A shoe on the Bush is worth plenty
December 23rd 2008 20:55
I am getting tired of Muntadhar al-Zeidi being hailed as a hero of the Arab world for throwing his shoes at George Bush. This is a biased view. He should be hailed as a hero of the western world too.
Mr al-Zeidi, who also called the American president a ‘dog’, is a hero to opponents of the US-led invasion of Iraq.
Regrettably, but perhaps inevitably, people are now trying to use the incident for commercial gain, despite the exhortations of Durgham al-Zeidi, Muntadhar’s brother. He has criticised people for trying to exploit his brother's actions after being told a Turkish firm claimed it had manufactured the offending footwear.
"It's all nonsense,” he said. “These people want to exploit what my brother did. The Syrians claim the shoes were made in Syria and the Turks say they made them. Some say he bought them in Egypt. But, as far as I know, he bought them in Baghdad and they were made in Iraq."
Serkan Turk doesn’t think it’s nonsense. He is head of sales at Baydan Shoes in Istanbul. He says his firm made the shoes and that it has had to take on 100 extra staff to cope with demand for Model 271, the black polyurethane-soled footwear now renamed "Bush Shoes".
"Between the day of the incident and 1pm today we have received orders totalling 370,000 pairs," Mr Turk said.
Mr al-Zeidi goes on trial on 31 December charged with "aggression against a foreign head of state during an official visit". Under Iraqi law, he faces up to 15 years in gaol.
www.telegraph.co.uk, www.timesonline.co.uk, Agence France Presse
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