Videos showing an attack on Darbar Sharif in Bangladesh are shared with a false communal narrative
A couple of videos going viral on social media (here, here, and here) claim to show an Islamist mob attacking a village in Murshidabad, Sherpur District, Bangladesh. The post further claims that Hindu homes and crops were destroyed, and livestock was looted. Let’s verify the truth behind the video in this article.
Claim: Videos show an Islamist mob attacking a village in Murshidabad, Sherpur District, Bangladesh destroying Hindu homes, crops, and looting livestock.
Fact: The incident in the video occurred on 26 November 2024 in Sherpur, Bangladesh. The attack followed accusations from local madrasa teachers and residents that the darbar was involved in anti-Islamic activities. Around 400-500 people stormed the site, causing damage to property and fences. Clashes broke out when caretakers and devotees protested, resulting in several injuries and one fatality. This attack was not related to violence against the Hindu community but was result of clashes between two groups within the Muslim community. Hence, the claim made in the post is Misleading.
To verify the claim, we conducted a Google search using relevant keywords, which led us to an X post featuring a screenshot of the viral video dated 29 November 2024. The post description stated that the incident is unrelated to Hindus. It occurred in Sherpur, where a shrine was attacked following a dispute that arose after a man named Hafez Uddin died during earlier clashes. The post also included a news report about the incident.
The news report, referred to in the X post, detailed the incident of vandalism, looting, and arson at the Darbar of Murshidpur Pir in the Lachmanpur area of Sherpur Sadar Upazila on the morning of 26 November 2024.
To gather more information about the incident, we conducted a Google search, which led us to a Dhaka Tribune report. According to the report, the police detained seven individuals in connection with the vandalism and looting at Murshidpur Darbar Sharif, led by Khwaja Badruddin Haider (Doja Pir) in Sherpur’s Lachmanpur area on 26 November 2024. The attack followed accusations from local madrasa teachers and residents of anti-Islamic activities at the Darbar. Around 400-500 people stormed the site, damaging property and breaking fences, and clashes broke out when caretakers and devotees protested, resulting in several injuries.
We also found a news report from The Daily Star stating that on the morning of 26 November 2024, an attack on the shrine left more than 10 people injured. One of them, Hafez Uddin, a 40-year-old local man, died from his injuries at a Dhaka hospital on 27 November 2024. His funeral was scheduled at the Jamshed Ali Memorial Degree College ground, which is half a kilometre away from the shrine, at 10:00 AM. Before the funeral, attendees got enraged, which led to another attack on the shrine.
Additionally, we found news reports (here, here, and here) (archive) featuring videos from the incident. By comparing them with the viral video, we were able to identify similarities. The comparison can be seen below.
The evidence confirms that this attack was not related to the violence targeting the Hindu community in Bangladesh. Instead, it shows clashes between two groups within the Muslim community in Sherpur, Bangladesh.
To sum up, videos showing an attack on Darbar Sharif in Bangladesh are shared with a false communal angle.