A reader just asked me whether Bush was attacked with a shoe bomb, a shoe phone or just a shoe when he was in Baghdad the other day. The answer is that an Iraqi journalist threw shoes at Bush when Bush was in Baghdad at a press conference yesterday, December 14, but missed.
He also yelled, "This is a farewell ... you dog!"
As security personnel wrestled him to the floor, he screamed, "You killed the Iraqis!"
Calling someone a dog is a horrible insult in Arab culture. Dogs are considered low, dirty animals, and while people do keep them as pets, they usually are not allowed in the home. They have to stay outside.
In Arab culture, throwing a shoe at someone, or hitting someone with a shoe is the ultimate insult. Anything having to do with the feet or shoes is terribly insulting. You are not supposed to point the soles of your feet at anyone either - that is a serious insult.
This has to do with the notion in many cultures that the foot is the lowest, filthiest, most inferior part of the body, and the head is the highest and most exalted part of the body. It's common in many cultures. I'm thinking SE Asia (Cambodia and Thailand) for starters.
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