This image shows Muslims praying in a car park in Israel during the COVID-19 pandemic

This article is more than one year old.
Published on July 24, 2020 at 10:21
2 min read
By AFP Indonesia

A photo has been shared multiple times on Facebook alongside a claim it shows Muslims praying at a historic mosque in Israel that was reportedly converted into a bar. The photo has been shared in a misleading context; it actually shows Muslims praying in a parking lot in Israel in May 2020 while mosques were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The photo was published on Facebook here on July 19, 2020.

The post's Indonesian-language caption translates to English in part as: “A horrendous news came from Israel. Apparently, Israel has changed the historic building of Al Amar Mosque into a wedding hall or bar since 2019.

“Al Amar Mosque is one of the 13th century Palestinian historic buildings located in Safed. The mosque has been under Israeli authority since 1948.”

The Indonesian text superimposed on the photo translates to English as: “Shocking, Israel turned the historic mosque into a bar.”

Screenshot of misleading post, taken on July 21, 2020

The Al-Ahmar mosque was located in the Israeli city of Safed and was converted into a nightlife venue, according to this report by Gulf News in April 2019. The New Arab, a news website covering the Arab world, also reported on the conversion here in an April 2019 article which cited reporting from Al-Quds Al-Arabi, a UK-based Arabic newspaper.

The same photo was also published alongside a similar claim on Facebook here, here and here.

The photo, however, has been shared in a misleading context.

Reverse image and keyword searches on Google found the photo was taken by the Associated Press(AP) on May 10, 2020.

AP's caption states it shows Muslim men offering pray in a parking lot in Jaffa. The photo was published on the AP Images website here.

Below is screenshot comparison of the photo in the misleading post (L) and the AP photo (R):

Screenshot comparison between photo in the misleading post (L) and AP photo (R)

The caption reads: “Muslim men keep social distancing as they pray after breaking their daytime fast, at a parking lot as mosques remain closed to prevent the spread of coronavirus pandemic during the holy month of Ramadan, in the mixed Arab Jewish city of Jaffa, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, May 10, 2020.”

Jaffa is about 170 kilometers (105.6miles) south of Safed, as seen on Google Maps here.

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This image shows Muslims praying in a car park in Israel during the COVID-19 pandemic

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