TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A photo of Syrian President Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, familiarly known as Ahmed al-Sharaa, taking off his shoes during a meeting with US President Donald Trump circulated on Facebook [archive] on May 31, 2026.
The post juxtaposed a photo of al-Sharaa with Trump with a photo of al-Sharaa performing salah (Islamic prayer) wearing shoes. The photo collage was accompanied by a narrative containing hate speech related to ethnicity, religion, and race (SARA).
However, did the Syrian President really wear shoes while performing salah and take them off when meeting Trump?
FACT CHECK
Tempo verified the content using reverse image searches and articles from other credible sources. The results showed that the photo of al-Sharaa's meeting with Trump and the photo of al-Sharaa performing prayer were doctored.
Figure 1
Al-Sharaa's meeting with Trump took place on the sidelines of the 80th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York on September 29, 2025. The original photo was published by the Dubai media website Albayan and posted on Facebook by The National. In the original photo, al-Sharaa still had his shoes on. There was no pair of shoes lying next to him.
Tempo also examined other photos from the meeting between al-Sharaa and Trump. Photos published by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) show portraits from various angles. All of them show al-Sharaa wearing his dark brown dress shoes.
Figure 2
The second photo shows al-Sharaa in the front row during salah prayer. The search revealed the image is a screenshot of a video from the YouTube channel Syria TV uploaded on March 20, 2026, at the 28-minute 20-second mark. The similarity in his hand position, clothing, and the two men next to al-Sharaa strengthens this evidence.
The screenshot has been doctored. During the salah prayer, the Syrian President was not wearing any shoes at all, but only dark brown socks.
SANA reported that al-Sharaa was performing Eid al-Fitr prayer at the People's Palace Mosque in Damascus. He was accompanied by several ministers, officials, clerics, and community leaders. Publicity photos show al-Sharaa not wearing shoes inside the mosque.
CONCLUSION
Tempo concluded that the photos of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa removing his shoes during a meeting with US President Donald Trump and wearing them during prayers were fabricated and the narrative was false.
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