Does This Viral Video Show Muslims Spitting On Food? No, Video Is From Religious Ceremony Where a Muslim Cleric Blows On Food

A video is being widely circulated across social media, claiming that a Muslim man is spitting on food. The video has been shared across social media with personalities affiliated with right-wing associations and political outfits.

Claim:

The 30-second video shows people gathered around a cooked pot of what seems to be rice. A person bends over a plate of food and appears to be blowing on the food. The plate is then mixed with the rest of the food in the pot. The person then does the same action to a pot full of what appears to be curry.

Twitter personality Major Surendra Poonia shared the video with the claim, "Brother, what is the logic of spitting in food? Can someone explain??"

Amardip Potfode, State Secretary of BJP SC Morcha, shared the video with the same caption.

Right-wing propaganda outlet Kreately shared the video with the claim, "Just think..in Abdul's marriage and at Karim's shop, is it possible to 'spit' like this??"

Several other users circulated the video across Twitter with the same claim.

Fact Check:

The Logical Indian Fact-Check team verified the viral claim and found it misleading. The video shows a Muslim cleric from Kerala blowing on food during a religious ceremony.

During the initial investigation, we did a reverse image search using the InVid tool and came across the same video shared by BJP leader Naveen Kumar Jindal back in 2021. It clearly suggests that the viral video is not recent.

We again used InVid's Keyframe Analysis tool to isolate the keyframes of the viral video and conducted a reverse image search on these keyframes. This threw up a report by Siasat Daily published on January 14 2023.

The Siasat Daily report elaborated that 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.

We also came across a report by New Indian Express published on November 20, 2021, during the time when the video was initially being shared. The video noted that the Kozhikode-headquartered Paragon group of restaurants had approached the Cyber Cell against the misuse of its name in the social media campaigns citing 'spit food' and 'spit-free food.'

The New Indian Express notes that the origin of 'spit food' has been traced to a video clip that appeared on the Twitter handles of Hindutva elements which shows a Kerala Muslim cleric bending towards a plate of biriyani, which was falsely circulated to make it appear as if he was 'spitting to make the food halal.'

"Many fact-checking news websites have already busted the false narrative, establishing that the cleric was not spitting but blowing air into the first plate of food (to make it holy) before serving it to guests, according to the 'Fatiha Jalana' ritual," the New Indian Express noted.

Alt News spoke with Haji Haneef Ullala, a helper of Qazi Fazal Koyamma Tangal. He said that the video shows 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.

As per the Alt News report, Ullala said that langar was organised on the occasion of Urs, observed from November 6 to 8 in Tajul Ulama Dargah in Kerala.

The dargah is named after Assayyid Abdul Rahman Al-Bukhari, who was popularly known as Ullal Thangal. He is the father of Fazal Koyamma Tangal, who is seen blowing on the food. Ullal Thangal died in February 2014, and his death anniversary falls in November, as per the Arabic calendar. Urs is a three-day event observed on the death anniversary of a religious head and is practised by Sufi Sunni Muslims, as per Alt News.

A Times Of India article published on February 2, 2014, also noted that Ullal Qazi Tajul Ulema Assayyid Abdul Rahman Al-Bukhari, 94, who was popularly known as 'Ullal Thangal,' passed away following a prolonged illness in his hometown in Payyanur, Kerala in February 2014.

The Logical Indian Fact Check Team had busted a similar false claim in December 2021. Click here to read.

Conclusion:

The video does not show Muslims spitting on food, but a Muslim cleric from Kerala blowing on food during a religious ceremony to remember a Muslim cleric Ullal Thangal. Hence, the viral claim is false.

If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343.

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