A set of two images from Sri Lanka of a mosque being demolished is viral on Facebook with a misleading claim that Muslims in the country are destroying mosques and embracing Hinduism.
The images, where the men wearing a taqiyah (skull cap) can be seen demolishing a single-storey structure that resembles a mosque.
The posts have been captioned in Hindi as, “Sri Lanka's Muslims are destroying mosques with their own hands. And they are embracing Hinduism. Muslims (there) are saying that they have realised how dirty and hateful Islam is.” ( श्री लंका में मुसलमान अपने ही हाथो से तोड़ रहे हैं मस्जिद और अपना रहे हैं हिन्दू धर्म.👇 मुस्लिम बोलते हैं कि हमें अब इस्लाम धर्म की घिनौनी और नफ़रत से भरी असलियत समझ आ गयी.!! )
The images are being shared with a similar caption in Bengali.
Viral Post in Bengali Fact Check BOOM ran a reverse image search and found that the images are from an incident in Sri Lanka's Kekirawa, where devotees demolished a mosque that was used by the National Tawheed Jamaat (NTJ) a terror outfit.
The Sri Lankan government identified NTJ as the main accused in the April 21, Easter Sunday church bombings, considered one of the worst terror attacks in the country. The blasts left nearly 258 people dead and more than 500 injured.
The Sri Lankan government identified NTJ as the main accused in the April 21, Easter Sunday church bombings, considered one of the worst terror attacks in the country. The blasts left nearly 258 people dead and more than 500 injured.
BOOM found news stories published in Sri Lankan media outlets on May 29 using the same images as the viral posts. A Sri Lankan newspaper, Dailymirror published the photos with an article titled, "NTJ Mosque in Kekirawa demolished by Muslims.'.
The article quoted the trustee of the mosque M.H.M. Akbar Khan who explained why the mosques were demolished as, "The mosque used by the NTJ was built with the funds of an organization based in a foreign country."
News articles about the mosque demolition can be read here and here .
None of the media reports mention any Muslims who participated in the demolition of the mosques, converting to Hinduism.
BOOM spoke to a Sri Lanka-based reporter who corroborated the events, but couldn’t confirm if the Muslims who demolished the mosque embraced Hinduism.
Furthermore, AFP Fact Check spoke to Kekirawa Police Officer-In-Charge Thilak Bandara Ganegoda who was quoted as saying, “No religious conversions took place. The land was previously allocated to construct a children's library and was handed over to its rightful owner.”
