Recently, a video has been circulated on social media claiming that Islamists in Bangladesh cut the hair of students because they wore clothes consistent with Western culture and did not have beards. The circulated video shows several individuals forcibly cutting a young man’s hair.
See such videos on Facebook here (Archive) and here (Archive).
See the video with the same claim on X (formerly Twitter) here (Archive) and here (Archive).
See the video with the same claim on Instagram here (Archive).
Fact-check
Rumor Scanner’s investigation reveals that the claim of Islamists in Bangladesh cutting students’ hair for wearing Western-style clothing and not having beards is incorrect. In reality, the video captures a symbolic protest where an organizer’s hair was cut to protest the forceful hair-cutting of Fakir (Baul/Sufi) individuals in various parts of the country.
An investigation into the claim found no information in the media or any other source regarding Islamists cutting students’ hair for wearing Western clothes or not having beards.
Further investigation into the video led to the Facebook account of Afm Ahkam Ullah Amal, General Secretary of the Bangladesh Recitation Coordination Council, and the Facebook page of online media outlet Banglanews24, where the same video was published on September 26.
The captions of the videos clarify that this was a symbolic protest where the hair of an organizer was cut during a memorial service organized for the late Lalon singer Farida Parvin.
Based on this information, a report published on September 26 was found on the website of the mainstream daily Prothom Alo regarding the same event.
The report states that a memorial service was held at the Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin Park in Mymensingh to honor the legendary singer Farida Parvin. During the event, cultural activists cut the hair of an organizer as a symbolic protest against the recent public and forceful cutting of hair of Fakir practitioners in various parts of the country. This protest was specifically a reaction to a video circulating on social media showing Halim Uddin Akand of Tarakanda Upazila, Mymensingh, being forcibly shorn of his hair. A banner featuring his photograph was also visible at the event, as noted in the report.
Therefore, a video of a symbolic protest regarding a different issue is being circulated with the claim that Islamists in Bangladesh cut the hair of students for wearing Western clothes and not having beards; the claim is misleading.
Sources
- Afm Ahkam Ullah Amal Facebook Post
- Banglanews24 Facebook Post
- Prothom Alo Website: Cultural workers’ symbolic protest by ‘cutting hair’ at Farida Parvin’s memorial service
- Rumor Scanner’s Analysis