Old Image From Oslo Shared As Muslims Protecting Church in Sweden

The act is being touted as the “Bangalore model” in light of the videos of Muslims protecting a temple from attack.

An old image which shows women standing guard outside a church has gone viral on social media in the light of the recent violence in Sweden’s Malmo city with the claim that it shows women protecting churches in the city.

The act is being touted as the “Bangalore model” alluding to the violence in Bengaluru, when videos of Muslim men forming a human-chain around a temple emerged on social media.

However, the image is actually from 2015, when Muslim and Jewish youth formed a human-chain outside a synagogue in Oslo, in solidarity against anti-Jewish attacks in Denmark.

CLAIM

Social media users have shared a screenshot of a user Abdul Hameed stating that Muslims were seen protecting churches and synagogues in Sweden.

Users shared this image, mocking it as “Bangalore model” and “drama”.

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WHAT WE FOUND OUT

The image is actually from Oslo of Muslim-Jewish demonstration in 2015.

A reverse image search led us to an article by an independent news site for Israel and Palestine, 972Mag, which carried the image, attributing it to Activestills, a collective of documentary photographers.

A keyword search on Activestills, led us to the original image, clicked by photographer, Ryan Rodrick Beiler.

The caption states that young Muslim women formed a human-chain in front of the Oslo Synagogue during the “Ring of Peace” vigil on 21 February 2015. The vigil was kept in solidarity with the Jewish community, against the anti-Jewish attacks in Denmark and other parts of Europe.

We also found several news reports on the incident.

The British public broadcaster, BBC reported that more than 1,000 people formed ‘the ring of peace’ around the synagogue.

“We want to demonstrate that Jews and Muslims do not hate each other,” co-organiser Zeeshan Abdullah told crowds in front of the synagogue, BBC reported.

American television and radio service, CBS also reported that it was a display of solidarity which also included a performance of the traditional Jewish end of Sabbath song by Norway’s Chief Rabbi Michael Melchior.

Evidently, an image from a demonstration in 2015 has resurfaced as Muslim women protecting the church in Sweden from a mob-attack.

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