From a post in MarxMail by Shane Mage
As I learned in Morocco 50 years ago, in an Islamic culture to put one’s shoe in one’s hand is a severely threatening gesture and to throw it is a gesture expressing unmitigated contempt. If there is a Western term for this sort of thing, it is to be found in the *codex duello*. It is the equivalent of slapping one’s enemy across the face with one’s glove.
The Angry Arab is having a hootin’ good time with this. Some tidbits:
Lest US media portray him as Al-Qa`idah supporter, As-Safir reports that the shoe throwing Iraqi journalist, Muntazir Az-Zaydi, is a Leftist. He believes in the hammer, sickle, and shoe.
When the Shoe hits your eye
Like a big-a pizza pie
That’s amoreAlJazeera (Arabic) is reporting that up to a 100 Arab lawyers have volunteered to defend the shoe throwing Iraqi journalist.
