[Urbane Guerrilla]

Wait a second, people; remember all those Iraqis using the soles of their shoes to smack images of Saddam with? There's a reason they were using their shoes and a reason they were using the soles.

Arab streets have long been unclean places, and that's been true up until quite recently. While not showing shoe sole is a tradition, it is one with a serious material reason. It can be found in Islamic societies that are not by any stretch Arab; keep your soles to yourself in Turkey, too.