Fact Check Video Fact-Check International

This is Not a Video of a Mosque Being Turned into a Dance Hall in Tajikistan

11 November, 2025 12:51 pm

A video of a dance performance has recently been circulated on social media with the claim: “Tajikistan, where 97% of Muslims live, has banned the hijab and turned a mosque into a dance hall.”

That is, it is claimed that the viral video shows a scene of dancing being held in a mosque that was converted into a dance hall in Tajikistan.

See posts circulated on Facebook with this claim here (Archive) and here (Archive).

See posts circulated on Instagram with this claim here (Archive).

Fact-Check

Rumor Scanner Team’s investigation found that the structure displayed behind the dancers in the circulated video is not a mosque in Tajikistan. In fact, the displayed structure is the Khujand Fortress Cultural and Historical Complex in the city of Khujand, Tajikistan, and the circulated video is a scene from a cultural event held last March.

In the investigation regarding the discussed video, an Instagram video post from April 1st was found on the account of Tajikistan-based fashion designer ‘Khurshed Sattorov’. This video was similar to the video circulated with the claim. The caption for the post stated: “Tajikistan, Khujand city, Nowruz 2025” (automatically translated).

Additionally, another video of an event at the same location was circulated on the same account on March 31st. The caption for the event stated that it was a scene of the “International Nowruz of Tajikistan” celebration, held in the historical city of Khujand, Tajikistan.

Furthermore, an investigation into this matter found a video post circulated on April 1st on the Instagram account of a Tajikistan-based news outlet named ‘Avesta’. The video displayed scenes of various cultural programs, including a performance in front of the structure in question. The caption for the post mentioned that the event was organized at the cultural complex of Khujand Fortress in Tajikistan to celebrate Nowruz/Navroz, and the Presidents of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan were also present.

Subsequently, an investigation into the discussed structure found from multiple foreign news sources, websites, and an Instagram post operated by the Press Service of Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, that this structure is the Khujand Fortress in Tajikistan, which is used as a Cultural and Historical Complex.

Regarding this, the Chinese media outlet Xinhua reported that the Nowruz festival was celebrated at the said fortress on March 31st. Various photos of the festival celebrated on this day were also found on the website of the stock photography agency ‘Alamy’ here.

However, no reliable evidence was found in the investigation to support the claim that the discussed structure is a mosque. Instead, the aforementioned sources indicate that it is primarily a nearly 2,500-year-old fortress that has been reconstructed.

It is worth noting that according to multiple international media sources, including Turkish news outlet TRT World, the Government of Tajikistan did pass a new law in 2024 banning the wearing of the hijab, aimed at ‘protecting national cultural values’ and ‘preventing superstition and extremism’.

Thus, the claim that a cultural event held at the Khujand Fortress Cultural and Historical Complex in Tajikistan was an instance of a mosque being turned into a dance hall for a performance is misleading.