An Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at U.S. President George W. Bush during a news conference a decade ago is standing for parliament, campaigning against corruption and the sectarianism that has plagued his country.
TV correspondent Muntazer al-Zaidi became famous across Iraq and the Middle East after throwing his footwear at Bush during a news conference in Baghdad in 2008, shouting “This is a farewell kiss from the Iraqi people, you dog!”
Bush ducked twice as the shoes sailed over his head. Zaidi served six months in prison for assaulting a visiting leader.
Today, Zaidi is standing for parliament as a member of the movement of firebrand Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose militia waged a violent campaign against the U.S. military during its occupation of Iraq, but who has lately redefined himself as an opponent of militant sectarianism.
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