-planned conspiracy by UP CM Adityanath, BJP-RSS': Cong on Sambhal violence
New Delhi, Nov 24: In the wake of violence in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal, the Congress on Sunday alleged that the Yogi Adityanath administration is squarely responsible for killing innocents and only the BJP-RSS is guilty of "setting fire" to the peace and harmony there.
The opposition party said the videos of direct firing on the protesters in Sambhal depict the horrifying result of a "well-planned conspiracy" by Adityanath and the BJP-RSS.
Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said Adityanath's administration has once again shown a blatant disregard for communal harmony.
"In this entire matter, the BJP neither wanted the survey to proceed nor to stop it; its sole objective was to destroy harmony," he alleged.
Three people were killed and scores of others, including around 20 security personnel, were injured as the protesters opposing a court-ordered survey of a Mughal-era mosque Sambhal clashed with police on Sunday.
"No citizen in Uttar Pradesh is 'safe' under CM Adityanath, who gave the reprehensible slogan of 'Batenge toh Katenge'. This is evident by the highly deplorable incidents of Sambhal today," Khera said in a statement.
The videos of direct firing on the protesters in Sambhal depict the horrifying result of a "well-planned conspiracy" by Adityanath and the BJP-RSS, he alleged.
Western Uttar Pradesh, which has been a symbol of goodwill and harmony for years, has today witnessed three people killed and many injured under a "well-planned conspiracy", the Congress leader said.
"We say with full responsibility that the Adityanath administration is squarely responsible for killing innocents and only the BJP-RSS is guilty of setting fire to the peace and harmony of Sambhal. Modi-Yogi 'double assault' governments, which consider the minority community as second-class citizens, hurriedly got a petition filed in court," Khera said.
It is public knowledge that the court ordered an immediate survey without hearing the other side, he said.
"No action was taken against the rioters who accompanied the survey team. This makes it clear that after the by-elections in the state, the Yogi government has further intensified the politics of violence and hatred," he added.
The Congress leader said that questions are being raised about the role of the police and the administration because many innocent people have lost their lives in this violence and more than two dozen people have been injured.
"Inciting communal hatred and driving a wedge between two communities - is the DNA of BJP-RSS!" Khera said.
"On one hand, there is an empty slogan of 'Ek Hai Toh Safe Hain' - on the other hand, they divide communities! On one hand, there is lie of 'Sabka Saath- Sabka Vishwas' that has been going on for a decade, on the other hand, the minority community is constantly being targeted in Uttar Pradesh," he added.
The BJP government in Uttar Pradesh is destroying communal harmony and brotherhood for political gains, which is highly condemnable and objectionable, Khera said.
"We appeal to the BJP to prioritize the nation's interests over their political ambitions," he added.
"We want to ask Prime Minister Modi and Chief Minister Adityanath whether they will follow the statement of their own Mohan Bhagwat ji in June 2022 (even if it is pretentious!) in which he said that 'History is something that we cannot change. Neither today's Hindus nor today's Muslims made it, it happened at that time.... Why see Shivling in every mosque?.... Now we do not have to do any agitation..?'" Khera said.
"Neither Modi ji, nor Chief Minister Adityanath nor Mohan Bhagwat ji have the answer to this!" he added.
Khera said Rahul Gandhi has been continuously and stridently talked about 'Nafrat Ke Bazaar Mein Mohabbat Ki Dukaan' and in such a situation, an appeal is made to the people of Sambhal to recognise the politics of hatred, maintain mutual unity, amity and harmony, and take steps to protect their rights in a legal manner.
Moradabad Divisional Commissioner Aunjaneya Kumar Singh said the protesters torched vehicles and pelted stones at the police, who used tear gas and batons to disperse the mob.
"Shots were fired by the miscreants... the PRO of the superintendent of police suffered a gunshot to the leg, the police circle officer was hit by pellets and 15 to 20 security personnel were injured in the violence," he said.
Singh said that a constable also suffered a serious head injury, while the deputy collector fractured his leg.
Internet services have been suspended in Sambhal tehsil for 24 hours and the district administration declared a holiday on November 25 for all students up to Class 12.
Purported images shared on social media showed the protesters pelting stones at cops from atop buildings and in front of the Shahi Jama Masjid. Later, the police personnel were purportedly seen cornering and hitting people as they tried to disperse a large crowd in a narrow alleyway.
Our statement on the tragic and avoidable riots in Sambhal:
— Pawan Khera 🇮🇳 (@Pawankhera) November 24, 2024
संभल में हुए दुखद एवं परिहार्य दंगों पर कांग्रेस पार्टी का वक्तव्य: pic.twitter.com/uOpKjYbw8g
