Father offers daughter to shoe-thrower

[Turborama]

Source: Reuters

CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian man said on Wednesday he was offering his 20-year-old daughter in marriage to Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi, who threw his shoes at U.S. President George W. Bush in Baghdad on Sunday,

The daughter, Amal Saad Gumaa, said she agreed with the idea. "This is something that would honor me. I would like to live in Iraq, especially if I were attached to this hero," she told Reuters by telephone.

Her father, Saad Gumaa, said he had called Dergham, Zaidi's brother, to tell him of the offer. "I find nothing more valuable than my daughter to offer to him, and I am prepared to provide her with everything needed for marriage," he added.

Zaidi's gesture has struck a chord across the Arab world, where President Bush is widely despised for invading Iraq in 2003 and for his support for Israel.

Amal is a student in the media faculty at Minya University in central Egypt.

Zaidi's response to the proposal was not immediately clear.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE4BG6UH20081217?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. A) Why would the daughter want to move to a war-torn place and B)

Really not a fan of the arranged marriage thing.

I mean, I appreciate Mr. Gumaa's sentiments about ** but can't he just arrange a date between his daughter and the shoe guy and see whether or not they hit it off?

[marshall]

3. What the daughter wants is probably not an issue here

It's an arrangement between two men--the daughter is chattel.

[winter999]

10. Right. The girl's feelings have nothing to do with her marriage.

Sad, ain't it?

[High Plains]

In her own words:

The daughter, Amal Saad Gumaa, said she agreed with the idea. "This is something that would honor me. I would like to live in Iraq, especially if I were attached to this hero," she told Reuters by telephone.

[Bhaisahab]

17. Not true necessarily.

It's modern times in Asia and the Middle East. Most urban girls are educated and informed. Their agreement to an arranged marriage is often a conscious decision - they have the right to reject suitors and do so liberally.

I don't know why you think the daughter is chattel. Who wouldn't want to marry a hero? Or heroine, for that matter?

[Sal Minella]

20. And the women lying at the feet of Prosecutor Hero Patrick Fitzgerald -- had they all been thrown

there by their fathers, do you think?

[Mika]

2. FREEDOM!

:puke:

[Alcibiades]

4. So, they have shameless publicity-seekers in Egypt, too?

Imagine that.

[opihimoimoi]

5. Do they check to see if the SHOE FITS???

Sorry, I had to be a smart ass

[Sal Minella]

6. If the daughter is all for marrying Zaidi, who else's business is it?

Some nubile young females are attracted to public figures who live on a heroic scale.

For instance, I presume Rupert Murdoch's wife married him without being dragged to the ceremony by her father:

[winter999]

11. See above. The girl is property and has no say.

Marry who you want for love? Not here. So much for women's rights.

[ensho]

7. his daughter is not his property - Egypt has a way to go in their thinking

about women. the religiously insane men of Egypt hold sway.

[Xipe Totec]

8. "Who gives this woman in marriage to this man?"

This is a quote from traditional Christian American wedding rituals.

I just want to point that out.

[winter999]

13. Same roots, but we have "evolved" (taken with a grain of salt).

I would say a good 90-95% of Western women decide about their mates. But I would bet there are still "factions" in our society that still adhere to this practice.

[Sal Minella]

19. Yes. And then his last name obliterated mine. And I promised to "love, honor and obey." I did.

He promised to "love, honor and cherish." And he did (for awhile, anyway).

[ensho]

22. and I will point out it is a religious custom from the dark ages

nt

[jetphixer]

9. HONOR

This says a lot Bush an the USA are really loved in the world huh??? This is considered giving this guy a pound or 2 of pure gold.. This is the highest or best the person has to offer.. This is an honor. NOT 4 BUSH

[NorthCarolina]

12. Horrifying, but this represents the Longest Standing Marriage tradition in the history of the world

This news should be comforting to those Americans insistent on adhering to the biblical definition of "Traditional Marriage".

[winter999]

14. Just shows the way women were considered sub-human.

In some places they were(are) treated worse than slaves. At least Western society has laws to help women get out from under this stigma. One can hope that the rest of the world follows.

[Sal Minella]

21. After all the rape kits mouldering in Evidence Rooms all over the United States are processed and

the analyses of their DNA are made widely available to law enforcement authorities all over the country -- then I will join you in worrying about the contempt with which women are treated in countries outside my own.

[winter999]

24. That's all fine and dandy, but women here don't get put to death for being raped.

At least we recognize who the victim is.

[Sal Minella]

27. A woman expressing a desire to marry a national hero has nothing to do with your side track here.

We need to treat victimized women with some respect in our own country before overly concerning ourselves with the mores of other countries. Mote/beam etc.

[Gwendolyn]

29. You have a point.

But then again, we also have many starving, sick children in this country but we still give to charity so that kids in other countries can eat.

[DS1]

15. I can't believe nobody has taken the douchebag route and called him a violent person

who needs counseling before marriage.

DU is slipping, even when it does involve Bush getting shit thrown at him.

[BadGimp]

16. I got a closet full of shoes ...

I don't have that guys aim or speed but I won't let that stop me. It will be raining size 11s at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

This could work..

[BoneDaddy]

18. What a great religion

Islam is

[Dark]

23. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN GAYS CAN GET MARRIED !!!!111!! IM SERIES GUYZ!!11!

[The Sushi Bandit]

25. Here is the story on Current TV!

http://current.com/items/89635039/father_offers_daughter_to_shoe_thrower.htm

[damntexdem]

26. Well, he didn't have to do that -- he could have just offered his daughter's shoes.

And anyone should be wary of marrying a person with as good an arm for throwing things as al-Zaidi demonstrated.

[slackmaster]

28. It's amusing to see people who support throwing shoes as an insult talking about arranged marriages

Three steps forward, two steps back.

[monmouth]

30. Why do I think I read this man already had a wife and children? Sorry,

can't remember where I heard it.

[Gwendolyn]

31. That wouldn't be an impediment. Polygamy is legal in that part of the world.

[monmouth]

33. Thanks, didn't know that...n/t

[slackmaster]

34. There you go

Call one part of their culture acceptable, and you're pretty much stuck with the whole package.

[lunatica]

32. He throws shoes at Bush and Arab women throw their bhurkas at him...

That's rock star status with a fundamentalist muslim twist!