Azan heard from the sky in Germany? Old video, fictional claim - Alt News
Kinjal
20th December 2021 / 3:56 pm
A video has been shared on social media with the claim that azan, the Islamic call to prayer, played seemingly out of the sky in Berlin, Germany and surprised onlookers who began recording the sound. The incident is being portrayed as nothing short of a miracle. Facebook user Anwar Gaur promoted the clip with the same claim. (Archive link)
प्रार्थना का आह्वान जर्मनी के बर्लिन शहर में आसमान से आया। ईश्वर की शक्ति से आप देख सकते हैं कि वहां के मुसलमान और ब्रिटिश लोग प्रार्थना के इस अनदेखे आह्वान की आवाज और वहां के दृश्य का वीडियो रिकॉर्ड कर रहे हैं। अल्लाहु अकबर अल्लाहु अकबर अकबर माशाअल्लाह माशाअल्लाह
Posted by Anwar Gour on Tuesday, December 14, 2021
Back in 2020, Facebook user Mohammad Akhtar had shared the video and accompanying claim. (Archive link)
आसमान से अज़ान की आवाज आ रही है बर्लिन जर्मनी में अल्लाह हुअकबर अल्लाह हूअकबर
Posted by Mohd Akhtar Khan Khan on Wednesday, April 8, 2020
The video is widespread on Facebook, and has also made its way to WhatsApp with the same message. Alt News also received numerous requests to verify the visuals on our WhatsApp helpline number.
Taking a closer look at the viral video, we noticed a few details worth noting. We performed a reverse image search of the multi-coloured building seen in the background of the video using Google Lens. Searching via Google Lens allowed us to easily find an exact match for the search query.
This led us to a few links which identified it as a building located in the Flughafenstraße street of Berlin, Germany.
Using Google Street View, we found that Dar Assalam Mosque is located next to this building. The photo listed on Street View is from 2008, and the exterior paint colour of the building has been changed since then.
[googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!4v1639881040558!6m8!1m7!1sUplX4Ww9i_3yPxGbp6perQ!2m2!1d52.48104907693315!2d13.42685487847191!3f167.51!4f3.980000000000004!5f0.4352551983534266&w=600&h=450]
You can compare the screengrab from the video in question with the Google Street View image below. The similarities are evident, apart from the paint colour. The mosque can clearly be seen next to both buildings.
Upon further research of the visuals, we came across a video report by Ruptly. On April 5, 2020, several media outlets reported that a mosque’s call to prayer ended early after breaches in the social distancing norms in Berlin, Germany. At the 0:21 mark, a man is clearly seen singing, which confirms that the azan is not playing from the sky.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1QrwC52Kpo]
According to a Ruptly article dated April 4, 2020, around 300 people gathered outside the Dar Assalam Mosque in Berlin. However, the crowd was dispersed after they flouted physical distancing norms.
To sum it up, a mosque in Germany broadcasted a call to prayer over a loudspeaker, which prompted a crowd to gather in the streets. A video of the incident was falsely circulated as azan prayers miraculously being playing from the sky.
Kinjal Parmar holds a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology. However, her keen interest in journalism, drove her to pursue journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication. At Alt News since 2019, she focuses on authentication of information which includes visual verification, media misreports, examining mis/disinformation across social media. She is the lead video producer at Alt News and manages social media accounts for the organization.
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