Claim: A video circulating on social media allegedly depicts Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, the Imam of Masjid Al-Haram, praying for former US President Donald Trump.
Fact: The video does not in fact show the Imam praying for Trump.
This post on Facebook titled “Imam e Kaaba in a prayer for Trump ” has gone viral with more than 86,000 views and 1,400 interactions at the time of reporting. The post was shared on 12 September 2021 but saw a sudden spike in interactions on the afternoon of 18 February 2022, with 8,000 new views in the span of one hour, marking a 7% increase in views.
The video is in Arabic but contains Urdu subtitles. To ensure the subtitles were accurate, Soch Fact Check consulted Muhammad Irfan, an Arabic language teacher in Islamabad. According to both the subtitles in the video and Irfan, Sheikh Abdur Rehman Al Sudais says, “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States of America have a level of influence over the world, by the grace of god. Khadim Haramain Al Sharifain (the Saudi King) and the president of the United States have a global influence regarding peace and stability. I pray to Allah that he blesses our (both countries’) performance in that.”
Sudais did not pray for Trump in the video, nor did he mention Trump at any point in a different context. He was praying for both Saudi Arabia and the United States to perform well in their efforts towards global peace and stability.
Conclusion: According to the subtitles of the video and an independent translation obtained by Soch Fact Check, the Imam of Masjid Al-Haram did not mention Donald Trump during the video in question. The title of the post is thus false.