Among the many images circulating on social media in the war between Israel and Hamas following the October 7 attack, one shows two soldiers praying side by side, billed as ” a Jewish soldier” and “a Muslim soldier”, both part of the Israeli army.
This image is shared by pro-Israeli accounts to show the unity of these two soldiers of different faiths, in the war against Hamas. “The story of two Israeli soldiers defending their homeland against Hamas terrorists. One is Jewish. One is Muslim,” says for example a publication on X/Twitter. “This is not a war between religions. It’s a war between honest humans and terrorists,” he said. another post. This photo was also shared on Instagram.
The image shows a first soldier, standing, next to another, kneeling on a prayer rug, both hands placed on his thighs. Both are facing the same direction, their two weapons placed on the ground.
An image from 2022
This photo was not taken in the context of the clashes between Israel and Hamas following the attack of October 7, 2023.
The first occurrence of this photo that 20 minutes was able to identify dates back to April 29, 2022. Date on which it was shared by official Israeli army accounts on different social networks, such as X/Twitter, Facebook And Instagram.
On the various publications, it is accompanied by a caption stating (in English): “A Jewish soldier and a Muslim IDF soldier pray together and defend their country together. This is the Israel Defense Forces. Shabbat Shalom and Ramadan Kareem. »
Ramadan took place from the beginning of April to the beginning of May in 2022, which explains the last words of the text “Ramadan Kareem”, a formula used to wish a good Ramadan.
This is not the first time that Israel has highlighted the presence of Muslim fighters in its army. In 2021 for example, the IDF showed an increase in Muslim soldiers enrolled in its ranks.
The authenticity of the photo called into question
Some Internet users, mainly pro-Palestinian, question the veracity of the photo. We can indeed see in the image that the soldier presented as Muslim is wearing shoes during his prayer. Which would be contrary to Muslim prayer practices. However, it is not strictly forbidden to pray with one’s shoes by the Muslim religion, provided that they do not contain impurities and are clean, as indicated on the site Islamweb.net Or Muslimfr.
Other netizens point out that it is impossible for the two soldiers to pray in the same direction, given the fact that Muslims pray towards Mecca while Jews pray towards Jerusalem. The photo leaves too few elements to identify the place where it was taken, it is difficult to comment on the possibility or impossibility of such an arrangement.