A video going viral on social media (here, here, and here) claims to show thousands of Sunni Bangladeshis demolishing Hindu Temples. Let’s verify the truth behind the video in this article.
Claim: Video shows thousands of Sunni Bangladeshis demolishing Hindu Temples.
Fact: The video does not of Sunni Bangladeshis demolishing Hindu temples. Instead, it shows the demolition of a Muslim shrine. On 29 August 2024, the shrine of Muslim saint Hazrat Baba Ali Pagla in Shalgram, Mansurnagar union, Kazipur upazila, Sirajganj district, Bangladesh, was demolished under the direction of local imam Golam Rabbani. In response to backlash from locals, Rabbani was dismissed. Hence, the claim made in the post is Misleading.
A reverse image search of the keyframes from the viral video led us to a Facebook post (archive) dated 30 August 2024, featuring the same video with the caption, “Bleeding in the heart! The holy shrine of Hazrat Baba Ali Pagla (may Allah have mercy on him) is being demolished”.
Using clues from the Facebook post’s description, we searched with relevant keywords and found a news report video (archive) on The Metro TV YouTube channel, published on 29 August 2024. The video’s description revealed the demolition of Ali Pagla’s shrine in Kazipur, Sirajganj, Bangladesh.
We also found several news reports (here, and here) (archive here, and here) about the same incident. According to reports, on 29 August 2024, the shrine of Muslim saint Hazrat Baba Ali Pagla in Shalgram, Mansurnagar Union, Kazipur upazila, Sirajganj district, Bangladesh, was demolished under the direction of local imam Golam Rabbani. Following backlash from locals, Rabbani was dismissed.
In the last two months, there have been attacks on Hindu temples in various parts of Bangladesh. Multiple media reports (archive) highlight these incidents of vandalism on temples in Chittagong, on 29 November 2024 in Patharghata, Chittagong city, and on the night of 28 November 2024 in Patiya Upazila. However, the viral video is not related to these incidents.
To sum up, a demolition video of a Muslim saint’s shrine in Bangladesh is falsely shared as an attack on a Hindu temple.
