An image showing a group of persons performing Hindu rituals is going viral across social media, claiming that thousands of Malaysians have converted to Hinduism recently. The claim of 6,500 Malaysian citizens having converted to Hinduism is being circulated as a triumph for Hindu nationalism.
Claim:
The viral image shows persons wearing rudrakhsa beads and participating in a Hindu prayer ritual. The caption of the viral post reads, “Day before yesterday 2500 and today again 4000 Chinese citizens adopted Hindu religion in Malaysia. The world towards truth. Hail Lord Ram.”
The image is viral across Twitter and Facebook.
Alternatively, the same text-based claim goes viral across social media without the image.
Fact Check:
First, we attempted to conduct a keyword search to find media reports which confirmed that 6,500 Malaysians converted to Hinduism recently. We couldn’t find any media reports confirming this news in English, Malay, and Chinese.
We then conducted a keyword search to understand the numbers of the Hindu population in Malaysia. As per the data from the 2020 Census conducted in the country accessed through the website of the Department of Statistics, 63.5 percent of people follow Islam, 18.7 percent are Buddhists, 9.1 percent are Christians, and 6.1 percent follow Hinduism.
The website also notes that the population of Muslims in 2020 amounted to 20.6 million, Christians to 2.9 million, Buddhists 6.1 million, and Hindus at 2.0 million, while persons from other/unknown religions amounted to 860 thousand. Selangor was the state with the highest number of Buddhists and Hindus.
We then conducted a reverse image search to ascertain the relevancy of the viral image. We found a post by user SRI RAM uploaded on April 3, 2019. In the post, several images from a Hindu ritual can be seen with different people praying to Hindu gods. The viral image can be seen in this as well.
The post is captioned, “Chinese Hindu Community in Melaka State of Malaysia.. I have seen first Hindu of Chinese roots !! Saw this on fb n could not resist sharing!”
We came across another post shared by the Malaysian Indian Community Centre, uploaded on April 7, 2019, with the same caption.
Although we couldn’t ascertain the origin of these images and whether they were from a conversion ceremony, we came across a report published by The Hindu on July 27, 2019, regarding the Chetti Melaka community of Malacca.
The Hindu report notes that in the 14th century, South Indian traders arrived in Malacca, where the Chetti Tamil traders married the locals, adopting new customs and religions. They worshipped Hindu gods.
We also came across a report by The Tribune published on May 5, 2019, elaborating more on this community of Hindus in Malaysia. The report describes the Hindu community as the Chettis, who have a mix of Indian, Chinese, and Malay features.
“The ubiquitous vermillion dot on their foreheads immediately identified them as Hindus in spite of their foreign looks and dressing style. During weddings, the grooms wore traditional South Indian clothes while the brides dressed in elaborate Chinese or Malay clothes, according to their ancestry. Marriages were conducted according to Hindu tradition, though,” the report notes.
Conclusion:
We found that the claim of 6,500 Malaysians being converted to Hinduism is false, as no media reports support this claim. Moreover, the image being shared in this context dates back to at least April 2019 and is not from any recent conversion event.
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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Fact Check
2023-02-27 11:09:58.0
Did Thousands Of Malaysians Convert To Hinduism As Per Viral Posts? No, Viral Claim Is False
