A social media post accompanying a photo of an elderly Muslim man alongside a young girl dressed as the bride is being shared widely across social media platforms. This photo is being shared with a sarcastic quote, suggesting that the elderly man in the viral photo married the young girl. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Image of an elderly Muslim man married to a young girl.
Fact: The image dates back to 2016 and the man seen in the viral photo is the director of the kindergarten in which the girl studies in Turkey. The girl was dressed in traditional attire during a religious event of Quran recitation. Several news agencies have reported the same. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Although the young girl is dressed as a bride, the man seen in the image did not marry her as claimed. He is the director of the kindergarten in which the girl is studying.
According to Turkish news articles, which date back to 2016, the image shows a young girl dressed traditionally, participating in a religious ceremony that marks the beginning of learning the Koran. A kindergarten in Elazig, Turkey celebrated the event by dressing the girls in traditional attire.
Few news agencies in their reports on the event, published similar images of the same man and the young girl seen in the viral photo. These reports ascertain that the image is indeed related to the religious event of the Quran reading.
While there have been multiple reports of elderly men marrying young girls (here, here & here) in several Islamic countries, the viral image does not show any such marriage.
To sum it up, an Old image related to a Quran recitation event from Turkey is with a false child marriage narrative.
