Hi Guys!
Rabbi Arthur Waskow heads up the Shalom Center and always remembers Eid.... his 2008 email below was especially neat, I thought, so I'm passing it along too as a different take!
(The hearts & flowers stamp isn't U.S. Mule, but, as the stamp states, a custom one from Zazzle
http://www.zazzle.com/stamps Can't read the signature to see who made it.
.....The 2001 official U.S. Eid stamp --
http://www.usps.com/communications/news/press/2006/holiday/eid_hr.jpg -- has been reissued regularly over the past 9 years. The P.O. says: "The Postal Service recognized other special holidays when it issued its first Hanukkah stamp in 1996, followed in 1997 by its first Kwanzaa stamp, and in 2001 by the Eid stamp"
http://www.usps.com/postalhistory/_pdf/ChristmasStamps.pdf#search='Eid%20stamp'
.....About the official stamp's translation, the P.O. says: "...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.'
http://www.usps.com/news/2001/philatelic/sr01_054.htm
.....Snopes says the first versions of this email started in 2002, and FactCheck lists additional official sites to check out --
http://www.snopes.com/politics/stamps/eidstamp.asp
http://www.factcheck.org/2009/09/muslim-stamp/ )
Your ornery [friend] thinks the P.O. one is a neat stamp! ....& hopes it helps us get to know one another better....
Thanks and lotsa luv!!
Here's Rabbi Wascow (hope he's not too wild!! ....I colored a couple sentences red in case you're skimming):
[here used **
asterisks & italics**]
Date: Sun, 7 Dec 2008 19:29:54 -0500 (EST)
From: Rabbi Arthur Waskow
Subject: Eid Mubarak & its Blessed Teaching: Don't Kill Your Children, Feed the Poor!
To:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=7Of1Mcx5J6xuOFOs3KyMqe4SwjE0VSW%2B
A Prophetic Voice in Jewish, Multireligious, and American Life
Eid Mubarak! -- Don't Kill Your Children,
Feed the Poor!
"This (Sunday) afternoon, I spoke and led prayers at a Philadelphia Presbyterian Church along with an imam, a Mennonite minister, and a spiritual leader of the Cherokee Nation.
"I spoke about the Season of Peace that -
"began last Sunday with the Christian Advent,
"continues tonight with blessings of abundance, peace, and joy to those in the world of Islam who tonight begin celebrating Eid Al-Adha, the Festival of the Sacrifice,
"and continues past Hanukkah and Christmas to January 19 and 20,
"when we remember Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (whose yohrzeit is on January 14) and Dr. Martin Luther King (whose birthday will be officially celebrated on January 19),
"and encourage a grass-roots American movement for peace, justice, and healing of the earth as it goes forward with the tasks of transforming America and the world during a new government, beginning January 20.
"Eid al-Idha celebrates Abraham's and Ishmael's willingness to obey God's voice, even when it called for Ishmael's death, and at the same time it celebrates God's change of heart, calling instead for Ibrahim to offer up a ram instead of Ismail.
"In memory of that substitution, today those in the Muslim community who can afford to buy a lamb or calf arrange to share its meat with those who cannot afford it
"Thus the message of Eid El-Idha has two levels: Tuning in to God's will to go beyond possessiveness, and then to celebrating the ultimate wisdom God commands: 'Do not kill your children; feed the poor!'
".... To carry forward the interfaith theme, let me invite you to click to the lead story on our web page at 'The Meaning of Mumbai.' http://www.theshalomcenter.org/index.php?q=node/1466
**"It not only reviews the widespread Muslim condemnations of those Muslims who claim to be killing in God's Name;** it not only includes the 'Mourners Kaddish in Time of War & Violence' -----
"It also includes a memo on what President-elect Obama could/should be doing to prevent further murders in the name of God and various religions.
**"Plus there's a memo to those who organized the 'World Interfaith Dialogue' in Madrid last summer, called together by the World Muslim League and the King of Saudi Arabia in his role as Guardian of the Two Sacred Places, about what they could do to prevent further 'religious' violence.**
"In honor of these varied religious festivals devoted to Peace and Light that come to us at this season, there are music, art, and books of teaching --- gifts to give a deeper meaning to Eid, Hanukkah, and Christmas.
"They transcend any one tradition and are available to you for purchase from The Shalom Center .... But most important of all, YOU can create real multireligious connections in your own neighborhood --like the one I spoke at today - and you can give them an organizing focus to move forward as communities working for peace, justice, and healing of the earth.
"Shalom, salaam, peace --
"Arthur"
****************
----- Forwarded Message -----
From:
To:
Sent: Thu, 8 Jul 2010 16:21:30 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Fw: Fwd: Don't buy it Don't use it
From:
Sent: Thursday, July 08, 2010 3:25 PM
To:
Subject: Fwd: Don't buy it Don't use it
Subject: FW: Don't buy it Don't use it
Apparently the Post Office thinks that putting hearts and butterflies on the new stamp will make most people not realize that the rest is Arabic and probably not something we want to support.
New Stamp - the second one!!!
USPS New 44-Cent Stamp Celebrates a
Muslim holiday. If there is only ONE thing you forward today, let it be this!
President Obama has directed the United
States Postal Service to REMEMBER and HONOR the EID MUSLIM holiday season with a new commemorative 44-Cent First Class Holiday Postage Stamp.
REMEMBER to adamantly & vocally BOYCOTT this stamp, when you are purchasing
your stamps at the post office.
All you have to say is "No thank you, I do not want that Muslim Stamp on my letters!"
To use this stamp would be a slap in the face to all those AMERICANS who died at the hands of those MUSLIMS whom
this stamp honors.
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of Pan
Am Flight 103!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the World Trade Center in1993!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the Marine Barracks in Lebanon!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the Military Barracks in Saudi Arabia !
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the American Embassies in Africa !
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the USS COLE!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM attack on 9/11/2001!
REMEMBER all the AMERICAN lives that were lost in those vicious MUSLIM attacks and the MUSLIM
terrorists who are anxiously awaiting opportunities to kill Americans!
Pass this along to every Patriotic American that
you know and get the word out! Honor the United States of America!
Attachment converted: [sorry I don't know how to copy this! see at http://www.snopes.com/politics/stamps/eidstamp.asp ]
Received: from
by
Wed, 7 Jul 2010 21:09:34 +0000
Received: from [ (envelope-from )
(; Wed, 07 Jul 2010 21:09:34 +0000
From:
To:
Subject: FW: Don't buy it Don't use it
Date: Wed, 7 Jul 2010 17:09:31 -0400
From:
Sent: Wednesday, July 07, 2010 9:16 AM
To: Undisclosed-Recipient:;
Subject: Fw: Don't buy it Don't use it
Apparently the Post Office thinks that putting hearts and butterflies on the new stamp will make most people not realize that the rest is Arabic and probably not something we want to support.
New Stamp - the second one!!!
USPS New 44-Cent Stamp Celebrates a Muslim holiday. If there is only ONE thing you forward today, let it be this!
President Obama has directed the United States Postal Service to REMEMBER and HONOR the EID MUSLIM holiday season with a new commemorative 44-Cent First Class Holiday Postage Stamp.
REMEMBER to adamantly & vocally BOYCOTT this stamp, when you are purchasing your stamps at the post office.
All you have to say is "No thank you, I do not want that Muslim Stamp on my letters!"
To use this stamp would be a slap in the face to all those AMERICANS who died at the hands of those MUSLIMS whom this stamp honors.
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of Pan Am Flight 103!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the Marine Barracks in Lebanon !
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the Military Barracks in Saudi Arabia !
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the American Embassies in Africa !
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the USS COLE!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM attack on 9/11/2001!
REMEMBER all the AMERICAN lives that were lost in those vicious MUSLIM attacks and the MUSLIM terrorists who are anxiously awaiting opportunities to kill Americans!
Pass this along to every Patriotic American that you know and get the word out! Honor the United States of America!
Attachment converted: Macintosh HD:Untitled 125 (JPEG/«IC») (003A6379)Labels: Eid, Islam, Obama, stamp
