Would you send a letter to a soldier using THIS stamp?

US Post Office ^ | 5/17/3 | Varmint Al

[got_moab?]

what are stamps?

[MeekMom]

What kind of evil crappy stamp is that doing in the US Postal Service?
That's sick!
God bless our precious, brave and outstanding men and women of the Armed Services and lest we forget, their wonderful families.

[Aliska]

There are many fine people of the Muslim faith here in America - some of them are my co-workers and wouldn't hurt a fly. This broad-brush condemnation of all Muslims serves no one.

You are right. It is counterproductive to hate them because what some have done.

I don't know if we get Christmas stamps any more or not but I like being able to have them. So I think it's kind of neat that a Muslim in America can buy a stamp commemorating their holiday and sent it to their friends.

Down the road mint sheets of those babies might be worth a lot of money.

And there's always the chance that you might find one with the lettering upsidedown. :-)

[Consort]

...Self Franking, self licking stamp.

[Gamecock]

If I deploy again, I would prefer my mail to have this stamp:

[deport]

This is a reissued of the 34 cent stamp which came out just 10 days prior to 9-11. There were several articles on FR regarding this stamp beginning just after 9-11. This is the original press release from the Postal Service....

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Stamp

EID Greetings

Return to Stamp Index

Press Release

Technical Details BelowFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AUGUST 1, 2001

U.S. POSTAGE STAMP CELEBRATING MUSLIM HOLIDAY TO BE ISSUED BY UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE
Eid Stamp Part of Holiday Celebrations Series

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Postal Service is expanding its Holiday Celebrations Series with a new stamp highlighting the Muslim holiday of Eid.

The 34-cent Eid stamp will be issued on Sept. 1 at the annual Islamic Society of North America's convention at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, 5555 North River Road, Des Plaines, Ill, at 11:45 a.m. The stamp will be available at the convention and at post offices nationwide on Sept. 1.

"This is a proud moment for the Postal Service, the Muslim community, and Americans in general as we issue a postage stamp to honor and commemorate two important Islamic celebrations," said Azeezaly S. Jaffer, Vice President, Public Affairs and Communications for the Postal Service, who will dedicate the stamp. "The Eid stamp will help us highlight the business, educational and social contributions of the estimated six to seven million Muslims in this country whose cultural heritage has become an integral part of the fabric of this great nation."

The Eid stamp commemorates the two most important festivals—or eids—in the Islamic calendar: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. On these days, Muslims wish each other "Eid mubarak," the phrase featured in Islamic calligraphy on the stamp. "Eid mubarak" translates literally as "blessed festival," and can be paraphrased as "May your religious holiday be blessed." This phrase can be applied to both Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.

Joining Jaffer will be Danny Jackson, Postal Service Vice President, Great Lakes Area; Mohamed Zakariya, calligrapher and Eid stamp designer and W. Deen Mohammed, spokesperson for the Muslim American Society.

"W.D.M. Ministry and the Muslim American Society members and our Muslim families celebrate the issue of this Eid stamp by the Postal Service," said W. Deen Mohammed. "It is beautiful. We love it."

The first day of the Muslim lunar month of Shawwal, Eid al-Fitr signifies "The Feast of Breaking the Fast." This festival marks the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting. As prescribed in the Qur'an, the holy book of Islam, fasting during Ramadan begins from just before first light until sunset. Eid al-Fitr is observed by offering special alms with prayers, feasting, exchanging gifts and visiting family and friends.

Signifying "The Feast of the Sacrifice," Eid al-Adha occurs approximately two months and ten days after Eid al-Fitr. Eid al-Adha comes at the end of the hajj—the annual period of pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca—and commemorates Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail. (This is the Muslim account of the Judeo-Christian story of Abraham and Isaac.) Eid al-Adha is celebrated with prayers and social gatherings and traditionally includes the sacrifice of a lamb (or any other animal permitted for food in Islam) as an act of thanksgiving for Allah's mercy. The sacrificial animal is distributed among family, friends and the poor.

In 2002, Eid al-Adha will be celebrated on Feb. 23 and Eid al-Fitr will be celebrated on Dec. 6.

Previous stamps in the Holiday Celebrations series are Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Cinco de Mayo. The Thanksgiving stamp will also be issued in 2001 as part of the series.

The Eid stamp, designed by Zakariya of Arlington, Va., features the Arabic phrase "Eid mubarak" in gold calligraphy on a blue background. English text on the stamps reads "EID GREETINGS."

Employing traditional methods and instruments to create this design, Zakariya chose a script known in Arabic as "thuluth" and in Turkish as "sulus." He describes it as "the choice script for a complex composition due to its open proportions and sense of balance." He used homemade black ink, and his pens were crafted from seasoned reeds from the Near East and Japanese bamboo from Hawaii. The paper was specially prepared with a coating of starch and three coats of alum and egg-white varnish, then burnished with an agate stone and aged for more than a year.

Zakariya's black-and-white design was then colorized by computer. The colors chosen for the stamp—gold script on a blue background—are reminiscent of great works of Islamic calligraphy. This is Zakariya's first project for the Postal Service.

To see the Eid stamp, and other forthcoming stamps and stationery in the 2001 U.S. stamp program, visit the Postal Store at www.usps.com and click on "Stamp Release Schedule." To see previous releases, select "Index of Stamp Issues."

All current stamps and other philatelic products, as well as a free philatelic catalog, are available by calling toll free 1 800 STAMP-24. A selection of current stamps and gift items are also available online at the Postal Store.

# # #

FR Thread

[texasbluebell]

Duke! What a legend!

[CaptIsaacDavis]

This stamp was written up often when it first came out -- it was controversial then. My critique is that the stamp didn't just commemorate one holiday -- but TWO, both Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. AND it chose the EID holidays instead of Ramadan? Why? It is the Eid al-Adha commemoration that is the most troublesome. This is "The Feast of the Sacrifice" that occurs circa 2 months after Eid al-Fitr (at the end of the Hajj). It celebrates the Islamic version of the story of Abraham and Isaac. However, in the radical Islamic world today, it is this very holiday that is celebrated by the "Holy Warriors" as the celebration of Jihad. And it's on a U.S. stamp....

If this one gets you fired up, how about THESE:

* Not 1, but 2! stamps were issued in the 1990s for former communist terrorist and supporter of Bolshevik mass murder, W.E.B. DuBois (Who renounced his U.S. citizenship after moving to Ghana! So he gets to be on a stamp?)
* Mexican Stalinist! Frida Kahlo (who first gets subsidized by a famous Limo Leftist in New York, then a stamp, and then a white-washed propaganda movie, as part of the Left's campaign to give the Mexican immigrant community in the US leftist revolutionary icons).
* And then Cesar Chavez (2003) -- the revolutionary symbol of Castroites and socialists throughout Latin America. The BUSH administration has taken to offering kind words for this subversive from Saul Alinsky's socialist revolutionary operation, and just issued a stamp on the 10yr anniversary of his death. Castro, Hugo Cesar Chavez of Venezuela, Hillary Clinton -- a disciple of Alinsky, and Ted Kennedy, all have something in common -- they love Cesar Chavez (who had a few kind words for Castro along the way, too). So what in the world is the WH doing trying to help the anti-freedom Left in the Americas (or in promoting the "Third Way" Leftist propaganda drive to build up Gramsci and Alinsky as the new role models)? Do they honestly think anyone on the Left or in the Mexican community will change attitudes in response to a cheap press release or decision to issue this stamp? Whoever is running "Hispanic" outreach in the WH is a rank amateur.

PLEASE WRITE TO THE WH TO GET THESE STAMPS PULLED FROM SALE!

[CaptIsaacDavis]

How about:

REMEMBER THE DEFENSELESS CHRISTIAN PILGRIMS SLAUGHTERED BY THE TENS OF THOUSANDS IN THE MIDDLE EAST BEFORE THE CRUSADERS CAME TO PROTECT AND AVENGE THEM!

REMEMBER VIENNA!

REMEMBER MALTA!

[Salvation]

Send your messages to the United States Postal Service here!

[dennisw]

Yep he was big time populizer of surfing and a good will ambassador for Hawaii.

[LibKill]

Back when I was surfing, I found out that Pilot Whales like to surf too! There was many a time when I would be on a wave and all of a sudden this big black critter would pop up and glide along with me. I saw some other surfers get startled and fall right off their boards when this happened.

[Conservative til I die]

Jews kill lambs for Passover.

[Conservative til I die]

Jews kill lambs for Passover.

[Buck W.]

Actually, EID (or , THE EID) is a holiday, not a sect.

[kstewskis]

Ah, thanks. I knew there would be someone who could set it straight ;)

[lilylangtree]

This is godawful! What in tarnation is the USPS up to? Take those decision makers out and hang them out to dry for an idiotic decision like this. Don't tell me. We've got islamics taking control of our post office and our mail. Isn't anything sacred anymore?

[American in Israel]

In the Koran there is no such thing as a Moderate Moslem. Why do we insist on inventing one? According to the Koran, a good Moslem one should beat of the finger tips (torture) a captive, or cut his head off. A non Moslem should pay slave tax to Moslems. That is Moderate Islam, the less moderate ones have added explosives and targeting women and children.

If they are a real Moslem, they are not Moderate. The ones we call Moderate are the ones that are NOT practicing their religion.

Reality time, if this stamp is ok, why is not a rising sun stamp or a swastika stamp during world war II? Perhaps because our forefathers were a heck of a lot smarter than we are. They knew the way to peace was to win the war, not kiss up to your tormentors.

[kstewskis]

Eid is a holiday. Properly celebrated, it involves sacrificing animals. I remember reading that North African Arabs were bitching this year because the price of animal sacrifices skyrocketed this year. The kiddies were disappointed not to see some small beast going under the knife.

Shows you what I know, nothing. Thanks for setting it straight.

Oh, lol about the N.A. Arabs complaining about the cost of animal sacrifices a while back. Too bad. Guess they can take it up with PETA.

[piasa]

What if you're mailing the letter to a MUSLIM soldier?