In response to the picture going around: We've had Muslim stamps since 2001. President Obama had nothing to do with it, unless by the same logic, President Bush issued it the first time. (He didn't) It's pretty. Buy it if you want, don't buy it if you don't want to. I only buy stamps 2 or three times a year and only in great numbers for Christmas cards, so naturally, I'll probably be getting that Madonna and Child number I usually favor for those. Nothing to get excited about. (I never get around to sending my Jewish friends Hannukah cards...)
It's pretty.... Here's the facebook picture:
And the text: Don't buy this stamp! It is pretty, but keep reading!
Seriously? Some Muslims are Americans. Get over it.
Will be available November 1, 2013President Obama has directed the United States Postal Service to remember and honorthe EID Muslim holiday season with a new commemorative 46 Cent First Class Holiday Postage Stamp.The new stamp is the second MUSLIM stamp, and celebrates a Muslim holiday!If there is only ONE thing you Forward today, let it be this! REMEMBER to adamantly BOYCOTT this stampwhen you purchase stamps anywhere. All you have to say is,"No thank you, I do not want a Muslim stamp on my letters!"Buy our US flag stamp instead, please!Pass this along to every Patriotic American you know & get the word out! Honor the United States of America
Actually that isn't a Muslim stamp in honor of anything. That is one of the flower designs chosen for the new stamps when they went up one cent. I know because I had to buy them since where I was at didn't sell forever stamps (US Flag). And there is no Eid celebration in November. The Eid the US often commerates is Eid al-Fitr which is at the end of Ramadan. Ramadan is a lunar month on the lunar-only Islamic calendar that in 2013 began in mid-July. Muslims all over the world fast from sunrise to sunset all month long. Eid al-Fitr is a celebration/festival/holiday in which that fast is ended/broken. That fell on August 9 in the year 2013 which the US government acknowledged as it does lots of secular and religious holidays (so as not to seem to play favorites and violate the 1st Amendment to that Constitution they swear to uphold and follow when taking the job). It wouldn't make any sense for them to have a stamp out in November for a holiday that fell in August. That'd be like issuing Easter stamps in July. Islamic holidays move each year because of the lunar calendar that is the Islamic calendar. The Hebrew calendar is lunar-solar as is the Hindu, Chinese, etc so that is why there are only slight changes in the dates of the holidays on our solar Gregorian/Western calendar. The Islamic calendar is just lunar so while several years ago Ramadan fell at the same time of year as Christmas, it has drifted to earlier times on our calendar and will continue to do so. Thus next year Eid al-Fitr will be in July so that is when the commerative stamp will be out. It is also worth pointing out that the US makes stamps for lots of holidays, but you always have to ask for those specifically. Same goes for an Eid stamp. Unless you specifically request it, the postal worker is just going to give you either one of the generic flower forty-six cent stampS or one of the generic US flag forever stamps (which differ in sayings below the flag: liberty, justice, or equality while the flowers vary in colors).
ReplyDeleteHere is a link from the USPS about the stamps prior to them being released that you can share with all those claiming this is an Eid stamp (because it's always nice to back things up with actual facts when talking to people who make false claims based upon their own biases)
ReplyDeleteAbout the Flower Kaleidoscope stamps
http://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2013/pr13_002.htm
About the 2013 Eid stamp
http://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2013/pb22367/html/info_009.htm