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  • 2022-02-07 (xsd:date)
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  • This picture shows a mosque under construction in Kerala, India (en)
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  • Facebook posts circulating in Sri Lanka purport to show a picture of the largest mosque in the country set to be built in the capital Colombo. The claim is false; the image shows the design of a mosque under construction in Kerala, India. Sri Lankan authorities said there were no plans to build the largest mosque in the country, as of January 31, 2022. Foundation stone laid for Sri Lanka's largest mosque at a site sprawling across one acre of land in Wekanda, facing the Galle Face Green, reads a Sinhala-language Facebook post shared on January 27, 2022. Wekanda is an area in Colombo, while the Galle Face Green is a park facing the Indian ocean. The picture shows a huge mosque alongside English text that reads Proposed Srilanka Biggest Mosque and Sinhala text that claims the complex will have the capacity to accommodate 50,000 worshippers at once. Screenshot of the Facebook post captured on January 30, 2022. The same picture was shared in similar Facebook posts here and here . However, the claim is false. Ibrahim Ansar, director of Sri Lanka's Department of Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs said the Facebook posts were baseless. There is no truth to this claim. It is a falsehood. There has been no proposal to build the so-called largest mosque in Sri Lanka, he told AFP on January 31, 2022. The Urban Development Authority (UDA), a government agency that regulates urban development and construction projects, also refuted the claim. The UDA's Additional Director General, Mahinda Withanaarachchi told AFP on January 31 that no proposal had been submitted to build the largest mosque in Sri Lanka and that no foundation stone had been laid for such a project. Mosque in India A Google reverse image search of the picture of the mosque shared in misleading Facebook posts found it in an article from 2011 by UAE-based news site Emirates 24/7 about plans to build a mosque in Calicut in India's Kerala state. The Shahre Mubarak Grand Mosque was set for construction in a new complex called Knowledge City, Emirates 24/7 reported. Below is a screenshot comparison between the photo in misleading post (left) and the Emirates 24/7 article (right). Screenshot comparison between the photo in the misleading post (L) and the Emirates 24/7 article (R) The Times of India also reported plans to build the mosque in Markaz Knowledge City, a religious and educational hub. Contacted by AFP, Thanveer Omar, chief administrative officer of the Markaz Knowledge City said the mosque was still under construction. 90% of the construction work is completed, the remaining of it will be completed by this year, he said on February 7, 2022. He said the mosque building would sprawl 365,000 square feet -- the size of nearly five football pitches -- and hold 25,000 worshippers at any time. Although news reports in 2011 named the mosque as Shahre Mubarak Grand Mosque, Omar said its official name had not yet been unveiled, and that the construction was registered as the Markaz Knowledge City Research Centre. A Google Street View photo showing the construction in April 2021 corresponds with images of the mosque on Markaz Knowledge City’s Facebook page. Screenshot of the mosque constructions uploaded by a user on Google maps indicated the constructions are still ongoing. (en)
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