A screenshot of a tweet purportedly by singer Farmani Naaz – who rose to fame after appearing in the singing reality show Indian Idol – is being shared on social media to claim that her ancestors were Hindus and that she sang the devotional song 'Har Har Shambhu' for her family's purification.
Naaz recently sang the song and uploaded the video to her YouTube channel, which drew the ire of a Muslim cleric in Deoband, who said that singing and dancing were not allowed in Islam.
It is in the backdrop of this controversy that this claim about Naaz "converting to Hinduism", relying on the purported tweet, started gaining steam.
However, we found that the tweet was made by an account that identified itself as a "Fan account". Further, the singer took to Twitter to clarify that she has not made any statement.
CLAIM
The tweet read in Hindi, "My ancestors have said that we all were Hindus before. Now I have purified my family by singing Har Har Shambhu."
An archived version of the post can be seen here.
(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
The tweet, which is now being shared, was posted by one '@FarmaniNaazz', which identifies itself as a 'fan account' of the singer.
Tweet was put out by @FarmaniNaazz.
(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)
We went through the account and found that the tweet about 'Hindu ancestors' was posted on 3 August. While going through the replies of this tweet, we came across a video uploaded by '@farmaninaaz786', which is the singer's real account.
In this video, Naaz clarified that a fake account under her name has been posting false claims about her ancestors being Hindu.
While dismissing the claims, she also says, "Report people who are posting this false information and nobody should post such things without confirming it first. A lot of people are making my fake accounts and commenting on such things."
Naaz adds that she is happy with her religion and her personal Twitter handle is '@Farminanaaz786', where she has not posted any such statement.
Clearly, a fake Twitter account posted about Farmani Naaz's ancestors being Hindu.
(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9643651818, or e-mail it to us at webqoof@thequint.com and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)