Claim: A viral video shows that a Hindu official from India was let inside the Kaaba the same day as Maryam Munir.
Fact: The video shows a snippet from 2023, when the Chief of the Army Staff visited the inside of the Kaaba with his family.
On 12 April 2024, a video went viral online, claiming to show a Hindu official from India visiting the Kaaba in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. The video was captioned on X, as follows:
پوچھنا تھا انڈین آفیشل کو کعبے کے اندر جانے کی اجازت کیسے مل گی ؟ نہ تو یہ مسلمان ہے پھر کیسے ،کیا اب کعبے کے دروازے زمانہ جہالت کے بعد دوبارہ سے نان مسلم لوگوں کے لیے سیاسی بنیادوں پر کھلے جائیں گے ؟آگے آگے دیکھے کیا کیا دیکھنے کو ملتا ہے ،اب بہت سے بے شرم ارسطو اسلامی حوالے دیتے ہوئے اور ثابت کرنے ا جائیں گے یہ مسلم ہے ،سنے میں یہ بھی ا رہا ہے جب مریم منیر کعبہ گی اسی دن یہ گے ،پھر تو ڈبل لعنت بنتی ہے پٹواریوں کی مریم پر
[Translation: I want to ask how would the Indian official get permission to go inside the Kaaba? He is not a Muslim, so how are the doors of the Kaaba now going to open for non-muslims just like the Age of Ignorance, on political grounds? Now we will see what happens next, now a lot of shameless Aristotles will give Islamic references and try to prove that he is a Muslim. I have also heard that it was the same day when Maryam Munir went to the Kaaba, this happened, this is a cause of double curse on the Patwaris’ Maryam.]
The Kaaba is the holiest Islamic site in the world. As per Quranic injunctions non-Muslims are not allowed to enter the Kaaba. However, due to recent relaxation in restrictions non-Muslims are now allowed to visit the cities of Makkah and Medina, however, they still can not enter the Kaaba.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check conducted a reverse image search of the key-frames of this video through InVID’s Chrome extension and found several instances of the video being shared earlier in the context of Pakistan’s Chief of the Army Staff Asim Munir and his family being allowed to enter inside the Kaaba on their visit to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, in 2023.
This video, published on YouTube on 9 January 2023, is titled “Breaking News: Army Chief Offers Prayers Inside Holy Kaaba | Gen Asim Munir In Saudi Arab.” It is part of BOL News’s coverage of COAS Asim Munir and his family’s visit to Mecca. In this video, you can see Asim Munir exiting the doors of the Kaaba alongside a woman in a beige scarf and spectacles. The same woman is seen in the video being shared recently.
Another YouTube short, published on the same day by Aaj TV, shows a close-up of Asim Munir exiting the building of the Kaaba. It is titled “Khana Kaaba door was specially opened for COAS General Asim Munir | Aaj News #shorts,” and in the frame of the video, right the text says in Urdu, “The door of the Kaaba was especially opened for the Army Chief”
Another video shared on Instagram on 9 January 2023 also shows the same scenario. It is captioned, “Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir on Sunday visited Makkah to perform Umrah where the doors of the Holy Kaaba were opened for him and his family.”
A video shared on TikTok on 15 April 2023, shows the clearest close-up of this visit, including the man who gestures the namaste symbol, which the claim is based on. The video is captioned, “Pakistanis protocol in Kaaba”.
News articles by Express Tribune, The News International, Dunya News, The Friday Times, and Geo TV, from January 2023, also cover COAS Asim Munir and his family’s visit to the Kaaba. These articles claim that the doors of the Kaaba were opened for Asim Munir and his family as they performed Umrah and offered prayers inside the building.
Virality
On X, we found that the claim was shared here, here, and here, receiving more than 45,000 views.
The claim was also shared on YouTube here, here, and here.
On Facebook, we found that the claim was shared here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Conclusion: Hindu officials have not been allowed inside the Kaaba. The video shows a snippet from 2023, when the Chief of the Army Staff visited the inside of the Kaaba with his family.
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Background image in cover photo: Bahath
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