True: A video of men attacking a Muslim woman in Morocco was falsely attributed as an incident in India.

By: Ranjini K
February 15 2022

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A group of young men attacked a Muslim woman with egg, flour, and water in Casablanca, Morocco not in India. The incident occurred in 2015.A Twitter handle called Afghanistan Resistance Front (@ARFPJSR) shared a video on February 11, 2022, with a caption that "Extremist Hindus attack veiled women in India." However, It was a Moroccan video from 2015 and unrelated to India. In October 2015, a mob attacked a girl in Casablanca, located on the Chaouia plain's Atlantic coast in Morocco's central-western part. The Morocco World News reported that a girl dressed in a black abaya was assaulted with water, eggs, flour and one boy even pulled her hair. It continued until a passerby came to help the girl, and the mob shouted at him as "Anaab," meaning "seducer or womanizer" in Moroccan dialect. The incident occurred on the tenth day of Muharram or during the Ashura day celebration by Moroccans. France24 reports that tossing eggs and flour is a common practice among young Moroccans on the Islamic holiday of Ashura. Moroccan children throw various items on this holy day, including firecrackers, eggs, and soap. Citing the Afrik.com report, it said that some Moroccans resent the holiday because the fun and amusement may often devolve into chaos. France24 also claims that the incident in Casablanca was not a case of Islamophobia but an Ashura practice that young Moroccans indulge. The boys denied that the girl was harassed, and she went on to say that the boys were her brothers. It's reported that the girl had agreed with the boy's version of events, but it's unclear whether she was forced to participate in the second video. The same video was also shared several times in previous years, relating it to India. In 2019, the Times of India reported that the same Morrocan video was misinterpreted as Anti-Muslim prejudice in India. The incident depicted in the video occurred seven years ago in Morocco. We cannot independently confirm the specific motive for the alleged attack on the burqa-clad girl. However, it is evident that the incident occurred outside India and was not recent. Hence we mark this claim as true.