Blog Post #5- Shoeing and International Customs

When dealing with international publics, it very important to know their customs or faux pas standards. Things that seem trivial to us can make or break a relationship. Take for example how the Islamic world regards shoeing, or shoes.

Most people have become slightly aware of these ideas through the "shoeing" of former President Bush, seen here.

Video of "shoeing"

According to wikipedia.com, "On December 14, 2008, during a press conference at the Prime Minister's Palace in Baghdad, Iraq, journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi threw his shoes at United States President George W. Bush. "This is a farewell kiss from the Iraqi people, you dog," yelled al-Zaidi in Arabic as he threw his first shoe towards the U.S. president.^[1] "This is for the widows and orphans and all those killed in Iraq," he shouted as he threw his second shoe."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoeing

According to Professor Ramez Maluf, shoes, particularly the soles of shoes, are regarded with distain in the Islamic culture. When people walk into a Mosque they take off their shoes and you are never supposed to show anyone the sole of your shoe. Also, calling someone 'a shoe' is derogatory.

More can be found here

Another incident: Former U.S. presidential candidate Bill Richardson, while negotiating the release of two hostages, showed his shoe sole to Saddam Hussein while crossing his legs. Saddam abruptly left the room, and Richardson did not know if he could secure releases for hostages, a grave situation which called for zero mistakes. Here is Richardson's story on The Daily Show, start at 4 min, 22 sec

There are two points to be made.

1. Neither Bush nor Richardson seemed to express knowledge of just how serious these incidences were at the time. Bush didn't seem to know that he had received one of the worse insults possible, and Richardson didn't seem to realize or necessarily mind the extreme consequences his mistake could have made.

2. Richardson's mishap could have been easily avoided by some simple research and prepping before his negotiations took place. Instead, he ran the risk of not only losing two hostages, but as a representative for the U.S., his action certainly did not contribute to Hussein's good image of Americans.

PR lesson: Know international customs when dealing with international publics! It could completely determine how an issue or relationship turns out!