MUMBAI: An Iraqi television journalist who flung his shoes at US President George W Bush in Baghdad has not only turned into a hero in the Arab world, but also received wide support in the Urdu press in Mumbai. Banner headlines and angry editorials highlighted the resentment against Bush's policies in Iraq and Afghanistan, with several Urdu dailies discussing at length the insult heaped on Bush by Muntadar al-Zaidi, who works for the Iraqi-owned Al-Baghdadiya TV stationbased in Cairo.
"George Bush ko joote khane pare (George Bush was at the receiving end of shoes),'' read Inquilab's page 1 headline on Tuesday. Accompanied by blow-by-blow photographs of the incident in Baghdad, the report also carried pictures of the jubilant celebrations across the Arab world, where al-Zaidi has already been proclaimed a hero.
Inquilab's editorial-borrowing from a famous Urdu couplet, "Joote khakar bhi bemaza na hua (He is not ashamed even after getting beaten up with shoes)-argued that penalising the Iraqi reporter would be unjustified. The article rattled off a list of countless human rights violations in Iraq which, it said, has left most Iraqis little option but to react this way. "Muntazar's shoes have exposed the lie in the claims of George W Bush that things are normal in Iraq. If things were really normal, Bush would not have faced such humiliation,'' commented the editorial.
The Urdu Times's lead story, titled "Bush ko Baghdad mein jooton ki salami (Bush gets saluted by shoes in Baghdad)'', highlighted the reaction in the Arab world in a box. The paper quoted a statement on an Arab blog: "The shoes are better representatives of Arab public opinion than the puppets whom George W Bush meets during his visits to the Middle East.''
"George Bush ko joote khane pare (George Bush was at the receiving end of shoes),'' read Inquilab's page 1 headline on Tuesday. Accompanied by blow-by-blow photographs of the incident in Baghdad, the report also carried pictures of the jubilant celebrations across the Arab world, where al-Zaidi has already been proclaimed a hero.
Inquilab's editorial-borrowing from a famous Urdu couplet, "Joote khakar bhi bemaza na hua (He is not ashamed even after getting beaten up with shoes)-argued that penalising the Iraqi reporter would be unjustified. The article rattled off a list of countless human rights violations in Iraq which, it said, has left most Iraqis little option but to react this way. "Muntazar's shoes have exposed the lie in the claims of George W Bush that things are normal in Iraq. If things were really normal, Bush would not have faced such humiliation,'' commented the editorial.
The Urdu Times's lead story, titled "Bush ko Baghdad mein jooton ki salami (Bush gets saluted by shoes in Baghdad)'', highlighted the reaction in the Arab world in a box. The paper quoted a statement on an Arab blog: "The shoes are better representatives of Arab public opinion than the puppets whom George W Bush meets during his visits to the Middle East.''
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