A video of a Muslim cleric tearing a tabeez (an amulet worn to ward off evil) from a minor boy's neck in Bangladesh's Noakhali during a flood relief drive is circulating with a false and communal claim that the cleric removed the sacred thread of a Hindu boy while providing aid.
The video shows a man tearing the amulet, as the minor says that his parents will ask about the same in Bangla. The cleric later says that wearing a tabeez is against Islam.
Right wing YouTuber Ajeet Bharti shared the video with the caption, "A rotten community that snatches away the (Hindu) mala in the name of help." (Original text in Hindi: सड़ी हुई कौम जो सहायता दे कर गले की माला छीनती है।)
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The video is also circulating on WhatsApp with a similar communal claim.
On Facebook the captions with the video claims that a Tulsi mala (often worn by Hindus) was removed from a Hindu boy by a Muslim. The screenshot can be seen below.
Fact Check
BOOM Bangladesh was able to ascertain that the minor in the video is a Muslim named Sohail and not a Hindu, as claimed in the viral posts. The minor studies in a local madrasa of Bangladesh and was wearing a tabeez or amulet and not a basil garland or tulsi mala, as claimed in the viral posts.
A reverse image search of a few of the keyframes from the video led us to a Facebook page Towhid Academy and Islamic Centre. The page had posted visuals of the same video on August 27 with the caption, "Alhamdulillah, Tawheed Academy and Islamic Center distributed relief items to 200+ families among the flood victims of Noakhali."
On September 2, another video from the same page debunked claims about the minor being a Hindu. The text stated in Bangla, "Listen to the boy who recently went viral, whether he is a Hindu or a Muslim. Avoid the rumors."
In the video, the boy identifies himself as Sohail, a standard three student in a madrasa. Sohail further says that his father's name is Abdul Haque and mother's name is Rozina. He also identifies his religion as Islam and recites the Kalima.
BOOM Bangladesh then reached out to the principal of Tawheed Academy and Islamic Centre. He confirmed to BOOM Bangladesh that they were distributing relief in flood-affected areas as well as cutting amulets or tabeez with permission due to religious restrictions on the same. He further told BOOM Bangladesh that no threads of Hindu religion were cut among the flood affected people.
Abdul Malek Miazi, assistant headmaster of Jamia Darut Tawheed, can be seen cutting the amulet in the video. He told BOOM Bangladesh that the boy is a resident of Char Algi village in Noakhali district of Bangladesh. "As there is a prohibition of the use of tabeez in Islam , we conducted a drive to cut them during the flood relief distribution drive," he further told BOOM Bangladesh.
As many as 59 people lost their lives in the floods that affected 11 districts in Bangladesh last month. Quoting the Disaster Management and Relief Ministry officials, local media reported that more than 54.57 lakh people were affected by the floods and 70 lakh families are still stranded.