Did a "new" viral video posted Nov. 18, 2025 show "In Germany, large crowds of Muslims walk directly through a Christmas market chanting 'There is no God but Allah , Allah Akbar'"? No, that's not true. No chants of "Allah Akbar" (God is Great) can be heard on the clip's audio. The video was not new, either, having been on social media since Dec. 11, 2024.
The claims were made in a Nov. 18, 2025 X post (archived here) on the @TheBritLad account under the title "🚨NEW:". It continued
In Germany, large crowds of Muslims walk directly through a Christmas market chanting:
'There is no God but Allah , Allah Akbar'
This is the true face of Islam.
At the time this fact check was written, here's what the video looked like on X:
(Image source: Lead Stories screen shot of video posted at x.com/TheBritLad/status/1990853436221354313.)
Not "New" on Nov. 18, 2025
The @TheBritLad post mis-stated the chronology by more than a year when labeling it "New"; it was already more than a year old.
At that time, a German nationalist politician posted the video, who she identified as Syrian immigrants in Essen, Germany, celebrating the fall of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, who had fled to Russia. German member of the European Parliament Christine Anderson posted the clip on Dec. 11, 2024 (archived here). The member of the anti-immigrant AfD party criticized the marchers for being disrespectful guests in Germany. Anderson wrote that Syrians in Germany should return to Syria:
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of X post at x.com/AndersonAfDMdEP, with date of post and Assad reference highlighted.)
Crowd not heard chanting "Allah Akbar"
In the clip there is no chanting of "Allah Akbar" or the more common "Allahu Akbar", which roughly translates "God is Great."
Audio with the clip captured the sound of drums, general cheering and occasional bursts of zaghareet, the high-pitched ululating sound of celebration common in Levantine cultures, as it is described by academicians who study cultural sounds.
Anderson's version of the clip is a little higher-resolution and quality, with hundreds of marchers, some wrapped in the Syrian flag, flashing victory signs and passing through a collection of Essen booths for Weihnachtsmarkt, or Christmas Market, confirmed by background street signs for the "Select Hotel Handelshof" a hotel in the center of the city:
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot, cropped, of video in post at x.com/AndersonAfDMdEP.)
