Dear Friend and Reader,
It’s never a good sign if someone throws their shoes at you. In the world of theatre, rotten vegetables are as bad as it gets. In the world of war in the Middle East, it’s shoes. Yesterday, an Iraqi journalist threw his shoes at President Bush.
Newsday reports that in Arabic and Islamic culture,В “throwing a shoe is quite disrespectful.” Habeeb Ahmed, president of the Islamic Center ofВ Long Island explained,В “it is quite a bit of an insult.”
The New York Post explains: “throwing shoes at someone, or showing the soles of one’s shoes, is a supreme insult in Arab culture. After Saddam Hussein’s statue was toppled in Baghdad in April 2003, members of the crowd beat its face with their soles.”
Muntadar al-Zeidi, an Iraqi journalist, showed the world what he thought of President Bush’s performance when he chucked his shoes at our oh-so-beloved leader during a press conference in Baghdad. Bushie ducked — he’s probably been practicing for this moment quite a while.В “I’m pretty good at ducking, as most of you know,” Bush joked with The Associated Press, adding quickly that “I’m talking about ducking your questions.”
The most important part of this scene al-Zeidi orchestrated is what he yelled before the shoe toss (size 10, Bush joked later). APВ documents al Zeidi growling,В В “This is a farewell kiss, you dog!” The New York Post adds that, before al Zeidi threw the second shoe, he said, “This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq.”