A New Phenomenon in the Language of Communication

Shoe Throwing Becomes a Common Action Around the World

Alaa El Damaty

It has become a trend for people to communicate their views and opinions with shoe throwing. What has led those people to commit such aggressive actions?

In Iraq, during a conference, as George Bush was making his farewell visit, an Iraqi journalist, Muntadhar al-Zaidi, decided to throw both his shoes at the U.S President.

In the Egyptian Parliament, when Ashraf Badr, a Muslim Brotherhood (MB) Parliament member, disagreed with what was being said, he attempted to throw his shoe at Hassan Nashaat, a National Democratic Party (NDP) Parliament member.

In Iraq, President Bush was visiting to celebrate the conclusion of the Security Pact, which extended the stay of the US troops in Iraq until December 31, 2011. During the speech, President Bush was expressing his assurance that the extension in Iraq will help to bring more democracy and freedom in the region. In contrast, Al-Zaidi believes that the United States’ intervention has not brought democracy but has "killed the Iraqis!" He could not bear the idea that the US has got three more years to stay in Iraq. What really pushed him to throw his shoes was that, at that moment, George Bush was noting how progressive the stay in Iraq was for the Iraqis, which to the journalist, was a complete twist of reality. The journalist was arrested and sentenced four years of prison.

In the Egyptian Parliament, tensions arose when a debate between Ashraf Badr and Hassan Nashaat about the situation in Gaza escalated out of proportion. When the National Democratic Party (NDP) member accused the Muslim Brotherhs (MB) of working for the benefit of the enemies of Egypt and called them traitors, rage prompted Badr to throw his shoe at Nashaat. Badr was later heard to say, "The traitors are those who close the Rafah border and export gas to Israel." The MB member was suspended from Parliament until the next session in November and was referred to the Ethics Committee for further interrogation.

It is evident that all of the shoe throwing cases happened because of pure frustration. It is probable that in each case, all other methods of communication were exhausted before the people opted for the frustrated action of shoe-throwing. In Iraq, the frustrated journalist has been expressing his views about the U.S. intervention in Iraq in Al-Baghdadiya News Channel time and time again, but no changes took place. His anger about the unchanged status quo pushed him to throw his shoe at Bush, whom he believed to be responsible for the crisis in Iraq. In Egypt, the MB member has been constantly attacked because he represents the opposition. He attempted many times to express himself in the Parliament, but his views were often undermined just because he belongs to the Muslm Brothers. With all of this built-up frustration, when he was called a traitor, he also decided to express his anger by attempting to throw his shoe at Hassan Nashaat.

Observers think that shoe throwing has become the new trend of expressing frustration in different parts of the world. Therefore, they urge diplomats to recognize this problem and deal with it.