For any non-Muslims who think Muslims are claiming that viral train prayer video is fake simply to avoid scrutiny, let me explain why that's not the case. I know Muslims aren't perfect. We do stupid things. We can be selfish and inconsiderate, just like anyone else. If those were genuinely Muslims performing Islamic prayers on a train while blocking the doors and inconveniencing passengers, I'd be the first to call it out as inappropriate. A crowded train is hardly the ideal place to pray, and Muslims should not be blocking doors, obstructing corridors or disturbing other passengers. But here's the problem: what we saw in that video simply wasn't a recognisable Islamic prayer. Any Muslim familiar with prayer would immediately notice the irregularities. Yes, it contained elements of Islamic prayer, but there were far too many mistakes. First, it was a turbocharged prayer. Muslims simply don't pray at that speed. Second, and this was the biggest giveaway, there were four consecutive prostrations. I've never seen anything like that in my life. In Islamic prayer, there are two prostrations per unit of prayer, with standing and bowing between units. Third, there was no identifiable tashahhud (the seated declaration of faith and testimony recited during the prayer). And here's another point: any Muslim sufficiently committed to their religion to insist on praying on a crowded train, rather than missing their prayer, would surely be expected to know the basic movements of salah. As Muslims, we are supposed to be people of truth. If a Muslim does something wrong, we should have the integrity to acknowledge it and call it out. We shouldn't defend bad behaviour simply because the person responsible happens to be Muslim. But this video has all the hallmarks of a staged performance designed to manufacture outrage against Muslims. I strongly suspect it is a deliberate provocation, potentially involving people pretending to be Muslims. And the fact that it has been enthusiastically circulated by far-right accounts hostile to Muslims only adds to my suspicions.