x.com/ozcan_atsat/status/2101122882818441676?s=46
1 correction found
Salman bin Abdulaziz rewarded him with the images of him being ushered inside (the Kaaba).
The well-known photo was not taken inside the Kaaba. Contemporary photo captions place Bush in Riyadh at Al Murabba Palace/National History Museum, standing in front of a Kaaba door curtain, and Saudi official visa terms state non-Muslims are not permitted to enter the Holy Mosque in Makkah.
Full reasoning
The claim misdescribes what the image shows.
Contemporary captioning for the image identifies the scene as Riyadh, not inside the Kaaba in Makkah. Getty Images' caption for the AFP photo says George W. Bush was "stand[ing] in front of a Ka'aba door curtain" with Prince Salman during a tour of the Murabba Palace and National History Museum in the Saudi capital on 15 January 2008. That means the image shows an artifact/display in Riyadh, not Bush being ushered into the Kaaba.
This matches the White House archive for Bush's Saudi trip, which places him with Prince Salman at Al Murabba Palace in Riyadh on that date.
There is also a direct rule-based contradiction: Saudi Arabia's official eVisa terms say non-Muslims are not permitted to enter "The Holy Mosque and its premises in Makkah." The Kaaba is inside the Holy Mosque, so an image from inside the Kaaba would conflict with the Kingdom's own stated restriction on non-Muslim entry.
Taken together, the evidence shows the circulated image was from a museum/palace visit in Riyadh and does not document Bush being taken inside the Kaaba.
3 sources
- US President George W. Bush stands in front of a Ka'aba door curtain... - Getty Images
US President George W. Bush (L) stands in front of a Ka'aba door curtain with Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz ... during their tour of the Murabba Palace and National History Museum in the Saudi capital, 15 January 2008.
- Accompanied by Prince Salman bin Abdul Al-Aziz ... at Al Murabba Palace in Riyadh - White House archive
Accompanied by Prince Salman bin Abdul Al-Aziz, right, President George W. Bush greets officials as he arrives Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2008, at Al Murabba Palace in Riyadh.
- Saudi eVisa Terms and Conditions - Official website for Tourist Visa to Saudi Arabia
I Acknowledge that I am aware that non-Muslims are not permitted to enter: 12.1 The Holy Mosque and its premises in Makkah. 12.2 The Prophet’s Mosque and its premises in Madinah.