Old video from Morocco viral as burqa-clad woman attacked in Karnataka

A video of some men hurling eggs and flour at a woman in a burqa is being shared on social media with the claim that the incident took place in Karnataka amid the hijab row. The post below has over 6 lakh views.

Alt News has received several verification requests for the video.

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Video also viral in 2020

Governor of Pakistan’s Punjab Mohammad Sarwar had shared the video in 2020. He claimed that a Muslim woman was manhandled and harassed by RSS workers.

بھارت میںمسلمانوں سمیت دیگر اقلیتوں کیساتھ #RSS کے غنڈوں کی دہشت گردی اور خواتین کو نشانہ بنانا معمول بن چکا ہے بھارت اقلیتوں کیلئے دنیا کا سب سے خطر ناک ملک بن چکا ہے مگر @UN سمیت انسانی حقوق کے عالمی ادارے یہ تماشہ دیکھ رہے ہیں جو ایک اور ظلم ہے #RSSTerrorists pic.twitter.com/X5GHnITIgS

— Mohammad Sarwar (@ChMSarwar) November 25, 2020

The clip was also shared by other Pakistani politicians.

بھارت میںمسلمانوں سمیت دیگر اقلیتوں کیساتھ #RSS کے غنڈوں کی دہشت گردی اور خواتین کو نشانہ بنانا معمول بن چکا ہے بھارت اقلیتوں کیلئے دنیا کا سب سے خطر ناک ملک بن چکا ہے مگر @UN سمیت انسانی حقوق کے عالمی ادارے یہ تماشہ دیکھ رہے ہیں جو ایک اور ظلم ہے! #RSSTerrorists pic.twitter.com/D37ZUc3zpN

— Lucky Ali Qureshi (@Lucky_A_PTI) November 26, 2020

The same clip was earlier viral in India with an identical claim alleging the incident took place in the country — “ये हो क्या रहा है इस देश मे इतनी नफरत मुसलमानों से इस तरह से जीतोगे सबका विश्वास क्या यही है आपका न्यू इंडिया” (What is happening in this country such hatred for Muslims is this how you will win everyone’s trust is this your New India?)

The above tweet, posted on July 7, 2019, has now been deleted. The handle had tagged PM Narendra Modi, UP CM Yogi Adityanath and the PMO in the tweet.

फेला दो पुरे देश मे यो वीडियो मोदीजी तक जाना चाहिए सब ग्रूप मे भेजना 25 करोड देस वासीयो आप आज नहीं जगे तो कभी नही जग पाओगे, माॅ का दुध पीया है तो भेजना, नहीं पीया है तो मत भेजना pic.twitter.com/FK5OQMJPU7

— Ganesh K. Gavli (@GaneshKGavli1) July 5, 2019

Alt News found that the same video had been uploaded by a Twitter user in November 2015, claiming that the incident took place in France.

this is how it feels to be a muslim in France. i’l never #Pray4Paris pic.twitter.com/92y3gz0GAS

— Alkhasas (@salim_alkhasas) November 21, 2015

On Facebook, the video had been posted in October 2015 by a Moroccan social media influencer calling the young men seen in the video “animals”. The video has been viewed over 475,000 times since then.

Those who have shared the video had suggested that this is an instance of bigotry and hate against the Muslim community. The video and message were also being shared on WhatsApp two years ago.

FACT-CHECK

Alt News found that the video in question is not from India. An October 2015 article published in Morocco World News claimed that teenage boys attacked a woman with eggs, flour and water on Ashura Day in Casablanca, Morocco. Ashura Day is the tenth day of Muharram.

Another website 5pillarsuk.com also claimed in an October 2015 article that the woman was attacked in Morocco.

A subsequent keyword search led us to a fact-check published by the French television network France24 in October 2015, which said that while the incident occurred in Morocco, it was not a case of ‘Islamophobia’ as alleged. It states, “While throwing eggs and flour may seem violent and mean to most viewers, these are common practices amongst young Moroccans on the Day of Ashura, a religious holiday. On this holy day, Moroccan kids throw all kinds of things including firecrackers, eggs and sometimes even soap. The fun and games occasionally turn to chaos, which is one of the reasons that many Moroccans aren’t fans of the holiday.”

France24 further reported that a second video had been posted by the young men seen in the video after it caused a controversy. In this second video, these young men stated that they were only having fun and that they were wrongly accused of assaulting the woman. The woman seen in the first video had also appeared in this second video in which she “seemed to support their version of events”. This set of events, however, could not be confirmed by Alt News as the second video is no longer available.

Toward the end, France24 states, “It’s impossible to know if her participation in the second video was forced. It’s also impossible to know if she did indeed feel in danger when the boys ganged up on her or if it was all just child’s play, as they suggest. However, it’s clear that the boys’ actions were not motivated by Islamophobia, as alleged by some websites and Internet users.”

It may be noted that the viral video is from 2015 and is unrelated to India in any way. According to media reports from 2015, the incident had occurred in Morocco.