Shoemaker’s sales soar on foot of Bush incident

THE shoes thrown last week at US President George W Bush have provided an unexpected windfall for the shoemaker who made them.

Sales of the shoes made famous by Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi have soared, with requests pouring in to the Turkish shoemaker from across the world, media reports said yesterday.

As a result, Istanbul-based Ramazan Baydan has had to recruit an extra 100 staff to meet orders for 300,000 pairs of the “Model 271 brogues”, Britain’s Daily Mail said.

According to the company, Model 271 shoes are exported to markets including Iraq, Iran, Syria and Egypt. Last week, customers in Iraq ordered 120,000 pairs and some Iraqis offered to set up distribution companies for the shoe, Baydan said.

Al-Zaidi called his shoe-throwing a traditional insult in Arab culture — a “farewell kiss” to a “dog” who launched the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Al-Zaidi has been hailed as a hero by many Iraqis protesting his detention. In Iran, one cleric dubbed the act “the shoe intifada (rebellion)”.