By: Rajini KG
March 18 2024
No, video does not show ‘Indian Muslims burning Quran’ during anti-CAA protests
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Screenshot of the post circulating online. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)
Fact-Check
The Verdict False
The clip shows Edwin Wagensveld, leader of an anti-Islam group, burning the Quran in Norway. It is not from India & is unrelated to anti-CAA protests.
Claim ID c4bbba50
Context
On March 11, the Indian government enacted the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules 2024, formalizing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). This legislation permits Sikhs, Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, Jains, and Parsis from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014, to seek Indian citizenship. The act has faced opposition from various political leaders and parties, claiming that it discriminates against Muslims. Following the implementation of these rules, protests erupted across multiple states.
What’s the claim?
A video circulating online purports to show the burning of a copy of the holy book of the Quran in India amid protests against the CAA. The video was posted on X (formerly Twitter) with the caption, "Another shocking news from India. Indian Muslims burning Kuran, because of the ongoing protest for CAA (sic)," garnering over 11,500 views. A link to an archived version of this post is accessible here.
Screenshot of the post circulating online. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)
However, the claim is false.
Here are the facts
A reverse image search of keyframes from the video led us to the same footage on a YouTube channel named 'Global Hub,' dated March 11, 2024, titled “The Ramadan started with a Dutch Nationalist burning Quran outside parliament in Oslo, Norway.”
The same video, captured from a different perspective, was uploaded to dwin WagensveEld's X account on March 9, 2024. Wagensveld, a prominent figure within Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West (PEGIDA)—a pan-European anti-Islam organization—is visible at the 1:14 mark, using tongs to hold the Quran while another individual lights it on fire.
The Stop Islamisation of Norway (SAIN), an anti-Muslim group, also shared this video on X on March 11, 2024.
Further investigation through geolocation on Google Maps confirmed the video's location as Eidsvolls Plass, a park in front of the Norwegian Parliament. The structures visible in the viral video correspond with those identifiable on Google Maps.
Comparison of viral video and Google Maps. (Source: X/Google Maps)
In a similar incident in 2023, Wagensveld destroyed a copy of the Quran during protests in Sweden. TRT World reports that he was arrested twice for his anti-Islam activities.
The evidence presented above confirms that a video from Norway was falsely attributed to 'Indian Muslims' burning the Quran during protests against the CAA.
The verdict
A video showing a leader of an anti-Islam group burning the Quran in Norway has been falsely linked to the anti-CAA protests in India.