Tehran has witnessed a shoe-throwing competition in solidarity with the Iraqi journalist who hurled his shoes at U.S. President George W. Bush to express his anger with the war.
In a contest staged at Tehran University on Friday, Iranians were invited to throw their footwear at a poster of the U.S. president. After rendering the poster shabby, the protestors tore it down and shredded it. The organizers for the event said it was an “expression of solidarity with the respected Iraqi journalist.” Muntazer al-Zaidi, a correspondent for the Cairo-based al-Baghdadiya TV channel, hurled his shoes at the U.S. president during a news conference in Baghdad in mid-December. “This is a goodbye kiss, you dog,” he said. “This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq.” The journalist has since been taken into custody and is awaiting trial. But his action has enlisted wide support among those opposed to the U.S. policy in the country.