Mundathar al-Zaidi woke up on December 14 2008 not knowing he was going to, in a moment of spontaneity; cause a huge reaction in the global community for a simple action done towards the then-most important man in the free world later on in the day. His actions were to be recorded by the free world media and played tens of thousands of times by news channels worldwide and millions of times in the internet world. Some cried foul over his actions, others labeled him a hero and one man even offered the hand of his 20-year old daughter in marriage to honor him. Al-Zaidi was simply a broadcast journalist for Egyptian based Al-Baghdadia TV. Al-Zaidi threw both his shoes at then-US President George W Bush. Even though he missed his mark due to President Bush ducking and avoiding the shoes, the symbolic statement was clear, throwing of shoes shows extreme disrespect in the Arabic and Islamic world.

Al-Zaidi, upon throwing his shoes, albeit not hitting his target, was quickly taken down by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s guards and grabbed out of the room. The quick response of the media, telecasting the event minutes upon it happening meant one thing. Al-Zaidi quickly gained cult status and despite being held by the Iraqi Army, hundreds of Iraqis took the street in force and in great numbers, demanding the release of the journalist.

Despite his growing popularity, there were fears that Al-Zaidi was severely beaten and injured by American and Iraqi officials. News reports stated that Al-Zaidi was kicked several times and was heard screaming in pain as he was dragged away from the room President Bush was in. A judge who was investigating whether Al-Zaidi was being tortured noted that he had bruises on his face and eyes during a visit and Al-Zaidi’s lawyer stated there were visible marks of torture on his body. This led to organizations worldwide releasing statements with regards to his well-being. Reporters Without Borders called for his release from custody, stating that he was clearly injured. The International Federation of Journalists demanded release of Al-Zaidi, citing humanitarian reasons and Amnesty International wanted full-disclosure on the treatment of Al-Zaidi.

Within a space of days, Al-Zaidi and the shoeing incident became top searches on internet search engines Google and Yahoo. Thousands protested in Iraq for his release, a copper monument was erected in honor, on the Internet, a huge number of people worldwide, including the United States, supported his actions and even his employer, television station Al-Baghdadia TV, who was criticized by the Iraqi Prime Minister and demanded a public apology from the station supported Al-Zaidi by ignoring the Iraqi’s Prime Minister’s demand and issuing a statement demanding Al-Zaidi’s release. Al-Zaidi also had a song written about him, offered a brand new Mercedes and invited and granted asylum to Venezuela by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Al-Zaidi’s actions on December 14 have since been replicated numerous of times worldwide, as a form of protest or insult to the person. On December 17 2008, a mere three days after the Al-Zaidi incident, a man in New York tried to throw a shoe at the CEO of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of New York City. Even recently, on 16 April 2009, Indian Opposition Leader L K Advani was shoed by his own party member. There have been over ten highly publicized shoeing incidents since Al-Zaidi’s incident.

As for Al-Zaidi, he was sentenced to three years in prison for attempting to assault a foreign leader. However, on April 7, 2009, his sentenced was reduced to one year due to a clean slate of criminal records prior to the incident. Even though December 14 2008 has long since passed, he remains a household name in the Arabic world, a recent poll found that 62 percent of Iraqis regarded Al-Zaidi as a national hero and he was also named as the world’s third most powerful Arab in the Arabian Business Power 100 list of 2009.