No,this photo does not show a cleaner praying at Mecca’s Kaaba
An image of a person sitting near Islam’s holiest shrine, the Kaaba in Saudi Arabia, is going viral on social media. It was shared with the claim that a lone cleaner who was the only person permitted to sit around the Kaaba during the coronavirus lockdown.
The only person allowed to sit here!
A cleaner, not a king, minister, or Prince. Allah chose him over the others. Wealth, status, n family won’t do u any favors in the eyes of Allah. Get rid of that pride n arrogance. Treat every1 with humility n compassion! Learn to be humble! pic.twitter.com/9Rm2rLG91O— Urooj Qureshi(عروج) (@urooj_q) April 9, 2020
Allahu Akbar!
Islam is truly a perfect a religion. The only person allowed to sit here is a cleaner. Not a king , not a minister or a rich. Allah chooses him over the others. Money, wealth,status and family doesn’t matter In front of Allah. pic.twitter.com/SE3qOfGEoA
— Mayhular 🤝 (@maihular) April 8, 2020
TRUTH
Using the reverse image search on a photo and that led us to the original photo published by the Associated Press (AP), On March 7, 2020. The photo has been doctored to remove two people standing near the holy shrine and the caption of the photo is misleading.
The AP photo’s caption reads: A Saudi policeman prays in front of the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque, in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Saturday, March 7, 2020. Saudi Arabia emptied Islam’s holiest site for what they say sterilization over fears of the new coronavirus.
Read here
The AP photo also shows two other people near the fence surrounding the Kaaba.
