Muntadhar al-Zaidi

Muntadhar al-Zaidi (; born 15 January 1979) is an Iraqi broadcast journalist who served as a correspondent for Iraqi-owned, Egypt-based Al-Baghdadia TV. , al-Zaidi worked with a Lebanese TV channel.

After the U.S. invasion of Iraq, al-Zaidi became a journalist, and wrote a story on a schoolgirl shot by American forces, who attempted to cover up the incident. Aftwards, on 16 November 2007, al-Zaidi was kidnapped by unknown assailants in Baghdad likely affiliated with the Iraqi government, but the shoes were later destroyed by U.S. and Iraqi security forces. Al-Zaidi's shoeing inspired many similar incidents of political protest around the world.

Following the incident, al-Zaidi was represented by the head of the Iraqi Bar Association at his trial.

Biography

Muntadhar al-Zaidi was raised in Sadr City, a suburb of Baghdad, Iraq, and his family is of Shia Muslim faith. and unmarried. in a talk on Islam Online, refers to "One of [al-Zaidi's] best reports" "on Zahra, a young Iraqi school girl killed by the occupation forces while en route to school." Alaa said al-Zaidi documented the tragedy in his reportage, complete with interviews with her family, neighbors and friends. "This report earned him the respect of many Iraqis and won him many hearts in Iraq," he said. Al-Zaidi once also turned down an offer to work for what he termed "a pro-occupation channel".

Al-Zaidi humanitarian foundation Following his release, al-Zaidi went to Geneva and announced that he had started creating a humanitarian agency/foundation. The aim of the agency would be to "build orphanages, a children's hospital, and medical and orthopaedic centres offering free treatment and manned by Iraqi doctors and medical staff." In an interview with Reuters, he stated that "The main real purpose and reason behind my nomination is to get rid of the corrupt, and to expel them from our country". Zaidi has been critical of US and Iranian involvement in Iraq during his campaigning, expressing a view that "America and Iran are the reasons for the tension in Iraq". During his campaign al-Zaidi sought to criticise US involvement in terms of Iraq's security forces, arguing that; "We have American troops under the name of 'consultants' – we don't accept their presence in Iraq". His electoral bid was unsuccessful.

Cultural references In January 2009, a "sofa-sized" fibreglass and copper statue of the shoe was erected in Tikrit, with a poem honouring al-Zaidi. The sculptor, Laith al-Amari, described the statue as a "tribute to the pride of the Iraqi people".

Publications The Last Salute to President Bush, 2010