Video of Islamic scholar’s funeral procession in India falsely linked to police killing

This article is more than one year old.
Published on April 21, 2023 at 09:34
Updated on April 21, 2023 at 09:45
3 min read
By Devesh MISHRA, AFP India

After the son of a former politician and convicted kidnapper was killed by police in India, a video surfaced in social media posts claiming it showed huge crowds at his funeral procession. However, the video does not show a procession for Asad Ahmed, who was accused in a high-profile murder case when he was killed, but for Maulana Rabe Hasani Nadvi, the president of a Muslim rights body who died aged 94 on the same day as Ahmed.

"Huge crowd at the funeral procession of Atiq Ahmed's son late Asad Ahmed! May Allah give patience to the family. Amen," reads a Hindi-language tweet shared on April 15.

The video, which has more than 19,000 views, shows a huge crowd participating in a funeral procession.

Screenshot of the false post, taken on April 18, 2023

The funeral of 19-year-old Asad Ahmed - the son of convicted ex-Indian politician Atiq Ahmed - was held on April 15 in Prayagraj, after police killed him in an encounter on April 13, police confirmed to AFP.

Asad was reportedly accused in a high-profile murder case in Prayagraj when he died.

The video was shared in similar posts on Facebook here, here and on Twitter.

Islamic scholar's funeral

A reverse search of screenshots from the video on Google found a longer version uploaded on YouTube on April 14 -- one day before Ahmed's funeral.

The YouTube video's title says in Urdu: "The scene of the funeral of Hazrat Maulana Syed Muhammad Rabi Hosni Nadwi. May God bless him and grant him peace."

According to reports, 94-year-old Islamic scholar Maulana Rabe Hasani Nadvi died in Lucknow on April 13 (archived link) after a prolonged illness.

He was president of All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), a non-governmental body working for Muslim rights.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the video shared in false posts (left) and the YouTube video about Nadvi's funeral (right).

Screenshot comparison of the video shared in false posts (left) and the YouTube video about Hasani's funeral (right)

Similar videos of Nadvi's funeral can be seen here, here and here.

Various news outlets published reports with similar visuals of the funeral procession, which was held on the campus of an Islamic seminary in Lucknow called Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama.

Lucknow is a city in Uttar Pradesh state approximately 200 kilometres (120 miles) from Prayagraj, where Ahmed was buried.

AFP geolocated the Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama, where the footage of Nadvi's funeral procession was filmed.

Below are screenshots comparison of the video in false posts (left) and Google Maps images of Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama (right), with similarities highlighted by AFP.

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