Did Ayyappa devotees chant for Allah at the Vavar mosque in Sabarimala? – Read the FactCheck

A video is doing rounds on the internet with the claim that Ayyappa devotees are chanting Islamic prayers in the Vavar mosque in Sabarimala. Further, sharing the video a Twitter user Puncturewala wrote, “South India for you. These Ayyappa devotees are chanting praises for Allah at Vavar mosque in Sabarimala. The same Sabarimala where Sanghis tried to instigate riots in Kerala.”

Similarly, another user gave the caption, “Culture and history is often messy. It is said that when the British first took religion and caste census many Indians did not know whether to call themselves Hindu or Muslim. Ayyappa devotees are chanting praises for Allah at Vavar mosque in Sabarimala.”

Fact Check

Using InVID tool and reverse image search on the different frames of the video we got the original video on the YouTube channel of  SBR news1. The video was uploaded on Jul 24, 2019, with the title, “La ilaha illallah ayyappa swamula songs SBR news1.

The man in the video is identified as Balaji swami. We found another video with the same song on the YouTube channel of N.balajiswami ayyappaswami bhajanalu. The title of the video was “Vavar swami song. Pedana Balaji swami songs. ayyappa swami devotional songs.”

In the description, it was written that this is a Vavar swami song. According to Wikipedia, Vavarswami is a legendary figure from Kerala. He is the celebrated Muslim acquaintance of the Hindu deity Ayappan. There is a shrine dedicated to Vavaraswami at Sabarimala, as well as Vavaraswami’s mosque at Erumely opposite an Ayyappan temple. This shows the religious and cultural harmony in India.

Further, digging into the matter we found another video on YouTube with the title, “chalasani gardens ayyapaswami padi puja HD”

Then, searching chalasani gardens on google, we got a picture of the hall on the site of chalasanigardens. Moreover, the address on site was written, “Mini Bypass Road, Vatluru, Eluru, Andhra Pradesh 534002, India

Similarility between the background of viral video and the chalasani gardens can be seen below.

Conclusion

Therefore, the viral video is not of at Vavar mosque in Sabarimala but it is of chalasani gardens. Hence, users are sharing the video with misleading claims.