Video doesn't show a Saudi Imam being arrested for appealing for support for Gaza

What is the claim?

In a video viral on social media, four people, two in police clothing, can be seen dragging a person off a stage. The video has been shared on X (formerly Twitter) by multiple users with the claim that Saudi Arabian police have arrested an Imam (one who leads Muslim worshippers in prayers) for appealing to Arab leaders to support Gaza amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. 

Posts sharing the video have been viewed thousands of times. Archived versions of such posts can be accessed here, here, here, and here.

Screenshots of viral posts. (Source: X/Screenshot)

What is the truth?

Using a reverse image search, we found the video was posted on several YouTube channels in March 2018. This makes it clear that the video predates the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.

Comparison between the viral video and a 2018 YouTube video. (Source: X/YouTube/Screenshots/Modified by Logically Facts)

We also found many news reports in Arabic about the incident in question. A report by Saudi Arabia-based news outlet Sabq, published on March 2, 2018, said that people in a mosque in the Yanbu Al-Nakhl center in Yanbu, Medina province, were left shocked when a person who was not the official Imam climbed atop the stage and started reading Khutbah (religious sermon). 

The report said that the person wore a thawb (a loose garment) and ascended the stage to fool the onlookers into believing he was the Imam. People in the mosque tried to stop him, but he refused to get off the stage. After this, the mosque guards removed him from the stage. The official Imam of the mosque then continued the prayers.

Screenshot of the Sabq report. (Source: Sabq/Screenshot)

News outlets Anaween and Al Yaum reported similar details, citing an Islamic Affairs Ministry official spokesperson of the Medina province. 

A BBC Arabic report from March 3, 2018, cites Saudi government sources to say that the video shows a man ascending the stage taking advantage of the fact that the official Imam was not around. The report also says that this incident elicited various responses from people. Some other people said he was forced off the stage because of his criticism of the policies of the entertainment authority of the Saudi government. Some X users also objected to the way an older person was forced off stage. 

The verdict

We have marked this claim as false as the video does not show an Imam being arrested for appealing to Arab leaders to support the people of Gaza. The video is from a 2018 incident where a person ascended the stairs of a mosque and started delivering a religious sermon, taking advantage of the official Imam’s absence.

(Translated by Soham Shah)