WORLD> Middle East
Iraqi shoe thrower might drop TV, turn to activism
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-09-11 15:38

Iraqi shoe thrower might drop TV, turn to activism
In this December 19, 2008 file photo, relatives hold posters of TV reporter Muntazer al-Zaidi during a protest by Zaidi's relatives demanding his release from jail in central Baghdad. [Agencies]

Some questioned how al-Zeidi would be able to work again as a journalist in Iraq, where government officials offended by his moment of rage are inclined to avoid him.

"Al-Zeidi's situation in Iraq will not be an easy one," said political analyst Nabil Salim. "Because of his fame, some anti-government politicians will try to make use of al-Zeidi in their election campaigns, while some government officials will always look at him with suspicion and it will be very difficult for them to deal with him."

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His family, meanwhile, is worried about his safety and will try to keep celebrations small because of security concerns, his brother Dargham said.

In 2007, al-Zeidi, a Shiite, was kidnapped by gunmen while on an assignment in a Sunni district of north Baghdad. He was freed unharmed three days later after Iraqi television stations broadcast appeals for his release.

Then in January 2008, he was arrested by American soldiers who searched his apartment building and released him the next day with an apology.

Those experiences helped mold his resentment of the US military's presence in Iraq.

Many in Iraq and around the Middle East share those feelings, one of the reasons his act was so widely celebrated. It inspired Internet games and T-shirts and led some to try to offer their daughters to him in marriage.

There were also reports that a Saudi man wanted to pay $10 million for one of the shoes.

His shoes, however, won't become museum pieces or anything else, investigators destroyed them trying to determine if they contained explosives.

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