An old photo of a man wearing a turban and offering namaz inside a mosque has been shared by writer Harinder S Sikka and other social media users, with the false claim that he is one of the farmers protesting at the Delhi borders.
But we have found out that the image is at least five years old and could be traced back to 2016 when social media users had posted images of a Sikh man offering namaz. While, the identity of the man could not be established, the existence of the picture in 2016 makes it evident that it’s not related to the ongoing farmers’ protest.
CLAIM
Writer Harinder S Sikka shared the photo with the claim, “He went to attend ‘Kissan Rally’, forgot to remove his head gear on return to mosque. His agenda could be anything but their welfare (sic).”
The image was also shared by Facebook users with the same claim.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
A reverse image search led us to a forum, ‘sikhawareness.com’ where a screenshot of a Facebook post, carrying the same image, was posted.
We also found the image on user Shaykh Mohammed Aslam’s Facebook page, dated 31 January 2016, with the caption, “This Sikh man entered the mosque on the day of Jumm'ah, performed wudhu, and amazingly said ‘Allahu Akbar’ and prayed in front of everyone. May Allah spread this beautiful religion across the world.”
The image was also shared by several other Facebook pages back in 23 January 2016, like ‘Indian Muslim ki Awaz’ and ‘Congress News.’
While, we could not ascertain the identity or the location of the man in the image, the fact that the picture existed in 2016, makes it evident that it’s not related to the ongoing farmers’ protest.
(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9643651818, or e-mail it to us at webqoof@thequint.com and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)