A video has gone viral on social media showing a man wearing a skull cap giving ration to a child who is standing in knee-deep water, and cutting a cord around the child's neck. The Bangla text on the video claims, "Child gets freedom from Shirk during the distribution of relief material in Noakhali." The video is being shared with the allegation that Islamists in Bangladesh cut off the sacred thread or a 'Tulsi Mala' of a Hindu child in exchange for relief supplies.
Jitendra Pratap Singh, a user frequently found sharing misinformation, tweeted the video, claiming, "Look at how the new government of Bangladesh is wiping out Hindus. A Hindu child, stranded and hungry for days in the floods in Noakhali, was forced by a Maulvi from Jamaat-e-Islami to recite the Kalima before receiving help. The Maulvi then forcibly removed the child's Tulsi mala, which is a Hindu symbol, and told the child that he was no longer a Hindu. When the child asked for the garland back, he was told that he wouldn't receive any more relief supplies." (Archived link)
Tulsi Rosary is generally worn by Hindus of the Vaishnav sect.
Right-wing propaganda website OpIndia also reported on the video, describing the child as Hindu and alleging that the Maulvi removed the Tulsi mala. Although the article was later updated to clarify that the child's religion could not be definitively confirmed, the URL of the article still labelled the child as Hindu. (Archived link)
BJP supporter Raushan Sinha shared the video, pushing the narrative that religious threads were being removed from Hindu children's necks in exchange for relief in Bangladesh. (Archived link)
Another handle, Frontal Force, too, amplified the claim. (Archived link)
Fact Check
Alt News traced a tweet by Bangladesh-based fact-checker Sohanur Rahman, who clarified that the child in the video was not a Hindu, and what was removed from his neck was a talisman, not a Tulsi mala.
Rahman also identified the location as Noakhali, where the Salafi Islamic school, Tauheed Academy and Islamic Center in Chandpur, was distributing relief. The Salafi or Ahle Hadith sect opposes wearing tabeez (amulets/talismans), and several videos of Salafi followers cutting talismans are available online. This specific video was uploaded on Facebook by a user named Russell Khan.
Rahman spoke with Abdul Malek Miyaji, assistant principal of Jamia Darut Tauheed, which is operated by Tauheed Academy and Islamic Center. Miyaji confirmed that he was the person cutting the talisman in the video. He explained that the video was filmed while he was distributing relief supplies in Noakhali. The child in question is a Muslim boy named Sohail, who is in the third grade at a local madrasa. His father's name is Abdul Haq, and his mother is Razia Khatun, both from Char Alagi village in Noakhali.
Further confirmation came from Mohammad Yusuf, a representative of Char Alagi village. Yusuf shared another video of the child, in which the boy clearly states that his name is Sohail, his father's name is Abdul Haq, and that he is a Muslim. This video was recorded after the false claims about the boy being Hindu had gone viral in India.
https://vimeo.com/1005528373?share=copy
What is Shirk?
In Islam, "Shirk" refers to the sin of associating anyone or anything with Allah in terms of divine power. It is considered one of the gravest sins in Islam as it contradicts the core belief in monotheism, known as Tawheed. While many Muslims wear talismans or visit shrines, certain Islamic groups, like Salafis, strictly oppose such practices. Wearing a talisman or seeking blessings from a shrine is seen by some as conflicting with the fundamental tenet that only Allah has the power to grant protection or favour.
To sum it up, several Right-wing propaganda sites and social media users falsely claimed that the video showed a Muslim cutting a Hindu child's tabeez (Tulsi rosary) in exchange for relief supplies. In reality, the video depicts the removal of a talisman from the neck of a Muslim child by a Salafi group during relief distribution in Bangladesh.
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