False: Muslim man who set a temple on fire was attacked by Hindus in Birmingham amid police presence.

By: Rahul Adhikari
October 11 2022

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Context:

A short video clip recently went viral on social media claiming that Hindus in Birmingham attacked one of the “accused who had set fire to a Hindu temple in the city when the police were transporting him to a judiciary court”. The posts accompanying the 2-minute-long viral video claimed that one Mohammed Rizwan was being escorted by the police to a local court after he was arrested for allegedly burning down a temple. While police were taking him to a car, a mob attacked the person and started throwing water bottles at him. The post's caption read(originally posted in Hindi), "Mohammed Rizwan, who attacked the temple in Birmingham, U.K., was being taken from the police station to the court. The local Hindus came to know about it, then what happened- you see for yourself. Hindus are rising, no matter what country they are in"

In fact:

The viral video is actually from a protest held in London against the death of Mahsa Amini Iran, and is unrelated to Hindu-Muslim clashes in Birmingham. It is also important to note that no Hindu temple was set on fire in Birmingham and such false claims have been debunked by Logically.

The Daily Mail YouTube channel shared a longer version of the viral clip on September 26. The 8-minute-long video is titled-"Iran protests turn violent in London: Riot police deployed, following the death of Mahsa Amini." Around the 3-minute mark in the video, we can see London Police taking a person to a van while the mob attacks him. According to the report, a large number of people had gathered outside the Iranian Embassy in London to protest against the death of Mahsa Amini. The police have arrested protestors who were allegedly trying to create a violent situation.

A report from Australian publication news.com.au also included a few pictures from the protest over Mahsa Amini's death in London. The news report titled - "Ugly footage as protest over Mahsa Amini gets out of hand in London." The images shared in the report match scenes from viral clip. One of the images was captioned as "a man was seen hauled to a police van with a bloodied face after being pelted with objects." Another image was captioned - "Vision showed the incident occurred near the Kilburn district in London’s north-west." Hence it confirms the viral video is from a protest over Mahsa Amini's death.

BBC also reported that a protest that broke out in London on September 26 turned violent. The report quotes police officers claiming that protestors raised slogans like “Death to the Islamic Republic” at the demonstration. Police said demonstrators threw objects at police officers resulting in many officers being injured. They also mentioned that 12 people had been arrested after the violent protest.

According to The Hindu, on September 13, the Iranian morality police ‘Guidance Patrol’ arrested 22-year-old Masha Amini for allegedly breaking headscarf rules. Amini later succumbed to injuries sustained in police captivity on September 16. It was alleged that police mistreated her in custody. After her death, protests erupted in Iran and outside the country against Amini’s death.

Earlier, a video of an accidental fire in supermarket went viral on social media with the claim that a Hindu temple was set on fire by Muslims in Birmingham. Logically debunked the misinformation and proved that no such incidents of communal violence happened. West Midlands Police, on Twitter, clarified that the fire did not break out at a temple. News of a fire incident in a Birmingham supermarket was maliciously shared with misleading and communal angles.

The verdict:

A video of a protest outside the Iranian embassy in London was shared with false claims. Muslims didn't set any temple on fire, clarified West Midlands Police. Hence, we have marked this claim as false.