Posted on 08/19/2002 1:56:09 PM PDT by American Preservative
Philatelic News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 12, 2002
Stamp Release #02-052
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.
The Eid stamp and commemorative panel, and all recently issued stamps and philatelic products, as well as the free USA Philatelic catalog, are available by calling toll free 1 800 STAMP 24. The stamps and a selection of current U.S. stamps and gift items, are also available at the Postal Store at www.usps.com/shop. Images of many current, past and future stamp issues can be found in the Stamp Issues section of the Collector's Corner.
Since 1775, the U.S. Postal Service has connected friends, families, neighbors and businesses by mail. It is an independent federal agency that visits 137 million homes and businesses every day and is the only service provider to deliver to every address in the nation. The Postal Service receives no taxpayer dollars for routine operations, but derives its operating revenues solely from the sale of postage, products and services. With annual revenues of more than $65 billion, it is the world's leading provider of postal services, offering some of the most affordable postage rates in the world. The Postal Service delivers more than 46 percent of the world's mail volume-some 207 billion letters, advertisements, periodicals and packages a year-and serves 7 million customers each day at its 40,000 retail locations nationwide.
How exactly does this stamp, which to me is an indecipherable scrawl, highlight the contributions of the six to seven million Muslims in this country?
As far as I can tell, about 4 million are either incarcerated or standing on a city street corner selling incense and sweet potato pies and about 1.5 million are sleepers, funneling money back to al-Queda. Is that what I’m supposed to get out of the scrawl?
Why did it need to be re-issued anyway? You’d think the things would have sold like gang busters after 9-11.
I’ve gotta say, as an “American in general”, I’ve seen prouder moments.
Owl_Eagle
” WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
DIVERSITY IS STRENGTH"
No damn wonder...
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