Claim:   A U.S. postage stamp commemorates the Islamic holidays of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.

Status:   True.

Example:   [Collected via e-mail, 2002]

How ironic is this??!! They don't even believe in Christ and they're getting their own Christmas stamp, but don't dream of posting the ten commandments on federal property? USPS New Stamp This one is impossible to believe. Scroll down for the text. If there is only one thing you forward today.....let it be this! Dear Fellow Patriotic Americans, REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of PanAm 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 the World Trade Center on 9/11/01. REMEMBER all the AMERICAN lives that were lost in those vicious MUSLIM attacks. Now the United States Postal Service REMEMBERS and HONORS the EID MUSLIM holiday season with a new commemorative first class holiday postage stamp. I strongly urge you to REMEMBER to adamantly and vocally BOYCOTT this stamp when purchasing your holiday stamps at the post office. To use this stamp would be a slap in the face to all those AMERICANS who died at the hands of those whom this stamp honors. I also strongly urge you to pass this along to every Patriotic AMERICAN you know, whether by email or otherwise.

Origins:   The stamp described above exists, although is is neither new nor a Christmas stamp: It is a seven-year-old USPS Holiday Series stamp commemorating two Islamic holidays that have no connection to Christmas.

The EID postage stamp was introduced by the United States Postal Service (at the then-current 34-cent rate) as part of their Holiday Celebrations Series on 1 September 2001, just ten days before the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. The EID stamp has since been reissued at updated first-class postage rates in 2002, 2006, and most recently in September 2007.

As the USPS describes the EID stamp:

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 word "eid" is roughly equivalent to the English word "celebration" or "festival." The three-day Eid Al-Fitr celebrates the end of the month-long fasting of Ramadan; the three-day Eid Al-Adha commemorates the willingness of the Prophet Abraham to sacrifice his son Ishmael in response to God's command*, and it marks the end of Hajj, the annual Muslim pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca. (In 2007, Eid Al-Fitr begins on October 12, and Eid Al-Adha on December 20.)

The EID stamp is often mischaracterized as a "Christmas stamp," but it has nothing to do with Christmas other than that it is part of a series of U.S. postage stamps commemorating several diverse celebrations (Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Thanksgiving) that generally occur around the November-December timeframe commonly designated as the "holiday season" in the U.S. (The USPS Holiday Series also commemorates celebrations that occur at other times of the year, such as Cinco de Mayo). The statement "[Muslims] don't even believe in Christ and they're getting their own Christmas stamp!" is therefore nonsensical, akin to protesting Hanukkah stamps because "Jews don't even believe in Christ but they have their own Christmas stamp!"

Should Americans make a point of boycotting a stamp that commemorates Islamic holidays? The issue is largely moot since the average postal customer is unlikely to receive any EID stamps without specifically requesting them, but the following facts may prove informative:

• The EID stamp is an ordinary first-class postage stamp; all proceeds from its sale go to the USPS, not to any Muslim-related groups or organizations. Boycotting the EID stamp is a purely symbolic act with no financial impact on anyone.
• The Muslim population in the United States is estimated as being somewhere between two to six million, and according to the U.S. State Department, by the year 2010 the Muslim population of the United States is expected to surpass the Jewish population, making Islam the country's second-largest faith.
• The USPS already issues stamps commemorating the Christian holiday of Christmas (with both religious and festive themes) and the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah as well as Kwanzaa.
• The American greeting card manufacturer Hallmark produces a variety of holiday cards celebrating Eid al-Fitr.
• The President of the United States, George W. Bush, has extended official greetings, issued messages, and participated in commemorations of both Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha (even after the September 11 attacks), and the White House web site promotes the EID stamp as well.

(*This is the reverse of Judeo-Christian tradition, which holds that Abraham was commanded by God to sacrifice not Ishmael but his other son, Isaac.)

Last updated:   28 September 2007

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  Sources:

    The Associated Press.   "Muslim Stamp Reissued at New Rate."

    28 September 2007.