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A photo is being widely shared on the internet with the claim that, for the first time in history, in the holy city of 'Mecca Medina', a Shivling (a structure representing Lord Shiva) was being shown.
However, we found that the figure shown in the viral image is Rukn-e-Yamani, also called Rukn-al-Yamani of the Kaaba, a cube-shaped structure at the centre of Islam's most sacred site, Masjid al-Haram or the Great Mosque of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
Also, Medina and Mecca are two different cities. Medina is considered to be the second-holiest of three cities in Islam, the other two being Mecca and Jerusalem.
CLAIM
Social media users are sharing the photo with the claim that reads in Hindi, "इतिहास में पहली बार मक्का मदीना का शिवलिंग दिखाया गया हे सभी हिन्दू भाई चुके नही शेयर जरूर करे."
(Translation: For the first time in history, the Shivling of Mecca Medina is being shown, please share this.)
The post is massively viral on Facebook.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
Upon a reverse image, we found the same image on flickr, a photo sharing platform, uploaded on 6 January 2012.
The caption with the image that was uploaded reads, 'roknay yamani'. We used this caption to run a Google search and found an article titled '6 Facts About Rukn-e-Yamani of the Holy Kaaba', which carried a similar image.
Taking a cue from here, we searched for 'Rukn-e-Yamani' on YouTube and found a video on a channel 'Hum Sab', which carried the viral photo.
Rukn-e-Yamani, translates to 'The Yemeni Corner' and is situated in the south-west corner of the Kaaba, and gets its name as thus because it faces Yemen.
Clearly, a photo of the holy Rukn-e-Yamani in Mecca has been passed off on the internet with the false claim that it is a Shivling.
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