Old video falsely shared as Delhi Qazi threatening Hindus after Jahangirpuri violence

Against the backdrop of the recent communal clashes that occurred during a Hanuman Jayanti procession in New Delhi’s Jahangirpuri, several videos are being circulated on social media. One such clip is making the rounds with the claim that a Qazi in Delhi announced that in retaliation to the violence, he would make life difficult for Hindus. The text superimposed on the video similarly reads, “We will make life difficult for Hindus.”

In the video, a man can be heard saying, “Muslims also have young men and the strength and weapons to fight everyday deaths and mob lynching. But Muslims are peaceful, and they want to preserve the Hindu-Muslim brotherhood. If they also take the path [of Hindutva goons], they will make it difficult for Hindus to live in this country.”

Columnist Divya Kumar Soti tweeted the viral video prompting authorities to take action against the “Qazi from Delhi” for threatening “Hindus and Jews”. (Archive link)

इमाम बुखारी को कोर्ट से दसों वारंट निकलने के बाद भी गिरफ्तार नहीं किया गया था। दिल्ली के शहर काज़ी साहब पर हिंदुओं और यहूदियों* को धमकाने पर क्या ही कार्यवाही होगी?

* इजराइल वाले ना पढ़ लें इसलिए हिंदी में लिखा है, देश की छवि की पूरी चिंता के साथ🙏🙏 pic.twitter.com/LdQjvsM9x5

— Divya Kumar Soti (@DivyaSoti) April 19, 2022

BJP Delhi media head Naveen Kumar Jindal tagged the Delhi police questioning when will the Qazi be arrested. (Archive link)

BJP supporter Arun Pudur also tweeted the video while stating that the man was giving death threats to non-Muslims. (Archive link)

Editor of pro-BJP propaganda outlet OpIndia, Nirva Mehta, and Pakistani Canadian author Tarek Fatah further amplified the video.

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Fact-check

At one point in the video, we can hear a reference being made to “Muslim Seva Sangathan”. Alt News performed a keyword search based on this clue and found the video on a YouTube channel named “Muslim Seva Sangathan Dehradun” uploaded on July 4, 2019. The video is titled, “Mufti Raees Bayan Muslim Seva Sangathan” (Mufti Raees’s statement Muslim Seva Sangathan).

ETV Bharat, Dainik Jagran, and Amar Ujala reported on the mufti’s statement. According to these reports, Muslim Seva Sangathan staged a demonstration at the Dehradun District Magistrate’s office on June 27, 2019, to protest against the death of Muslim youth Tabrez Ansari who was attacked by a mob in Jharkhand on June 17, 2019. Ansari succumbed to his injuries a few days later.

After the protest, the police registered a case against Mufti Raees for making “inflammatory and objectionable” statements while speaking to media personnel outside the Dehradun court.

Alt News reached out to Mufti Raees Ahmed Qasmi. He told us that the viral visuals were two years old and have no connection with the recent clashes in Jahangiripuri. He also informed that he is presently the District President of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind Dehradun.

The same video was viral in 2020 when several people including BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra linked it to anti-CAA protests.

To sum it up, a two-year-old video of Mufti Rais Ahmed Qasmi shot in Dehradun was shared on social media with the false claim that a Qazi in Delhi threatened Hindus after Jahangirpuri violence.