Claim: Rising extremism in Bangladesh. Activities of ISIS in a madrassa in Jessore.
Fact: The viral video is not connected to any extremist organization. It is a play from the “dress up as you like” competition at the madrassa’s annual program.
A video showing two people in burqas, armed with guns, and another person on a stage recently went viral on social media. Viral posts claimed this was proof of rising extremism in Bangladesh.
Sajeeb Wazed Joy, son of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and former ICT advisor to the Awami League government shared the same video alleging that an ISIS member was giving a speech with two bodyguards. See the post here(archive). He also stated in his post that during the interim government led by Dr Yunus, extremist organizations are fully utilizing their ability to recruit people.
Several other social media users posted the same image with the same claim. See the viral posts here, here, here & here.
Newschecker has verified that the claim is false.
Fact check/Verification
To verify the authenticity of the viral video claiming the rise of extremism/ISIS members in Bangladesh, we conducted a keyword search. The keyword search revealed several national daily reports confirming that this was not an event organized by any extremist group but rather a play from the annual competition of Jessore Jamia Islamia Madrasa.
See the report here –Daily Ittefaq, Kalbela, Bangla Tribune
The founder of the madrassa, Mufti Lutfor Rahman Faruki, told journalists that the madrassa has been providing education with a good reputation in Sadar Upazila, where a total of four hundred and fifty students study in the Maktab, Hefz, Kitab, and Nazira departments. Like every year, an annual program was organized on 17th and 18th December, where various competitions like ghazal, Bangla, Arabic, hamd, etc. were held. A play was staged on the issue of Israel’s oppression of Palestinian Muslims, which three students of the Kitab department performed. One of them, dressed as a Palestinian leader, gave a speech in Arabic, and two others stood beside him with plastic-made guns. It was just acting, but some people are misusing this video for different purposes. The matter is nothing like that.
Furthermore, conducting a keyword search, we found a briefing from Jessore District Police on the incident. In the briefing, an officer from Jessore District Police said that the incident came to the attention of the Jessore District Police Cyber Patrolling Team. Subsequently, an investigation was conducted on the orders of the higher authorities. Upon investigation, Jessore District Police learned that it was just a play from the “dress up as you like” section of an annual competition. Even the recovered weapons were made of cardboard.
In addition, several reports have been shared on the Facebook page of Jessore Jamia Islamia Madrasa exposing the facts.
Conclusion
Therefore, the viral video is not connected to any extremist organization. Based on multiple reports, statements from madrassa authorities, and a briefing from Jessore District Police, it is confirmed that it was merely a play presented to express solidarity with the freedom-loving people of Palestine. Therefore, the viral claim is false.
Result: False
Our Sources:
Jessore Jamia Islamia Madrasa- Facebook page
briefing from Jessore District Police
Daily Ittefaq, Kalbela, Bangla Tribune
