Despite fact-checking a video and proving its claims to be false, a video of a Muslim religious leader blowing on a plate filled with food has again gone viral with the same allegations that the man ‘spat on the food’.
The video resurfaced again after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Surendra Poonia shared it on his official Twitter account on January 13, thus sparking controversy again.
In the video, the Muslim religious leader is seen taking a considerable amount of rice on a plate, blows on it and mixes it back into a large cooking vessel. He then repeats the act with another cooking pot with what seems to be curry, followed by everyone saying “Ameen”.
However, Alt news editor and fact checker Mohammed Zubair replied to Poonia’s tweet by sharing an old report that debunks the latter’s claims.
It was initially posted way back in 2021 when BJP leader Priti Gandhi tagged Zubair asking him about the authenticity of the claim.
“Need your valuable inputs, @zoo_bear. Can you please verify & fact check this video clip for our viewers?! Is that man actually spitting in the food that is ready to be served?? Why?? And please don’t ignore my request like you did the last time. Thanks in advance!! :))” her tweet said.
At that time, Alt News had checked the video and found the claim to be false. According to their report, it was a langar organised by the Muslim community in Kerala in 2021.
The man in question is Fazal Koyamma Tangal, a Qazi and son of a Muslim scholar Assayyid Abdul Rahman Al-Bukhari, popularly known as Ullal Thangal.
Ullal Thangal died in February 2014 which falls in November as per the Arabic calendar.
Alt News spoke with Haji Haneef Ullala, a helper of Qazi Fazal Koyamma Tangal who said that langar was organised on the occasion of Urs observed in Tajul Ulama Dargah in Kerala.
“After the food is prepared, the Hazrat recites verses from the Quran and blows on the food. The ritual is followed both times — when the food is prepared in the afternoon and at night,” said Haji Haneef Ullala.
The fact-checking website also spoke to Peerzada Altamash, Nizami of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya Dargah who said, “The cleric is blowing on the food, not spitting. There are some in the community who follow this ritual. Even in other dargahs, some worshippers request for Dum (water that is blown upon after the recitation of Quranic verses). This is for Barkat (prosperity) and well-being. It’s to give Fatiha after the food is prepared. We don’t follow the ritual of blowing on food in our dargah. But it is followed by a few sects.”
Poonia has received been receiving a lot of flak for resharing the old video and trying to make a communal divide. Many asked him to research well before posting.
