“Abu Dhabi Crown Prince chanting Jai Siya Ram and Muslim lady from UAE carried Ramayana on her head Worshipped by millions of Hindus, This is how Lord Ram is worshipped across the globe.”
A 45-second video clip has been shared on social media, with the claim that it shows the crown prince of Abu Dhabi chanting ‘Jai Siya Ram’, and a Muslim lady from the UAE carrying the Ramayana on her head. In the video, Ram Katha preacher Morari Bapu can be seen.
Abu Dhabi Crown Prince chanting Jai Siya Ram
and Muslim lady from UAE carried Ramayana on her headWorshipped by millions of Hindus, This is how Lord Ram is worshipped across the globe.#ThursdayThoughts #ThursdayMotivation #AyodhyaVerdict pic.twitter.com/xvOSgYoH6g
— Geetika Swami (@SwamiGeetika) October 17, 2019
The above tweet is by a user Geetika Swami, who is followed on Twitter by the office of Nirmala Sitharaman. It has been retweeted over 750 times so far. On Facebook too, the video has been shared with this narrative.
#मंदिर_वहीं_बनाएंगे
Abu Dhabi #Crown_Prince chanting “Jai Siya Ram”
and Muslim #lady from UAE carried #Ramayana on her headWorshipped by millions of Hindus, This is how Lord Ram is worshipped across the globe.
#ThursdayThoughts #ThursdayMotivation #AyodhyaVerdict https://t.co/xvOSgYoH6g
Posted by Sandeep Chavan on Wednesday, October 16, 2019
FACT CHECK: NOT THE CROWN PRINCE OF ABU DHABI
The claim accompanying the video is false. The person seen in the video is NOT the crown prince of Abu Dhabi (Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan), but a United Arab Emirates-based columnist and commentator on Arab affairs named Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi. His profile may be accessed here.
The video in question is from Abu Dhabi, and dates back to September 2016. The complete video, uploaded on Morari Bapu’s official YouTube channel, can be seen below. In his opening remarks, an unknown speaker is heard announcing a list of guests. However, the name of the Crown Prince is not announced. Moreover, he cannot be visually spotted in the guests that were present for the event. Hence, it is evident that Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was not present at the event.
SHARED WITH FALSE NARRATIVE EARLIER
The same video clip had been shared on social media earlier in 2019, with the claim that the video showed the Sultan’s wife carrying the Ramayana on her head as she walked towards the first Hindu temple constructed in Abu Dhabi. The narrative was false at multiple levels. The first temple in Abu Dhabi is still under construction. The foundation stone laying ceremony was held in April 2019.
* सुल्तान शेख मोहम्मद ने अबू धाबी में, प्रधान मंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी से अपने वादे के अनुसार पहला हिंदू मंदिर बनवाया।
* सुल्तान की पत्नी बेगम सिर पर पवित्र रामायण की प्रति लेकर मंदिर की ओर जा रही हैं, और साथ में सुल्तान शेख मोहम्मद, राम कथा वाचक एच। पी। मोरारी बापू भी दिखाई दे रहे हैं। *
* सच में अद्भुत दृश्य। view *
Posted by Sagar Verma on Wednesday, May 15, 2019
MISINFORMATION BY MEDIA
In February 2018, Alt News had debunked another video pertaining to the same event, where it was falsely claimed by leading news channels – Times Now and Zee News – that Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan attended the Ram Katha of Morari Bapu in Abu Dhabi. Later, it was found that the person is not the crown prince but a UAE columnist and commentator on Arab affairs named Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi.
It may be reiterated that the video in question does not show the crown prince of Abu Dhabi chanting ‘Jai Siya Ram’.
Independent journalism that speaks truth to power and is free of corporate and political control is possible only when people start contributing towards the same. Please consider donating towards this endeavour to fight fake news and misinformation.
