Palestinian shoemaker Imad Mohammad makes handcrafted footwear with a difference: they are stamped with the names of the U.S. and French presidents in Arabic calligraphy to show his disapproval of them.
"Shoes touch the ground, dust and dirt. So if we write someone's name on them and that also gets dirty, then it shows... how you value that person," Mohammad said.
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Handcrafted footwear with the names of the US and French presidents in Arabic calligraphy to show disapproval of them
(Photo: AFP)
He said he chose to stamp the name of U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron on the shoes he crafts because they "assaulted our people".
Initially the mustachioed shoemaker, who has a shop in Ramallah in the West Bank, launched a line dedicated to Trump. That was after Trump moved the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in May 2018, putting the Americans at odds with the international community.
Trump's move, a year after he recognized the disputed city of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, infuriated the Palestinians who hope to have their own state and Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem as its capital.
The shoes bearing the U.S. president's name cost 200 shekels (about $50) and are made of "genuine leather inside and outside, and are more genuine than him", said Mohammad.
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Shoemaker Imad Mohamad who made handcrafted footwear with the names of the US and French presidents in Arabic calligraphy to show disapproval of them
(Photo: AFP)
This week the shoemaker embarked on a new project fueled by Muslim anger over Macron's defense of the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed on free speech grounds.
"Why, Macron, did you attack a prophet who died 1,500 years ago?" said Mohammad, who accused the French leader of seeking to "insult Muslims. And I, as a Muslim, reject this contempt and reject this offence," he added, demanding an apology from Macron.
"The apology is for my people because the insult was against my people... and my Islamic nation," he said.
Any U.S. and French clients who enter the Ramallah shop are greeted with signs demanding they too apologize for the words and deeds of their presidents.
The French are told they can only enter if they apologize for Macron's statements.
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Stepping on the photograph of French President Emmanuel Macron in protest of his condemnation of Islamic extremism
(Photo: AFP)
American customers are asked to seek forgiveness for Trump's recognition of Jerusalem and the embassy move.
But Mohammad said he is willing to remove that last poster should Trump challenger Joe Biden win Tuesday's U.S. presidential election and "rescind" Trump's policies.
"I will not remove the demand for an apology from the Americans unless America's decision (to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital) is cancelled. "If Biden rescinds the decision, I will remove the sign and I will be happy," he said.