Old Video Of Azan Recital On The Road Linked To Loudspeaker Ban

A 2020 video from Howrah, West Bengal, showing a group of men reciting the azan (Islamic call to prayer) on a street is being shared with a misleading claim that it is recent and an act of protest against calls from political parties to ban loudspeakers in mosques. Some posts are also sharing the video falsely claiming it is Mumbai, Maharashtra.

In the viral video, we can see a group of men standing on the street and loudly reciting the azan. The video was tweeted by right-wing outlet Sudharshan News with the caption when translated reads, "If you turn off the loudspeaker, you will find this as a way out? Meaning you will not obey the law?"

BOOM has previously debunked communal misinformation put out by Sudarshan News.

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(In Hindi - तुम लाउडस्पीकर बंद कराओगे तो ये रास्ता निकालेंगे? अर्थात कानून नहीं मानेंगे ?)

The video is also being shared with the false claim that it is from Mumbai and shows Muslims protesting the recent speech by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader Raj Thackeray where he said that all loudspeakers in mosques in Maharashtra should be removed and banned.

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Also Read: Old Anti-CAA Protest Video From Bengal Shared With False, Communal Claim

FACT-CHECK

BOOM found that the viral video is from Howrah, West Bengal, dating back to April 2020 and is not recent or from Mumbai as being claimed.

In the video we found signboards in Bangla and using this as a hint we ran a relevant keyword search and found posts in Bangla on Facebook with the same video dating back to April 2020.

The shop board had the name - 'Shimla Biryani' is written in English and Bangla.

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Additionally, we can also see some people wearing masks which indicates its shot after the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in 2020.

On observing a clearer version of the video posted on April 7, 2020, we could spee other shop names like - Dr N Rai and Yashika Stores.

A blue signboard can also be seen and on viewing all the three names on MapmyIndia, it confirms that it is the logo of Canara Bank.

These three outlets can be seen in one line on MapmyIndia located on Grand Trunk Road, Howrah, West Bengal. This confirms that the video was shot in Howrah at this location as it matches with the signboards in the viral video.

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BOOM could not independently verify the incident, however we were able to establish that the video dates back to April 2020 from Howrah, West Bengal, and is not recent or from Mumbai, Maharashtra as being claimed on social media.