By Srijit Das
Two viral images purporting to show a circular issued by the Bangladesh Jamiyat Ahl-Al-Hadith offering different cash awards to convert Hindus to Islam, is fake and has been created by morphing an old notice of the Islamic organisation.
BOOM found that the viral notice has been digitally altered to make the false and communal claim. Additionally, we reached out to Md Jonny Ahmad, the media-in-charge of Bangladesh Jamiyat Ahl-Al-Hadith, who clarified that the organisation has not issued any such notice.
The purported notice attributed to Bangladesh Jamiyat Ahl-Al-Hadith promises cash rewards worth of Rs 3,00,000 for Brahmin girls, Rs 2,00,000 for Indian Bengali girls, Rs 50,000 for Namasudra, and Rs 5,00,000 for converting entire families to Islam.
Two photos, one of a circular in Bangla and another showing its English translation are circulating online.
The Hindi caption with the pictures translates to, "Trap a Hindu girl and win up to Rs 3 lakh; convert a Hindu family and get Rs 5 lakh" - Horrific Islamic fundamentalist plan exposed! Bangladesh Cyber Team hacked a Facebook page run by Bangladeshi Islamists. After this, shocking facts came to light, a reward of 3 lakh taka has been offered for the conversion of a Hindu Brahmin girl. A reward of Rs 2 lakh for an Indian Bengali girl, and Rs 5 lakh for the conversion of a Hindu family."
(Original Text in Hindi: "एक हिंदू लड़की को फँसाओ, और 3 लाख तक जीतो; एक हिंदू परिवार का धर्म परिवर्तन करने पर 5 लाख पाओ" - भयावह इस्लामिक कट्टरपंथी योजना उजागर! बांग्लादेश साइबर टीम ने बांग्लादेश के इस्लामवादियों द्वारा चलाए जा रहे एक फेसबुक पेज को हैक कर लिया। इसके बाद चौंकाने वाले तथ्य सामने आए, एक हिंदू ब्राह्मण लड़की का धर्म परिवर्तन कराने पर 3 लाख टका का इनाम रखा गया है। एक भारतीय बंगाली लड़की के लिए 2 लाख रुपये का इनाम, और एक हिंदू परिवार का धर्म परिवर्तन कराने के लिए 5 लाख रुपये का इनाम।)
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Fact Check
BOOM found that the viral image is false and has been made by morphing an old circular belonging to the Bangladesh-based religious organisation.
The circular dated February 6, 2022 contains the name of the organisation Bangladesh Jamiyat Ahl-Al-Hadith.
We ran a keyword search associated with the organisation's name and found that the original notice had been uploaded on their website on February 7, 2022.
We also noticed that the reference number in the original notice from 2022 matches the reference number mentioned in the viral picture. This shows that an existing circular was morphed to make the false claim.
We found that the original notice was about a decision made during the fourth meeting of the governing council of Bangladesh Jamiyat Ahl-Al-Hadith, emphasising the promotion of Quranic and Hadith education among Muslim citizens. Additionally, the organisation announced the provision of daily Quran and Hadith classes, or at least one day per week, in the mosques of all branches within the district under the organisation's jurisdiction.
BOOM Bangladesh reached out to Md Jonny Ahmad, the media-in-charge of Bangladesh Jamiyat Ahl-Al-Hadith. Ahmad refuted the claim and said the organisation did not issue any such notice.
Ahmad told BOOM Bangladesh, "Jamiyat Ahl-Al-Hadith is a non-profit, non-political, Dwini Dawat and Tablighi organisation. Some miscreants deliberately created the fake notification to tarnish Jamiyat's reputation. Upon careful examination, it becomes evident that the notice has been edited. Jamiyat Ahl-Al-Hadith has not issued any such notification, whether offline or online."
(Additional Reporting: Tausif Akbar, BOOM Bangladesh)
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