In 2011, Paris banned street prayers, addressing concerns over the use of public spaces and political tensions. The government offered alternative prayer spaces, such as a disused fire brigade barracks, to accommodate worshippers.
Against the above backdrop, a video is being widely shared on social media in which people are seen offering namaz on the streets. The video is shared with a caption claiming that the Muslims were offering namaz in France despite the ban.
A social media user shared the video with a caption that reads, “Public prayers, regardless of religion, are banned in France, but Islamists don’t care. This is how they assert dominance.”
SouthCheck found that the claim is false. The video is from Belgium, where people gathered for Eid.
On a Google reverse image search with one of the screenshots, we found that a similar video was uploaded by an X account on April 11, 2024.
The video was shared with a caption suggesting that the video was of Brussels, where Muslim men were offering namaz on the occasion of Eid. The caption reads, “Tens of thousands of Muslims participated in street prayers in Brussels to celebrate Eid al-Fitr. Is this the future of our country? It is time to finally stop Islamisation and put an end to this religious conquest drive.” (Translated from Dutch)
We compared a screenshot of the viral video with the X video and found them to be the same; the same men can be seen sitting on the floor, and we can also see the same man standing near a balustrade.
We further searched with relevant keywords and found an image published on Dreamstime, a stock photo website. The caption suggested that the video was from Brussels, the capital of Belgium.
On magnifying the image, we found that the name of the building is also present, which is Al-Amal Mosque.
Using these details, we geolocated the video to the street in front of Al-Amal Mosque on Rue du Libre Examen 11, 1070 Anderlecht, Belgium. We found the same structure of the building which was there in the viral video.
We also found that the Facebook page of Al-Amal mosque had also shared a similar video of Eid-ul-Fitr in April 2024. We further found that namaz in public spaces is not prohibited in Belgium.
Therefore, we conclude that the viral claim is false.
