Boycott Muslim 'Christmas' Stamp
Netlore Archive: Email urges boycott of 'Muslim Christmas stamp' (in reality a U.S. postage stamp commemorating the Islamic holidays Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha)
Description: Email flier
Circulating since: Late 2002
Status: Factually accurate
Variant #1:
Email example contributed by J.Kravec, 9 December 2002:
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Subject: AMERICANS, REMEMBER !!! 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 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. |
Variant #2:
Email example contributed by AOL user, 6 January 2003:
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Subject: Muslim stamps Dear Fellow Patriotic Americans REMEMBER the MUSLIM ASSASSIN SIRHAN SIRHAN in 1968 who still lives after depriving us of BOBBIE KENNEDY 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. REMEMBER TOO THAT THIS IS A VERY MUCH ABREVIATED LIST The United States Postal Service REMEMBERS and HONORS the EID MUSLIM holiday season with a commemorative first class holiday postage stamp. http://www.husseini-islamic.org/news/othnews/eid_stamp.htm 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 whose religion this stamp honors. I also strongly urge you to pass this along to every Patriotic AMERICAN you know, whether by email or otherwise. |
Comments: The U.S. Postal Service issued its Eid stamp commemorating the Muslim holidays Eid al-Fitr (marking the end of Ramadan) and Eid al-Adha (marking the end of the pilgrimage to Mecca) on September 1, 2001 as part of its multicultural Holiday Celebrations series. It was evidently the reissuing of this popular postage stamp one year later in October 2002 -- barely a month after the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 9/11 -- that prompted this angry email protest.
Contrary to the way it is often described, the Eid stamp is neither new nor intended as a "Christmas stamp" for Muslims, who do not celebrate the birth of Christ.
Poll: Is the Muslim postage stamp a 'slap in the face' to terrorism victims?
• Yes
• No
• Not sure
The assertion that the use of this stamp is a "slap in the face" to victims of terrorism is arguable, to say the least. It was originally issued before September 11, 2001, not after it. And while specific allegations are factually accurate -- all the terrorist acts enumerated in the email have been attributed to Muslim extremists by authorities -- it's rather a large leap from there to blaming all Muslims and the Islamic faith in general for those atrocities.
There are pundits, granted, who claim that violence and terrorism are endemic to Islam (notably conservative Christians such as Jerry Falwell and Paul M. Weyrich), but theirs is a minority view staunchly rejected by experts in comparative religion, not to mention the U.S. government and President George W. Bush himself. "The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam," Bush has stated publicly. "That's not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace." Rank-and-file Muslims agree.
President Bush issues yearly proclamations commemorating the Muslim holidays Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. We have yet to hear anyone question his patriotism or condemn his statements on Islam as "a slap in the face" to victims of terrorism.
Postage Stamp Celebrating Muslim Holiday to Be Issued
USPS press release, 1 Aug 2001Muslim Stamp to Be Reissued
USPS press release, 12 Aug 2002A Stamp Stuck in Controversy
Philadelphia Inquirer, 25 Nov 2002President Commemorates Eid al-Fitr
White House document, 5 Dec 2002
Last updated: 09/08/06
