Bangladesh's Exorcism Video Revived As Forced Conversion In Bengal
BOOM found that the video, originally from Bangladesh, has nothing to do with forcible conversion of Hindus to Muslims in West Bengal.
Claim
A video of an exorcism performed in Bangladesh has resurfaced on Facebook with a false claim that it shows a Hindu woman being forcibly converted to Islam, in West Bengal. The distressing video shows a woman seated on the floor undergoing the ritual. A man (not seen in the in the frame) appears to threaten her with a knife. The video has been shared on Facebook with a text edited on it, “This is what a forced conversion looks like by peaceful religion in Bengal. #StopConversion Save Kafirs.” BOOM received the video on its helpline for verification.
Fact
The same video was viral in 2019 with claims that it shows a conversion in Kerala. BOOM had then found a longer version of the video uploaded on YouTube on January 19, 2019, with a caption in Bangla that says, 'This is the best video of exorcism. See how a Hindu Jinn is converted to Islam.' BOOM had earlier reached out to a fact-checking organisation in Bangladesh, which confirmed that the video is old and the ritual is that of an exorcism, a common practice in rural Bangladesh. "In the video the woman can be heard saying 'bol r aitam na' (Say that you are not coming). This is traditional rural Noakhali dialect", a fact-checker confirmed to us. "The woman is a Muslim because observe the fluency in which she chants the Arbi Surrah, he added.
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