The always thoughtful Iman Kurdi has an interesting piece in Arab News today. She takes a look at the shoe-throwing incident in Baghdad last week and wonders what it means, what it says about Arabs. She’s not sure that ‘hero’ is the word that is most applicable to shoeless Muntadar Al-Zeidi. More to the point though, she’s pretty certain that whatever happened to Al-Zeidi in consequence of his physical expression of opinion, it’s certainly less grave than it would have been had his target been Saddam Hussein. And that says something about the level of freedom that pertains in Iraq these days. Worth reading.
Doesn’t it say something about us?
Iman Kurdi | Arab NewsThere are three ways to react to the now mythical shoe throwing that took place at US President George W. Bush’s press conference in Baghdad last week.
The first and most natural reaction is to laugh. The footage is highly comical. Bush ducks with such agility I found myself wondering whether Laura Bush likes to hurl her shoes at her husband. He seemed so well practiced at dodging flying shoes! It is made all the funnier by the poker faced Nuri Al-Maliki who did not budge one inch as Muntadar Al-Zeidi hurled one shoe and then the other at the US president standing by his side.
The second is to cheer. The image is so apt. In case you have been marooned on a desert island for the last week, here is what happened. At a press conference in Baghdad on Dec. 13, Bush stood next to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki and fielded questions from the press as normal. Then one journalist, a young Iraqi named Muntader Al-Zeidi who works for an Egyptian-based channel Al-Baghdadiyah, stood and hurled his shoe at Bush shouting in Arabic: “This is a gift from the Iraqis, this is a farewell kiss, you dog.”
The shoe narrowly missed Bush’s head, as he ducked to dodge the shoe. Then Al Zeidi hurled his second shoe, shouting, “This is from the widows, the orphans and all those who were killed in Iraq.” The shoe went high over Bush’s head.
Al-Zeidi is clearly a natural at communications. First, there is the symbolism of using his shoes, and not just any shoes, he made sure he wore Iraqi-made shoes. Then there are the words that accompanied the act. In one gesture he summarized the sentiment of millions of Iraqis toward Bush. And not just Iraqis of course.
The third reaction is to ask soberly whether this is the way to treat a visiting dignitary. I may seem a party-pooper for even asking this question, but it needs to be asked. You can agree with the sentiment expressed yet ask whether this was the right way to express it. Moreover, this has tipped into an argument about freedom of expression.
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December:21:2008 - 19:08
If Bush has ever done anything right, it was his shoe dodging ability and remarks afterwards with the exception that they were only a size 10.
I think this incident will make him much safer for the rest of his life and I mean that from the bottom of my heart because a lot of people saw at least something happen that they wanted to happen to him. I am seriously wondering if this is not the first time objects have been hurled at him???
December:21:2008 - 19:55
I think it would have been funny if he said it was a
sixSIZE four!December:21:2008 - 23:03
Muntader Al-Zeidi throws like a girl. Good golly, he was 15 feet away and couldn’t hit a stationary target.
He’s also no hero. The only reason he is still alive is because of the freedom he received after the removal of Saddam Hussein. Saddam wouldn’t have even held a press conference, let alone permit prying questions or unfavorable press. That irony seems lost on this guy.
December:21:2008 - 23:20
Not just ‘this guy’, as the article notes…
December:21:2008 - 23:30
Remember, it’s OK if they hate us; the South hated Sherman after the Civil War, too. Iraqis just have to stop making war on us or encouraging others to do so, and the best way to do that is a democratic society that presents the opportunity to honestly confront their tyrant-bred pathologies.
Iraqis know Bush as a liberator, but Muntader saw clearly and accurately that Bush didn’t provide Iraq with the golden shield of security Europe experienced after World War II; the U.S. made the Iraqis partners to work for their own security. That certainly makes those Iraqis who had to switch from a power-paternalistic relationship with government to a civil one under law angry – angry enough to throw shoes at the man they see as responsible.
Muntader didn’t wield a gun. He issued a warning before he threw, didn’t he? Although his reporting ethics are zilch, he’s comparable to that French farmer who vandalized a McDonalds, then ran for Parliament as the head of his own political party. I see Muntader serving time, then following a similar path, for he has struck a chord among a wide swath of the Iraqi people, even across sectarian lines. Eventually, of course, Iraqi voters may reject him, and certainly his influence will be limited. Ironically, even against his own will, Muntader may become just the kind of politician I imagine Bush’s strategists hoped would develop to cement Iraq’s democracy.
December:21:2008 - 23:37
Bush would likely trade the shoe incident for future safety if it works that way. I understand what you mean. This was a pressure release for many in the region. But, a shoe will not satisfy all the violent detractors. They’ll want Bush’s head forever.
December:22:2008 - 12:03
It runs contrary to every precept of hospitality and civilisation to engage in conduct such as that engaged in by Mr. al-Zeidi.
If Mr. al-Zeidi objects to the presence of Mr. Bush, he should direct his anger at the inviting party — Mr. al-Maliki — and certainly not at the invited guest.
It represents a betrayal of cultural values that I believe many Iraqis hold.
December:22:2008 - 15:49
It runs contrary to every precept of hospitality and civilisation to engage in conduct such as that engaged in by Mr. al-Zeidi.
Yes, but such a violation should not merit fifteen years in prison! I’m not sure exactly what the punishment should be, but it should be just enough to discourage further acts of its kind. Say somewhere between aggressive littering and attempted assault with intent to maim. Sock him with a hefty percentage of his future shoe-related proceeds made payable to the victim and six months in jail – that ought to do it.
And let him run for Parliament afterward!
December:22:2008 - 19:42
I do not argue for a 15 year imprisonment nor for any period of confinement. I merely state the obvious fact that gross violations of well-accepted cultural norms of politeness and civility deserve sanction.
December:23:2008 - 15:22
Islam And The West Accelerated Links…
Crossroads Arabia with more analysis of Bush and the shoe incident….