The “Shoe Intifada” Gaining Support
They are cheering for the shoe thrower, Muntader Al-Zaidi, from London to Baghdad. In Iran, CNN reports that a cleric called it “the shoe intifada (rebellion).” He went so far as to urge that the shoes be put in a museum, ”The shoe intifada in Iraq should not be overlooked easily,” he said. “Well done to the Iraqi journalist for throwing the shoes at the U.S. president.”
The BBC reports that al-Zaidi had bruising on his face when he appeared in court this wee, which lends credence to his brother’s claim that he was beaten.
Al-Zaidi has written a letter of apology to the Iraqi prime minister requesting to be pardoned for the “big ugly act” of throwing his shoes at Bush. I actually think that a lot of Americans would like to have hurled some shoes at bush…and Cheney…and Rumsfeld and Condi too.
Monsters and Critics recounts instances of the worldwide support behind al-Zaidi:
The 29-year-old reporter threw his shoes at Bush on Sunday during a press conference Bush held with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
As al-Zaidi shouted in Arabic: ‘This is a farewell kiss from the Iraqis, dog,’ Bush managed to dodge both shoes.
A page for al-Zaidi on the social networking website Facebook has more than 14,500 fans, while ‘One Million Shoes for George W. Bush’ is just one example of the groups dedicated to al-Zaidi – some calling for his release, others hailing his courage.
Almost all carry disparaging messages about the outgoing US president posted. One fan wrote: ‘Sorry America, it is not you, it is Bush,’ while another wrote: ‘I heard Tony Blair’s refusing to meet anyone wearing shoes!’
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A group called ‘I’m a fan of the great hero who hit Bush with his shoes in Baghdad!’ with people from Denmark, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, Iraq and Jordan, has some 65,000 members already.
I can’t believe that he could do time over in Iraq for giving Bush exactly what he deserved. Al Jazeera says that “On Tuesday, al-Zaidi was brought before an investigatory judge and admitted to committing “aggression against a president”, a crime that carries a 15-year prison sentence, judicial officials said.”
15 years! He does need a pardon and a thank you not for having the guts to do what many of us have wanted to do for years.
The shoe as a symbol of protest in the Middle Eastern World is a great improvement over the previously most notorious use of a shoe by a Muslim man just a few years back; who knows, maybe in a few years, people throughout the Middle East may just, you know, wear shoes like everyone else. We can only hope. . .
wilsonrofishing
December 20, 2008 at 5:55 pm