Social media posts misrepresent Muslim woman's contribution to President Biden's inauguration ceremony
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on February 8, 2021 at 08:00
- Updated on February 9, 2021 at 03:20
- 2 min read
- By AFP Pakistan
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The claim was published on Facebook here on January 27, 2021. The post has been shared more than 900 times.
The post’s caption reads: “Alhumdulilah! (Praise to Allah) She is the first Muslim woman to read the Holy Qur'an in the Presidential Inauguration in United States. She made History!”
A similar claim was shared on Facebook, here, here and here and on Twitter here, here and here.
The claim, however, misrepresents the events staged for President Biden's inauguration.
A reverse image and keyword searches on Google found the woman in the photo is Dr. Debbie Almontaser, the board president of Muslim Community Network and a senior advisor for Emgage Action, a major Muslim American civics organisation.
Dr. Almontaser recited Koran verses at a vitrual inauguration prayer service on January 21, 2021, one day after Biden's took his oath of office at the inaugural swearing-in ceremony on January 20.
The prayer service, which was hosted by the Washington National Cathedral, can be seen on the Biden Inaugural Committee's YouTube channel here.
Below is a screenshot of the YouTube video showing Dr. Almontaser reading of verses from the Koran:
The YouTube video's description reads: “WATCH NOW: Join us for the virtual Presidential Inaugural Prayer Service with President Joe Biden, hosted by the Washington National Cathedral. #Inauguration2021.”
Dr. Almontaser also published a clip of her prayer on Twitter here and Emgage Action marked the historic event on Twitter here.
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