TEHRAN, December 26 (RIA Novosti) – A shoe-throwing competition using a portrait of George Bush as the target took place on Friday in Iran’s capital, Tehran, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported.
Iranians in the capital were invited to throw their shoes at a poster of U.S. President George Bush after the country’s traditional Friday Muslim prayers were over. The event was held at Tehran University.
Once there were enough direct hits and the portrait became shabby, the crowd tore the poster down and ripped it to pieces.
The event organizers said it was an “expression of solidarity for the respected Iraqi journalist.”
Muntazer al-Zaidi, a correspondent for the Cairo-based al-Baghdadiya TV channel, threw his shoes at George Bush during a news conference in Baghdad in mid-December and shouted in Arabic: “This is a farewell kiss from the Iraqi people, dog.” Bush managed to duck the shoes.
Arabs around the world have been united in their approval and support for al-Zaidi and it has sparked the growth in online games giving the chance to succeed where the Iraqi journalist failed.
From the relatively sophisticated to the simple, the games have proven a worldwide hit. One of the most popular is called “Sock and Awe” a pun on the U.S. “Shock and Awe” military doctrine.
Iran’s foreign ministry has called for the release of al-Zaidi, currently in custody in central Baghdad.