Video Doesn't Show Hindu Prof Being Made to Resign & Recite Quran in Bangladesh

The claim adds false communal angle. This video shows Dr Abdul Bashir, Dean of Dhaka University who is Muslim.

A video showing a man reciting an Islamic prayer inside a office of a professor while several people surround him is going viral online.

The claim states that it a Hindu professor was forced to recite Quran by Muslim students while they made him resign from his post in Dhaka University.

(Archives of similar claims can be seen here and here.)

What's the truth?: The claim has added a false communal angle. This video shows Dr Abdul Bashir, the Dean of Dhaka University, who belongs to the Muslim community, being made to resign by students.

How did we find out the truth?: We performed a reverse image search on some of the keyframes of the viral video which led us to the original video shared on YouTube.

• This was shared by Bangladeshi news agency Maasranga News on 19 August.

• The title and description stated that it shows the resignation of the Dean of the Faculty of Arts of Dhaka University.

• It also mentions that he was also made to recite the Quran.

• Taking a cue, we looked for other reports about this incident and ran a relevant keyword search on Google using 'dean of Dhaka University resign, recites Quran' and this led us to several reports.

• The Financial Express, Dhaka Tribune, United News of Bangladesh, Dhaka Post and Times Now shared this incident and identified the dean as Dr Abdul Bashir, who is Muslim and not a Hindu professor, as claimed.

• Some of the reports also carried a screenshot from the video and stated that on 19 August, the students staged a protest demanding Professor Bashir's resignation. Following his resignation, they gathered at the dean's office to recite the Quran.

• According to Dhaka Tribune, AB Jubayer, co-coordinator of the anti-discrimination student movement, was present at the protest who alleged that Dr Bashir was involved in attacks on students of Dhaka University and had previously sought to punish students who joined a Quran recitation program on campus during Ramadan.

Conclusion: A false communal angle is being added to an incident of the Dean resigning from Dhaka University amid the students' protests.

Several similar claims about Hindu teachers and professors being removed from jobs have gone viral and The Quint's WebQoof team is looking for leads to debunk them. If you have any information about them, please reach out on [e-mail].

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