The woman who disrupted Eid prayers at Virginia Mosque is not Hindu

Context

A video is being shared on social media platforms claiming that a Hindu woman entered a mosque in Virginia and disrupted Eid prayers. In the video, a woman is escorted out of a mosque by security officials as people applaud. This video was shared with various narratives on social media platforms. Several posts claimed that it was a Hindu woman deliberately trying to disrupt prayers and that police arrested her. However, these claims are incorrect. 

In Fact

We came across some users claiming that this was not a Hindu woman and that the mosque in Virginia had issued a clarification about the incident. We looked up the mosque where the incident occurred, we found that the incident took place at the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) in Sterling, Virginia, on April 21, 2023.

ADAMS has issued a statement of clarification on its official Facebook page. The statement read, “We want to clarify that the recent incident at the mosque on Friday, April 21st, during the ADAMS Sterling, Virginia, Eid prayer involved an individual from the Muslim community struggling with mental health issues.” 

The statement further noted that ADAMS leadership and social services have met the family of the woman and were working with them to provide additional resources and help. It also noted that the family has sought forgiveness over the incident and requested those who shared the video to remove it to protect the family’s privacy. 

The same message was also shared on ADAMS’ Instagram page. The Kashmir Monitor has also published an article detailing the incident.

The Verdict

A video claimed that a Hindu woman was arrested at a Virginia mosque in the U.S. for disrupting Eid prayers. However, the mosque issued a clarification noting it was a Muslim woman dealing with mental health issues. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.