A video from an Australian TV show showing children in school uniform at a mosque being taught how to pray is being shared with a false and communal that parents in Australia are 'furious' over the 'Islamisation' of schools in the county.
BOOM found that the viral video is from the social experimental TV series 'The Swap' where 12 students and their families from different faiths and cultures are 'swapped' and introduced to social settings of the other faith. The show had students belonging to different beliefs - Catholic, Muslim and Atheist.
In the 1.08 minutes video, the narrator mentions that during Islamic prayers, "it has come to Ahmed's attention that Issac is not dressed properly for the occasion" and he then asks him to pull up his socks.
The video was tweeted by the Twitter handle Megh Updates (@MeghUpdates) with the caption, "Australia: Parents go furious as a video of children in Australia being taught how to pray in a mosque goes viral. Furious parents accuse the school of brainwashing and Islamizing their children in the name of pleasing a migrant community."
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The same was tweeted by Minni Razdan (@@mini_razdan10) with the caption, "Meanwhile in Australia ….Australia. Parents are upset that the schools are brainwashing and Izlamizing their children “Would muzlim parents want their children to visit a Church and pray to Christ?”, asked one parent. Not just in US, this is happening all over the world"
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The same video is being shared on Facebook with the misleading claim.
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FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the viral video is from an Australian TV series 'The Swap' which is a three-part documentary series that conducts social experiments by swapping 12 students from different backgrounds and faiths - Muslims, Catholics and Atheists - into each other’s worlds.
We found several social media users pointing out that the video is from this TV series. The channel SBS whose logo can be seen in the viral video, had also tweeted on the experimental TV series which premiered on March 8, 2023.
The tweet from February 15, 2023, read, "Can a pioneering social experiment break down barriers and build bridges between families from vastly different cultures? The Swap | Premieres on Wednesday 8 March at 8.30pm @SBS and #SBSOnDemand"
In the group photo of the participating children in this social experiment for the show, we can see the same boys and girls that were present in the viral video.
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The article on the TV series published by SBS describes the show as, "In a trailblazing, television-first original series, new three-part documentary series The Swap follows what happens when 12 students and families from very different cultures, religions and backgrounds are thrown into each other’s worlds."
It also mentions that the architect behind the show is Ali Kadri, CEO of the Islamic College of Brisbane. It states that the participants include six Muslim families, four Catholic families and two atheist families. It further mentions that Kadri accompanied the students in this social experiment for the show.
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Additionally, Kadri also makes an appearance in the viral video at the 39 seconds timestamp.
Kadri had also tweeted a trailer of the show on February, 15, 2023, mentioning about the 12 participants belonging from diverse backgrounds.
BOOM reached out to Kadri, who denied the viral claim stating that the swap included students from different faiths and beliefs.
"During the swap, six non-Muslim students went to the Islamic College of Brisbane and six students of ICB went to a Catholic and a secular State school. This involved students partaking in each other’s prayer sessions. Non-Muslim students attended the prayer session and Muslim students including myself went to a Catholic mass. There are no religious observance at the state school," stated Kadri.
He further confirmed that all the parents of the participants were aware about the show and supported it. He denied the claim that parents were 'furious'.
"The parents on all sides were aware of the premise of the show and were supportive of all actions by the students. There is no outrage or disagreement shown by any parent," added Kadri.
Mount Alvernia College whose students participated in the TV show also posted about it on their Facebook page promoting it.
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Laila Ali, 16, a student at the Islamic College of Brisbane who appeared on The Swap, wrote about her experience on making her first non-Muslim friend and how participating in the show changed her.
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In the trailer of the show which can be seen below, participants are swapped into families of different faiths, and only just one particular religion.