The image has been shared widely on Twitter, and appears to show a policeman leaning back against the Kaaba - a square building at the centre of Islam's most sacred mosque, in Mecca. Prince Mishal Bin Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz said that such an attitude could not be tolerated and called for disciplinary action against the policeman for failing to live up to the privilege and honour of serving in such a place. In Arab culture, displaying the sole of one’s foot or touching someone, or something sacred, with a shoe or with feet is considered highly offensive. Officials initially said that the security man was not wearing shoes, but rubber sockets that staff at the Grand Mosque used regularly. Prince Mishal told the head of the Makkah police Abdul Aziz Al Sooli to hold dedicated workshops and training sessions to educate the security and civilian staff at the Grand Mosque on ways of behaving and of dealing with people in order to offer the best services, local news site Sabq reported on Tuesday.
– A Saudi police officer is the scourge of many in the Arab world today after a photo of him resting his shoe against a holy site went viral, reports Gulf News. The officer was snapped leaning against the Kaaba, which the BBC describes as "a square building at the center of Islam's most sacred mosque, in Mecca." A hashtag that translates to #SoldierPutsHisFootOnTheKaaba is getting heavy use, along the lines of one tweet that complains, "This is the most holy place on earth, look at how he is undermining it." The governor of Mecca has ordered an investigation and disciplinary action.