diff --git a/shell/impala_shell.py b/shell/impala_shell.py
index 59f1e80..a8a6fb3 100755
--- a/shell/impala_shell.py
+++ b/shell/impala_shell.py
@@ -187,7 +187,7 @@ class ImpalaShell(cmd.Cmd):
     # If it's EOF, call do_quit()
     if tokens[0] == 'EOF':
       return 'quit'
-    else:
+    elif '=' not in tokens[0]:
       tokens[0] = tokens[0].lower()
     if interactive:
       args = self.__check_for_command_completion(' '.join(tokens).strip())