A viral video showing a woman disrupting prayers at a mosque in Virginia, United States on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr is being circulated online with a false claim that the woman is a Hindu.
BOOM found that the claim is false and that the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) in Sterling, Virginia clarified that the woman is a Muslim and has been suffering from mental health issues.
The 57-second-long video shows a woman in a white saree and scarf draped over her shoulder arguing with security personnel inside the prayer hall. The video later shows her being escorted out of the mosque forcefully by security personnel.
The video has been shared on Facebook with a caption that reads, "A Hindu woman in Virginia, USA entered a mosque during Eid prayer, got on the mimbar, created a ruckus, and spew lslamophobic slurs. She was later arrested. Modi and BJP have been poisoning Indian minds beyond borders. The RSS poison has spread far and wide. It is now threatening social cohesion in western countries. Respect to the Muslims for their patience & not giving her a reaction or she would've played the victim card."
Watch the video here and here.
FACT CHECK
BOOM found that the claim is false. The All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) centre clarified that the incident took place on April 21, 2023 and involved a woman from the Muslim community who is struggling with mental health issues.
Their post can be seen here on Facebook and Instagram.
"The family sincerely asks for forgiveness for the incident in the morning during Eid prayers. The family has requested that those who posted the video to please remove it from social media to protect the family's privacy since the video is causing additional stress to the family," (sic) the statement further said.
ADAMS centre is a community organisation led by a small group of families in Herndon and Reston, Virginia founded in 1983, according to their verifiedce Facebook page. It is considered to be one of the largest serving community organisation for Muslims in the Washington, D.C. area.