The false narrative that an Imam of a Saudi congregation was detained by Saudi police for calling on Arab leaders to support the people of Gaza is being spread along with a video showing the Imam being taken into custody.
According to @SouleFacts, The Imam of a Saudi congregation was detained by Saudi police after he urged Arab leaders to support the people of Gaza. The usr also added in the caption that in India we are given free run to all Jihadis. The tweet was made on Nov 8, 2023, which has received an about 31.3k views on X.
🚨BREAKING : Saudi police detained the imam of a Saudi congregation for urging Arab leaders to stand in support of the Gaza population.
— Oxomiya Jiyori 🇮🇳 (@SouleFacts) November 8, 2023
Sadly! In India we are given free run to all Jihadis.#US #Israel #Gaza #Hamas #IDF #Hezbollah
pic.twitter.com/jChYNHP1qh
Verified accounts on twitter, including Ruheen Bi (“@iamruheen“) tweeted “The arrest of the Imam of the Saudi congregation from the top of the pulpit Saudi police for calling on Arab rulers to support the people of Gaza #Gaza #GazaHolocaust #Israel #Gaza_Geniocide #Palestine #FreeGaza #FreePalestineNow #FreePalestine #PalestinianLivesMatter #Gaza_Geniocide #النصر_الدحيل“.
The arrest of the Imam of the Saudi congregation from the top of the pulpit
— Ruheen Bi (@iamruheen) November 8, 2023
Saudi police for calling on Arab rulers to support the people of Gaza#Gaza #GazaHolocaust #Israel #Gaza_Geniocide #Palestine #FreeGaza #FreePalestineNow #FreePalestine #PalestinianLivesMatter… pic.twitter.com/ZJkFIebCCq
Several other users, including @FrontalForce, @Nadira_ali12 also claimed the same that the imam of a Saudi congregation was arrested by Saudi police when he asked Arab leaders to support the Gaza population. The archive can be read from above.
What is the Actual Reality About this Incident? : Fact
In actuality, he was imprisoned in March 2018 due to his criticism of the Saudi Arabian government. The Imam discussed the detrimental effects of corruption on their homeland and the government’s inaction in this regard. During a Jummah summons during the prayer, the imam said these things.
An article was published regarding the same incident on March 3, 2018 with the headline “Video Of Imam Being Thrown Out For Criticizing Government in Saudi Arabia Goes Viral”.
A few men approached the imam as soon as he finished speaking, got into an argument, and tried to tell him not to criticise the Saudi government. Upon declaring he would speak the truth, the imam was attacked by these men, who then began to throwi him out. On Facebook, this video was shared more than 100,000 times and watched more than one million times. Many people are criticising the Saudi Arabian government for the actions of these men who threw the Imam away and are calling for their arrest.
Check out the full video here:
The video was uploaded in the youtube channel on March 3, 2018.
D-Intent’s Fact-Checking Results:
1320
— D-Intent Data (@dintentdata) November 8, 2023
ANALYSIS: Misleading
FACT: A video of an Imam getting detained is being spread with a misleading claim that Saudi police detained the imam of a Saudi congregation for urging Arab leaders to stand in support of the #Gaza population. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/5YNcl4kNFx
Intent:
Users with zero geopolitical knowledge are spreading old videos with misleading claims to support their agenda relating ongoing #IsraelPalestineConflict .
Conclusion:
Claim : A video of an imam being detained is being circulated with the false claim that Saudi police detained the imam of a Saudi congregation for urging Arab leaders to support the Gaza population.
Fact : In reality, he was detained because he publicly criticised the Saudi government in March 2018. The Imam discussed how corruption affects their homeland and how the government does nothing to address it. During the prayer, the Imam made these remarks during a Jummah summons during the prayer.
