Reactions in the Arab World to the Throwing of Shoes at President Bush
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By Info Web
Published on 04/25/2009
On March 12, 2009, Iraq's Supreme Criminal Court sentenced Iraqi journalist Muntazar Al-Zaidi to three years in prison for throwing his shoes at then-U.S. president George Bush during a joint press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, which took place in Baghdad on December 14, 2008. During the sentencing, dozens of protesters demonstrated outside the courtroom, demanding Al-Zaidi's release. [1]
Since Al-Zaidi's shoe attack on Bush, shoe-throwing has become a symbol of protest: In demonstrations across Europe, hundreds of protesters threw shoes at U.S. embassies to protest U.S. policies, while others brandished shoes to protest against the Israeli offensive in Gaza. Al-Zaidi's act also inspired several shoe attacks on figures around the world. On February 2, 2009, a shoe was thrown at Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, as he was giving a speech at Cambridge University in the U.K.; [2] Israeli Ambassador to Sweden Benny Dagan had a shoe thrown at him during a speech at Stockholm University; [3] and on March 5, 2009, an Iranian citizen threw a shoe at the vehicle of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during a visit to the city of Urmia in western Iran. [4]
The Bush shoe-throwing incident triggered a flood of excited reactions in the Arab media. The Iraqi authorities condemned the incident and arrested Al-Zaidi, an employee of the Iraqi satellite television channel Al-Baghdadiyya. The general public, however, empathized with Al-Zaidi, condoned his act, and viewed him as a hero. This popular support was manifested, inter alia, by numerous demonstrations, during which participants demanded Al-Zaidi's release and voiced concern for his wellbeing in detention, as well as by the willingness of numerous lawyers to take part in defending him. The incident received extensive media coverage, including reports, analyses, poems, and cartoons.
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Since Al-Zaidi's shoe attack on Bush, shoe-throwing has become a symbol of protest: In demonstrations across Europe, hundreds of protesters threw shoes at U.S. embassies to protest U.S. policies, while others brandished shoes to protest against the Israeli offensive in Gaza. Al-Zaidi's act also inspired several shoe attacks on figures around the world. On February 2, 2009, a shoe was thrown at Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, as he was giving a speech at Cambridge University in the U.K.; [2] Israeli Ambassador to Sweden Benny Dagan had a shoe thrown at him during a speech at Stockholm University; [3] and on March 5, 2009, an Iranian citizen threw a shoe at the vehicle of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during a visit to the city of Urmia in western Iran. [4]
The Bush shoe-throwing incident triggered a flood of excited reactions in the Arab media. The Iraqi authorities condemned the incident and arrested Al-Zaidi, an employee of the Iraqi satellite television channel Al-Baghdadiyya. The general public, however, empathized with Al-Zaidi, condoned his act, and viewed him as a hero. This popular support was manifested, inter alia, by numerous demonstrations, during which participants demanded Al-Zaidi's release and voiced concern for his wellbeing in detention, as well as by the willingness of numerous lawyers to take part in defending him. The incident received extensive media coverage, including reports, analyses, poems, and cartoons.
Continue