A video showing several individuals harming themselves with sharp objects, bleeding, and participating in an Ashura procession as part of Muharram celebrations is being widely shared across social media platforms with the claim that it depicts a recent Muharram rally held in London (here, here, & here). In the video, we see people with long, sharp objects (machetes) in their hands, wearing blood-stained white clothes, marching and hitting their heads with the machetes. Through this article, let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video showing a recent Muharram rally held in London.
Fact: This video has been on the internet since at least 2019, and the visuals show an Ashura procession held in the city of Nabatieh, Lebanon. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
To check the veracity of the viral claim and gather more information about the video, we conducted a reverse image search using keyframes from the viral video. We found that the same video has been circulating on social media since at least 2019, claiming to show a Muharram rally held in London (here, & here).
This search also led us to several YouTube videos featuring similar visuals of Ashura processions held in the city of Nabatieh in Lebanon (here, here, here, & here).
Upon carefully observing the faces of the people and the surroundings featured in the viral video, it appears that the video is likely from a Middle Eastern country rather than from London or any European country. We also noticed a name board, “Le Cavalier Menswear,” written on a shop. Further research revealed that a men’s clothing outlet named “Le Cavalier” is located on Sabbah Street in the city of Nabatieh, Lebanon. We subsequently located the Instagram and Facebook pages of the “Le Cavalier” menswear outlet in Nabatieh, Lebanon.
By comparing the visuals in the viral video showing “Le Cavalier Menswear” with the pictures of the “Le Cavalier” shop shared on its Instagram and Facebook pages, it is clear that the visuals in the viral video depict the “Le Cavalier” menswear store located on Sabbah Street in the city of Nabatieh, Lebanon. From this, it is evident that the viral video is from Lebanon. Below, you can see comparison visuals of the viral video showing “Le Cavalier Menswear” alongside a picture of the “Le Cavalier” shop shared on its Instagram page. The location of the “Le Cavalier” menswear store on Sabbah Street can be seen on Google Maps here.
we did not find any reports of Ashura processions held in London or any other European countries where people harm themselves by flagellating with chains or cutting their foreheads until blood streams from their bodies to emulate the suffering of Hussein. Some Ashura processions held in London recently and in the past can be seen here, here, here, and here.
In Islam, Ashura is observed on the 10th day of Muharram as a day of mourning. The word “Ashura” is derived from “Asharah,” which means “ten” in Arabic. The Day of Ashura commemorates various historical events, including the day when Prophet Moses (Musa) and the Israelites were saved from Pharaoh’s tyranny in Egypt. Shia Muslims believe that Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, was martyred in the Battle of Karbala on this day. To mourn his death, it is believed that Prophet Muhammad observed a fast, which Shia Muslims also practice on Ashura. Shia men and women dressed in black also parade through the streets slapping their chests and chanting. Some Shia men seek to emulate the suffering of Hussein by flagellating themselves with chains or cutting their foreheads until blood streams from their bodies. For Sunni Muslims, Ashura marks the day when Prophet Moses and his followers crossed the Red Sea to escape Pharaoh’s cruelty. Sunni Muslims observe a fast to thank Allah for their salvation and also engage in acts of kindness and charity (here, here & here).
To sum up, an old video from Lebanon is falsely shared as recent visuals of a Muharram rally held in London.
