Saudi man trying to immolate himself at Kabba viral with false claim
A video of a man pouring some liquid on the shrine in Mecca has resurfaced on social media. After pouring the liquid, people surrounded and caught him. Users are claiming that this person poured Gangajal on Mecca's shrine.
Fact Crescendo found the claim to be false. The person pouring liquid substance is a Saudi citizen who was trying to commit suicide by immolating himself.
The same video went viral in 2022 with a claim that a person from Iran poured milk on the shrine in Mecca and declared that their ancestors were Hindus and the shrine is actually a Shivling. Below you can see the tweet.
Fact Check-
A relevant keyword search on YouTube led us to the same video uploaded on a channel in 2018. The caption of the video reads, "Man caught spraying petrol on Kabba and wanted to set it on fire."
According to Gulf Times report on February 7, 2017, security forces at the Grand Mosque in Makkah arrested a Saudi man in his 40s who was attempting to commit suicide near the Kaaba by gasoline on himself. They had confirmed that the man was not trying to set the Kaaba on fire. According to Major Sameh Al Salmi, the spokesman for the forces, the man was not in the right frame of mind that time.
According to a Daily Express report, the person in the video was also trying to set himself on fire by pouring petrol on himself. But before he could succeed, he was arrested. An eye witness told Daily Express that he saw a man pouring petrol on the Kaaba. After that he and other pilgrims caught the man and called the Makkah security. The man was also heard uttering Islamic extremist groups slogans.
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Fact Crescendo found the claim to be false. The man in the video was not pouring Gangajal or milk on Kabba. He was caught and arrested by the security forces for pouring gasoline and trying to immolate himself.