Well if the Europeans throw eggs...

...then surely it's ok to throw shoes. At least that's according to Muntazer al-Zaidi's (the shoe thrower) lawyer:

"Have you ever heard of anyone being killed by a shoe?" al-Saadi said. "In Europe, they throw eggs and rotten tomatoes to insult. In Iraq, throwing a shoe is a symbol of disrespect."

al-Zaidi's lawyers are trying to have the charge of assault against a foreign head of state, which carries a prison term of up to 15 years, dropped down to insulting a foreign head of state, which carries a sentence of 2 years. Maybe al-Zaidi should've stuck to tomatoes.