If An Arab Throws A Shoe And You Don't Consider It Insulting Is His Dog Barefoot?

Shoe Insult Against Bush Resounds In Arab World

A day after an Iraqi television journalist threw his shoes at President George W. Bush at a news conference here Sunday, his act of defiance toward the American commander in chief reverberated throughout Iraq and across the Arab world. [...]

Hitting someone with a shoe is a deep insult in the Arab world, signifying that the person being struck is as low as the dirt underneath the sole of a shoe. Compounding the insult were Zaidi's words as he hurled his footwear: "This is a gift from the Iraqis; this is the farewell kiss, you dog!" While calling someone a dog is universally harsh, among Arabs, who traditionally consider dogs unclean, those words were an even stronger slight.

Whatever blows their hair back.