Fact check: A temple taken over by Muslims, converted into mosque in Kerala?

New Delhi, Apr 19: A video showing the wooden interiors of a religious place has been shared widely on social media platforms with the claim that Muslims have illegally taken over an ancient Hindu temple in Kerala and converted it.

The caption along with the video reads: "केरल में अति प्राचीन हिंदू मंदिर पर अवैद्य कब्ज़ा करके मुसलमानो ने बनाई मस्जिद ... हिंदू समाज के विरोध के बावजूद केरल की वामपंथी कम्यूनिस्ट सरकार कोई भी कारवाई करने के लिए तैयार नहीं...!!"

केरल में अति प्राचीन हिंदू मंदिर पर अवैद्य कब्ज़ा करके मुसलमानो ने बनाई मस्जिद ...

हिंदू समाज के विरोध के बावजूद केरल की वामपंथी कम्यूनिस्ट सरकार कोई भी कारवाई करने के लिए तैयार नहीं...!! 😠 pic.twitter.com/8RnpUkbfj7

— 𝑷𝑹𝑬𝑴𝑺𝑰𝑵𝑮𝑯 𝑹𝑨𝑻𝑯𝑶𝑫 #प्रशासक_समिति (@Prem__Rathod143) April 10, 2022

The same claim has been made by other users on Twitter and Facebook along with the video.

However, the claim is false. The mosque in question is one of the oldest mosques in India and is located in Mangaluru, Karnataka. The building seen in the video is the Zeenath Baksh Masjid in Mangalore. The osque is believed to be set up by Arab Muslim traders in 644 AD.

Further, we found the details about the mosque on the official website of Karnataka tourism. This mosque surpasses all others mosques due to its pure Indian architecture style. It is probably the only mosque in Karnataka made entirely of wood. The main highlight of the mosque is the wooden inner sanctum consisting of 16 pillars made of teak.