The Iraqi journalist who hurled a shoe at President Bush has been named as the world’s third most powerful Arab, in the Arabian Business Power 100 list.

The list’s guide to the world’s most influential Arabs places Muntadar Al Zaidi as the highest new entry in this year’s list.

Al Zaidi is currently serving a three year jail term in Iraq following the shoe throwing incident last December.

The president himself was unhurt in the incident during which Al Zaidi called him a dog. He said he was acting for "widows and orphans and all those killed in Iraq".

After his arrest, thousands of people took to the streets of Iraq calling him a hero while some 200 lawyers offered their services to the journalist.

Within days, a computer game based on the incident was released on the internet while in Tikrit a copper statue of the shoe was built complete with a poem of honour.

Al Zaidi has the dubious honour of becoming the first ever Power 100 member to receive his accolade from behind bars.

Al Zaidi has “inspired, influenced and angered millions around the world”, the Power 100 list says.

Comments (4)

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Lebanon listing
Posted by alain morin, jounieh, lebanon on 22 November 2009 at 13:31 UAE time

it is ridiculous to put such names, is marcel khalifa more powerful than feyrouz, is it Ziad better tha rahbani sons, Marwan, and his sons
other people are not even known by the Lebanese, wher is the media like marcel ghanim, or others

Please!!
Posted by Abdullah, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on 6 October 2009 at 03:17 UAE time

I'm Saudi, and I don't think Fayez Al Maliki should make any list here. No disrespect, but he's no where near any influencial status, he's not the best saudi actor, he's not very popular. he's the subject of jokes. it's just that MBC and Rotana keeps enforcing him and other nobodys in our Ramadan after breakfast time! he's not the director, he's not the guy behind this (Prince Al-Waleed)...I'm not sure i'd be interested in reading your lists again if the #10 is a nobody!

Need to Know the List
Posted by umar farooq, Lahore, Pakistan on 24 July 2009 at 09:41 UAE time

Must be quite inetersting to know the Power 100

Very interesting
Posted by Sami, Beirut, Lebanon on 22 May 2009 at 19:08 UAE time

I can't deny that I'm a bit surprised with the list... Also surprised that many names are very new to me... But that's a good thing, for then I can search and find out who they are (tried it on some, and it's amazing what people have been achieving)...

But 2 quick remarks:
- Couldn't but be proud to be Lebanese, seeing that 17 names out of the hundred came out of our small country, which is war torn and has one of the lowest populations... I'm just wondering if all our Middle East finds peace, how much can we all achieve!
- One has to still admit that the ratio of men to women is quite high... Although some women made the list, but it's clear that we still live in a society that doesn't give women all the potential to realise themselves...

Great work and I have some more searching to do :)

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