Postage Stamp Celebrating Muslim Holiday To Be Re-Issued
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Postal Service is pleased to announce that the Eid postage stamp will be re-issued on Oct. 10, 2002, at the current First-Class rate of 37 cents. A 34-cent Eid stamp was first issued on Sept. 1, 2001, at the annual Islamic Society of North America's convention in Des Plaines, Ill. The new version will be available beginning Oct. 10 at Washington, D.C. post offices and at post offices across the country starting the following day.
"This is a proud moment for the Postal Service, the Muslim community, and Americans in general as we re-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. "The Eid stamp helps 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 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.
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.
This year, Eid al-Adha was celebrated on Feb. 23 and Eid al-Fitr will be celebrated on Dec. 6.
The Eid stamp will join the Hanukkah and Kwanzaa stamps which will also be re-issued on Oct. 10. In addition to the stamps, a special commemorative panel will be available for $8.50 each.
The Eid stamp, designed by Mohammed 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 stamp was Zakariya's first project for the Postal Service.