Video shows Philippines prayer recital, not Nepal flood victims abandoning Hinduism — After catastrophic glacial floods carved a path of deadly destruction across Hindu-majority Nepal in late August 2026, a video was shared in posts falsely claiming it showed Nepalis converting to Islam in the wake of the disaster. The clip was originally posted 10 days before the disaster, and the person who posted it told AFP it shows Islamic missionary work in the southern Philippines.
"Since the floods hit Nepal, entire villages are abandoning Hinduism and converting to Islam. It seems as though all of Nepal will eventually become a Muslim country," says the Hindi-language caption of a Facebook video shared on September 2, 2026.
The video, which has been viewed more than 312,000 times, shows a group of people in a wooded area being led in a recitation of Islamic prayer.
Screenshot of the false post captured on September 4, 2026, with a red X added by AFP
The video was shared after a gigantic wave of freezing water, rocks and debris wiped out entire settlements at the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26.
At least 1,385 people have been killed in the disaster, which has also left more than 5,500 people missing ( archived link).
With mortuaries overflowing, Hindu-majority Nepal has buried hundreds of bodies in mass graves, after taking DNA samples for future identification, according to the police. Only around 100 bodies have been identified and handed over to families.
Nepal held a national day of mourning on September 7, the 13th day since the disaster, in line with a traditional period of mourning in Hindu rituals.
The video was also shared in similar  Instagram and X posts claiming it showed Nepalis turning away from Hinduism.
But the clip predates the disaster by 10 days, and was in fact filmed in the Philippines.
A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the falsely shared clip led to the same video posted on TikTok on August 16 ( archived link). 
Overlaid Malay-language text says, "Proclaiming the Shahada in the forest". The Shahada is the Muslim profession of the faith.
Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared video (L) and the August 16 TikTok clip
The TikTok account has also shared other, similar videos of groups in the Philippines being led in prayer recitations (archived here and here).
The account's owner, Abghani Mohammed, told AFP on September 4 the video shows a mass recitation of the declaration of faith at a village in Aloguinsan, on the southern Philippine island of Cebu.