VOL. IV NO. 26, December 05-December 18, 2008

The Shoe, the President, and Iraq

The surprise visit of President George W. Bush to Iraq has been overshadowed by an incident during which Iraqi television journalist Muntadar Al-Zaidi threw his shoes at the president during a press conference alongside Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, reports BBC News. Al-Zaidi stood up and shouted, "This is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog," before hurling a shoe at Bush, which narrowly missed him.

BBC News explains, "Showing the soles of shoes to someone is a sign of contempt in Arab culture." Al-Zaidi, a correspondent for Cairo-based Al-Baghdadiya TV, then threw his other shoe exclaiming, "this is for the widows and orphans and all those killed in Iraq," before being wrestled to the ground by other Iraqi journalists and security.

Al-Baghdadiya's bureau chief has commented that he has no idea as to what prompted Al-Zaidi, although other correspondents have explained that it was a highly symbolic gesture as Iraqis threw shoes at Saddam Hussein's statue following his overthrow.

Since the incident, Al-Zaidi has earned hero status across the Middle East, prompting Iraqis to demonstrate in Sadr City in support of the journalist, according to Hanna Ingber Win on the Huffington Post.

In Saudi Arabia, a newspaper reported that a man was ready to pay up to $10 million for one of the shoes, while the daughter of Libyan leader Muammar Al-Qaddafi reportedly awarded Al-Zaidi with a medal of courage, according to the New York Times.

"Although that action was not expressed in a civilized manner, it showed the Iraqi feelings, which is to object to the American occupation," said Qutaiba Rajaa, a 58-year-old physician in Samarra, a Sunni stronghold north of Baghdad. Many more expressed utter pleasure. "I swear by God that all Iraqis with their different nationalities are glad about this act," said Yaareb Yousif Matti, a teacher from Mosul in northern Iraq.

A number of Iraqi journalists were dismayed by the move and Ahmad Abu Risha, the head of the Awakening Council in Anbar Province, condemned the move. "For anyone to behave that way ... is just too humiliating and unbelievable," said Tariq Harb, a leading Iraqi lawyer, reports the Chicago Tribune. He further commented that there are laws against assaulting a foreign leader who is a guest in Iraq that would apply in Al-Zaidi's case.

Nevertheless, Al-Zaidi's popularity across the Arab world continues to grow as positive commentary, poems and even an online fan club for Al-Zaidi on Facebook have sprouted up. "The famous shoes should be exhibited in a museum, as they resembled a rocket that talks on behalf of all Iraqis," a visitor named Zahraa wrote on another website. Although many have disagreed with Al-Zaidi's behavior, they still empathize with his anger toward President Bush.

Some decided to immortalize the moment by turning it into a video game where users assume the role of a secret service agent shooting down flying shoes before they strike the president, reports The Telegraph. The shoe can be replaced by various objects such as a volleyball, pie or Saddam Hussein's head.

Tariq Al-Homayed, editor-in-chief of Asharq-Al-Awsat, strongly condemned Al-Zaidi's act, describing it as an "insult to the profession of journalism and an indicator that the nature of journalism has been misunderstood." He further deplores the Arab news networks that have hailed this as an act of courage.

He explains, "These words are not in defense of the American president; they come in defense of our culture that does not approve of such behavior."

Al-Baghdadiya has demanded the release of Al-Zaid following an announcement by Yasin Majeed, the prime minister's media adviser, that Al-Zaidi would be tried on charges of insulting the state, comments Al-Jazeera. According to an Iraqi lawyer, Al-Zaidi may face a minimum of two years in prison if he is prosecuted for insulting a visiting head of state.

The news site also comments that Al-Baghdadiya suspended its normal programming and played messages of support from across the Arab world, with a presenter reading out a statement calling for his release, "in accordance with the democratic era and the freedom of expression that Iraqis were promised by US authorities." The television presenter added that any harsh measures taken against Al-Zaidi would be a reminder of Saddam's "dictatorial era."

Khalil Al-Dulaimi, Saddam Hussein's former lawyer, said that he was forming a team to defend Al-Zaidi and that around 200 lawyers, including Americans, had offered their pro-bono services. "Our defense of Al-Zaidi will be based on the fact that the United States is occupying Iraq, and resistance is legitimate by all means, including shoes," he said.

Al-Zaidi is currently in a hospital in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, according to Asharq-Al-Awsat. His older brother, Dargham, has told reporters that Al-Zaidi suffered a broken hand, broken ribs and internal bleeding, as well as an eye injury.

Johnathan Steele points out in The Guardian that while being taken away, Western reporters made it appear that Al-Zaidi was yelling at President Bush. However, the soundtracks convey "agonized yelps and grunts... of a man being repeatedly kicked and thumped."

He posits that the judicial sentence taken against Al-Zaidi may be out of proportion. Steele argues that Al-Zaidi's anger, like that of any other journalist in Iraq, is understandable.

"The perpetual daily tension of life in Iraq, the bereavement which so many Iraqis have suffered in their own families, and the humiliation which being occupied by foreign troops causes on a constant basis," make the editorialist wonder why "it has taken so long for an Iraqi journalist to throw a shoe."

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