Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (C) gestures at the end of an official visit to al-Hussein mosque in Cairo on February 5, 2013. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)
International media is reporting that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s historic trip to Cairo has been married by a shoe-throwing incident.
The Atlantic summarizes what we know:
There were conflicting reports about who threw the offending footwear, as a local Turkish outlet originally stated that he was “physically assaulted” by an angry Syrian citizen. Then Luke Russert said that NBC had a report of four Sunni Salafist men being arrested for the attack. Finally, a video surfaced that showed a shoe thrower not really coming that close to Ahmadinejad.
It’s not quite the Iraqi journalist who launched two shoes at President George W. Bush at a press conference four years ago, but, really, everyone in this shot is probably closer than anyone should be able to get in public to a world leader with a lot of enemies…
Video of the attack is hard to make out, but you can see Ahmadinejad in an extremely crowded of group of people, smiling and gesturing, before the tone seems to change. A shoe appears and completely misses the Iranian leader, and then Ahmadinejad is hurried away. Turkish news service Anadolu Ajansi has the footage:
Ahmadinejad was reportedly attacked after he left the historic Al-Hussein mosque in Cairo, where he was reprimanded for his support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Turkish media reported that the man who threw the shoe had a Syrian accent and accused Ahmadinejad of killing his brothers.
Hitting someone with a shoe is extremely offensive in the Middle East since shoes are considered unclean and, The Telegraph notes, are associated with the lowest part of the body.
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Comments (76)
DSTSS2010
Feb. 5, 2013 at 5:53pmMahmoud looks like a NYC taxi driver.
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The-Monk
Feb. 5, 2013 at 6:01pmWas it one of Al Bundy’s smelly shoes?
Way too dangerous !!!
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epsil2
Feb. 5, 2013 at 6:14pmhere a clear video :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7dd1OALEa4
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G-WHIZ
Feb. 6, 2013 at 11:39amI would borrow a BRONZE-shoe offa our STATUE OF LIBERTY…would make a more serious dent!
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crystalsky
Feb. 5, 2013 at 5:48pmHe hit him with a shoe cause the shoe is dirty and low on the ground. Im a nut job is a sneaky sneaky slivering snake. slivering around like his father satan.
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earache-my-eye
Feb. 5, 2013 at 7:45pmSlithering
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DSTSS2010
Feb. 5, 2013 at 5:47pmAmadinejackass was attacked with an IED (Insole of Extreme Derision)!
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Witness1974
Feb. 5, 2013 at 5:13pmI don’t see why this is a news story. Everyone knows it’s common practice to attack vermin with a shoe.
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firman
Feb. 5, 2013 at 5:29pmThey have shoes over there?
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Eastinfection
Feb. 5, 2013 at 5:04pmyou know Ahmadinejad wishes he had George W. Bush’s cat-like shoe-eluding reflexes.
….THAT was some awesome Ninja/Matrix stuff.
Bush was like Lucy holding the football….
The shoe-thrower was like Charlie Brown…
Definitely one of W’s best moments.
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redfish52
Feb. 5, 2013 at 5:11pmI’m sure the shoe thrower’s head has been chopped off by now…
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Zipit
Feb. 5, 2013 at 5:27pmEast! I laughed my **** off at W’s reaction! It was all he could do to not break out laughing at the idiot!
And while we’re on the subject, WANG did you ever get your shoes back from that incident?
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spfoam1
Feb. 5, 2013 at 5:37pmThat was a hilarious moment, and President Bush was obviously rather than worried. Had that been Obama, he would have stayed behind the podium, and the press woud have been asked to leave, so no one could see that he wet his pants.
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Eastinfection
Feb. 5, 2013 at 5:43pmActually REDFISH, the shoe thrower is now something of a celebrity…..
A Saudi businessman offered US$10 million to buy the shoes thrown at Bush by al-Zaidi. There were also calls from throughout the Middle East to place the shoes in an Iraqi museum. The exact manufacturer of the shoes has not been confirmed, but they are believed to be made by a Turkish shoemaker. The shoe, Ducati Model 271, first renamed “The Bush Shoe” and later “The Bye-Bye Bush Shoe”, is manufactured by the Baydan Shoe Company in Istanbul. Even so, al-Zaidi’s brother insisted that the shoes were made in Baghdad by a highly-reputable firm named Alaa Haddad.
On December 18, 2008, Iraqi and American security agents looking for explosives examined and then destroyed the shoes.
http://videosift.com/video/Iraqi-Shoe-Thrower-Stars-In-New-Detergent-Commercial
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Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Feb. 5, 2013 at 5:03pmGood – the ultimate middle eastern insult delivered. Too bad it did not connect and finish the job.
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Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
Feb. 5, 2013 at 5:40pmSee, he starts shooting his monkey cousins into space and their relatives are out for revenge.
Too soon?
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SquidVetOhio
Feb. 5, 2013 at 5:01pmIn other news: 4 bodies were found outside of Cairo mysteriously wearing 1 shoe. More at 11….
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spfoam1
Feb. 5, 2013 at 5:32pmI thought 4 feet were found, and they are still wondering where the bodies are.
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Southernsoul
Feb. 5, 2013 at 5:00pmSort of backs my point on the Iranian monkey. They obviously sent the smartest creature in Iran into space. If you are going to risk your life by attacking Amadinnerjacket, why use a shoe? How about a brick? What about one of those IED’s they like to use so often?
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spirited
Feb. 5, 2013 at 5:07pma boot
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spirited
Feb. 5, 2013 at 5:13pmA shoe bomb would make quite an impact.
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Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Feb. 5, 2013 at 5:17pmMaxwell Smart missed him by that much.
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Eastinfection
Feb. 5, 2013 at 5:25pmI think, over there, a man “shoeing” a public official is equivalent to a teenage girl here getting a kiss on the cheek from the Jonas Bros.
Something they dream about for years…. just hoping the target of their obsession will notice & remember the moment as keenly as they do…
“…I’ll never wash this cheek (or foot) again…..”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRNFus7Pbp4
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media-bias-steals-elections
Feb. 5, 2013 at 4:58pmThrowing a shoe is not exactly an assasination attempt in that part of the world, that is an attempt at peer pressure? Speaking of throwing things, exactly what American is living overseas that justifies explaining that it is too dangerous to apprehend them, we can use a drone against them?
Or is that going to be the new “electronic fence”, America does not want guard towers, wire fences and land mines to keep their citizens in the country, they will just make an invisible one, where all it takes is the imagination of a politician to send you to the grave? That should be just as effective as building a wall to keep citizens inside the country, so they don’t think about fleeing your taxes?
It’s not hard to paint what the Establishment has done, or wants to do?
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Timberline
Feb. 5, 2013 at 4:56pmwe he IS a bug that needs to be squashed, so it makes sense
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Rillobymorning
Feb. 5, 2013 at 4:53pmToo bad the shoe didn’t have a giant pork chop inside.
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The_Jerk
Feb. 5, 2013 at 4:59pmIt was G.W. Bush. Learned it from Ahab the Arab.
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SREGN
Feb. 5, 2013 at 4:50pmWe need shoe control. These horrific incidents of shoe violence need to be stopped. Universal shoe registration and background checks.
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Too_Far_Gone
Feb. 5, 2013 at 4:57pmNow that’s hysterical !!
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moonlight on the bay
Feb. 5, 2013 at 5:14pmNo shoes larger than a size 12, and absolutely no more than 10 eyelets per shoe. Just what do you need BOOTS with high capacity eyelets for ANYWAY?
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AvengerK
Feb. 5, 2013 at 5:32pmI agree…hunters don’t need assault shoes to hunt. As Piers asks..”tell what possible use can anyone have for a military style, assault shoe?”.
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tzion
Feb. 5, 2013 at 6:22pmI recently purchased a pair of 9 AA loafers. Will those be affected in any way? Will the lack of laces be declared a safety hazard because the shoe might slip off and injure someone?
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chips1
Feb. 5, 2013 at 4:45pmHe forgot to light it. Dumb mistake.
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MCON29
Feb. 5, 2013 at 4:45pmHes dead, public beheading already scheduled
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Gonzo
Feb. 5, 2013 at 4:45pm“Hitting someone with a shoe is extremely offensive in the Middle East since shoes are considered unclean”
Yet, they use their hand instead of toilet paper. Sorry, not all cultures are equal.
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FISH_BONE
Feb. 5, 2013 at 4:56pmGONZO: Have you ever wiped your ass with a shoe? It’s particularly painful during baseball season.
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Eastinfection
Feb. 5, 2013 at 4:57pmeven more painful during hockey season.
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SquidVetOhio
Feb. 5, 2013 at 5:00pm@FISH_BONE
My side hurts. That was the funniest thing I’ve read all day.
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moonlight on the bay
Feb. 5, 2013 at 5:05pmGood one, Fishbone!
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Gonzo
Feb. 5, 2013 at 5:16pmExactly why I dread the start of golf season!
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DSTSS2010
Feb. 5, 2013 at 5:50pmGonzo, nice sweater!
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Tom K
Feb. 5, 2013 at 4:45pmMahmoud got the ” Bush Treatment ” ! Now, do they cut off the offending hand that threw the shoe OR cut off the foot that was inside the smelly shoe OR what ?
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DougHuffman
Feb. 5, 2013 at 4:44pmIt was an assault shoe, black, boot, waffle treads, intended only to stomp Jihadis. MOLON LABE Lord of Lies
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mrja
Feb. 5, 2013 at 5:02pmROFL @ assault shoe
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whatthecrazy
Feb. 5, 2013 at 4:42pmPoor man will pay for standing up to this tyrant with that shoe,should have thrown a hamhock instead.
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momrules
Feb. 5, 2013 at 4:42pmUse a steel toed work boot next time and hit the little psychopath right between his beady little eyes.
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13th Imam
Feb. 5, 2013 at 4:41pmAmadinnerjacket, attacked by a nut throwing cashSHOES at him. Bet the perp gets roasted.
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BARRYS_BEARD
Feb. 5, 2013 at 4:40pmAfter the Syrian threw the shoe he was heard saying: “I don’t want to talk to you no more, you empty headed animal food trough wiper. I fart in your general direction. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries.”
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WillG
Feb. 5, 2013 at 4:44pmRolling in the floor on that one.
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FISH_BONE
Feb. 5, 2013 at 4:49pmNow go away or I shall taunt you a second time.
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Eastinfection
Feb. 5, 2013 at 5:08pmlol, BEARD
Is there someone else up there we can talk to?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWBUl7oT9sA
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moonlight on the bay
Feb. 5, 2013 at 5:09pmThat’s tellin’ him!
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thegreatcarnac
Feb. 5, 2013 at 4:37pmThere is a moral here. If you are going to attack a high official….use something other than a shoe. You are going to get arrested anyway so make your attack count.
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Fubared
Feb. 5, 2013 at 4:34pmHe who lives by the shoe, shall surely have his feet beaten while hanging up side down in a dark Cairo prison.
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Al J Zira
Feb. 5, 2013 at 4:34pmDead men walking! One of them has only one shoe. No one will ever hear from those poor slobs again. I mean really; who throws a shoe?
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RightUnite
Feb. 5, 2013 at 4:44pmThe shoe is considered dirty because it is on the ground and associated with the foot, the lowest part of the body. Hitting someone with a shoe shows that the victim is regarded as even lower.
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tonypro
Feb. 5, 2013 at 4:32pmTo bad it was a shoe, and not a piece of hot led.
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13th Imam
Feb. 5, 2013 at 5:03pmRumor has it that LED’s don’t put out much heat.
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