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| - Fact Check: Decade-old image of Friday namaz at US Capitol Hill viral with misleading claims
Social media users are sharing an image showing a Friday namaz held at the foot of US Capitol Hill after Joe Biden became the US President.
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India Today Fact Check
This is a 2009 image from a prayer event "Islam on Capitol Hill 2009" organised to inspire American Muslims and non-Muslims alike to work together for the common good.
Hours after taking charge of the office of US President, Joe Biden signed 17 executive orders, memorandums and proclamations that also included the ending of the ‘Muslim travel ban’. Implemented in 2017 by Donald Trump, the Muslim Ban initially restricted travel from seven Muslim-majority nations.
Amid this, an image showing a large group of men performing namaz in front of the US Capitol Hill is viral on social media. It is being said that the image is from the Friday prayer held at the foot of the Capitol Hill after Biden became the US President.
The caption to one such image in Hindi translates as, “Joe Biden's new America in front of Capitol Hill on Friday.”
India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found that the claim is misleading. This image is from an “Islam on Capitol Hill” prayer service held at the US Capitol on September 25, 2009. According to the organisers, the prayer was intended to inspire American Muslims and non-Muslims alike to work together for the common good.
The archived versions of similar posts can be seen here, here and here.
AFWA probe
With the help of reverse image search, we found that the image in question is more than a decade old.
We found the same image carried in multiple news reports as a part of an “Islam on Capitol Hill” prayer service held at the US Capitol on September 25, 2009. The reports have credited the image to photographer Alex Wong and stock image site, Getty Images.
We also found the image on Getty Images website.
The description of the image reads, “Muslims say prayer during the "Islam on Capitol Hill 2009" event at the West Front Lawn of the U.S. Capitol September 25, 2009, in Washington, DC. Thousands of Muslims gathered for the event to promote the diversity of Islam. ”
More images of the same day by Getty Images can be seen here.
Islam on Capitol Hill 2009
According to a CNN report from September 25, 2009, "Islam on Capitol Hill 2009" was a day of Islamic prayer service “intended to inspire American Muslims and non-Muslims alike”.
The event was organised by the president of Dar UI Islam mosque in Elizabeth, New Jersey. According to the organisers, thousands of people from all over the US, as well as from other countries, such as Britain and Canada attended the event.
A 2009 Snopes report also said the organisers held the event inspired from the inaugural address made by Barack Obama in January 2009 on mutual interest and mutual respect.
A video of "Islam on Capitol Hill 2009" uploaded by the verified YouTube channel - The Voice of America in 2009 can be seen below.
Also, we couldn’t find any report on a recent Islamic prayer service held at the Capitol Hill after Biden became the US President.
Hence, it is clear that the image in question is more than 10-years-old and is making rounds on social media with misleading claims.
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