Friday December 19, 2008

I've Been Thinking:

The famous shoe thrower has asked for forgiveness.
But not from President Bush.
He asked forgiveness from Iraqi leader Nuri al Maliki.

In a letter of apology written by Munater al Zaidi, aka the famous shoe thrower, to Maliki, Zaidi asks forgiveness for embarrassing the Iraqi leader in front of the world. (It has been mistranslated as asking for a pardon.)

This kind of apology is a classic act in Islam.
When one embarrasses the host one must apologize. The host is more important than the hurt party. The offense took place under the sponsorship of the host even though he was unaware of the offense. The host was violated and blindsided. In Islam guests are afforded safe and respected passage under the authority of the host. A violation of this code is a grave infraction.

Does Zaidi have any intention of asking forgiveness from President Bush?
That's a rhetorical question.

Read my new book THUGS. It's easy. Just click.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah