Posts repeatedly shared online falsely claimed London-based billionaire Asif Aziz<\/a><\/span><\/span> donated 500 million dollars for the construction of a mosque near a controversial Hindu temple in India, purportedly telling Britain’s Telegraph newspaper he would “dedicate” his wealth to the project. However, the foundation tasked with building the mosque said it could not yet receive foreign donations as of April 1, while a spokesperson for Aziz separately refuted the claim. AFP found no trace of the purported article on the newspaper’s website.<\/h3>\nThe claim was shared on Facebook<\/a> on March 2. The post claimed Aziz had “drawn global attention” for donating 5,000 crore taka — around 500 million dollars — to build a mosque next to the Ram temple in Ayodhya.<\/p>\nIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi<\/a><\/span><\/span> inaugurated<\/a> the controversial Hindu temple in January, which was\u00a0built on grounds once home to the centuries-old Babri mosque.\u00a0The mosque was torn down in 1992 by Hindu zealots incited by members of Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.<\/p>\nThe demolition triggered riots that killed 2,000 people, most of them Muslims, and shook the foundations of India’s officially secular political order.<\/p>\n
Following a long legal battle surrounding the construction of Ram temple on the site where the Babri mosque once stood, India’s top court earmarked<\/a> a piece of land for the construction of a new mosque some 25 kilometres (15 miles) from the city.<\/p>\nThe post featured a video which claimed Aziz, a London-based property entrepreneur and philanthropist, supposedly announced the donation in an interview with The Telegraph.<\/p>\n
A narrator said in the video:\u00a0“In an interview with the UK daily newspaper The Telegraph, he said: ‘You don’t just need money to build a mosque, you need courage. I am ready to dedicate all my wealth to keep the legacy of Babri alive beside Ram Temple'”.<\/p>\n
The video did not\u00a0show any screenshot of the purported Telegraph article or provide a link to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"<span><button]()
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi<\/a><\/span><\/span> inaugurated<\/a> the controversial Hindu temple in January, which was\u00a0built on grounds once home to the centuries-old Babri mosque.\u00a0The mosque was torn down in 1992 by Hindu zealots incited by members of Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.<\/p>\n The demolition triggered riots that killed 2,000 people, most of them Muslims, and shook the foundations of India’s officially secular political order.<\/p>\n Following a long legal battle surrounding the construction of Ram temple on the site where the Babri mosque once stood, India’s top court earmarked<\/a> a piece of land for the construction of a new mosque some 25 kilometres (15 miles) from the city.<\/p>\n The post featured a video which claimed Aziz, a London-based property entrepreneur and philanthropist, supposedly announced the donation in an interview with The Telegraph.<\/p>\n A narrator said in the video:\u00a0“In an interview with the UK daily newspaper The Telegraph, he said: ‘You don’t just need money to build a mosque, you need courage. I am ready to dedicate all my wealth to keep the legacy of Babri alive beside Ram Temple'”.<\/p>\n The video did not\u00a0show any screenshot of the purported Telegraph article or provide a link to it.<\/p>\n