President Obama Honors Muslims with Eid Stamp
Sep 16 2009
Just more of the same, an old story with a new villain…
BotB Verdict
Summary
In a continuation of a pattern of emails designed to denigrate the president and make it appear that he is catering to the Muslim world, a viral email has emerged that leaves out a great deal of information about the history of the USPS stamp honoring the holiday of Eid. Beyond the fact that this email attacks the Commander in Chief, it has nothing to do with the military. But it has become a high volume inquiry in our email center so it is worth providing the information the original authors chose to ignore. Let’s start with the email.
Most Common Version
Subject: UNBELIEVABLE!!!!
USPS New 42-Cent Stamp!!! Celebrates a Muslim holiday.
If there is only ONE thing you forward today… let it be this!
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!Now President Obama has directed the United States Postal Service to REMEMBER and HONOR the EID MUSLIM holiday season with a new commemorative 42 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 whom this stamp honors.
REMEMBER ~ Pass this along to every Patriotic AMERICAN that you know and let’s get the word out!!!
Here is something to chew on…
They (MUSLIMS) don’t even believe in Christ, & they’re getting their own Christmas stamp! BUT, don’t dare to dream of posting the Ten Commandments on federal property! This is truly UNBELIEVABLE!!!
History of the Commemorative Stamp
The stamp in question:
The origin of the email appears to coincide with the September 3rd re-issue of the Eid stamp, which was an update with the 44 cent first class mail designation. Re-issue is definitely the right word, because this stamp has been in existence since it was first released in 2001.
A press release from another re-issue, this one released September 28, 2007, gives the full details of the stamp’s history:
WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Postal Service today reissued the Eid stamp in the Holiday Celebrations series.
First issued in 2001, the stamp commemorates the two most important festivals in the Islamic calendar: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. On these days, Muslims wish each other “eid mubarak,” the phrase featured in calligraphy on the stamp, which translates as “blessed festival” or “may your religious holiday be blessed.”
Eid al-Fitr marks the end of fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan with prayers, feasting, exchanging gifts, and visiting family and friends. Signifying “The Feast of Sacrifice,” Eid al-Adha occurs approximately two months and ten days after Eid al-Fitr. Eid al-Adha comes at the end of the hajjae, the annual period of pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca and commemorates Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail. The stamp was developed with the help of Muslim consultants and experts in Islamic studies.
Employing traditional methods and instruments to create the stamp’s design, Arlington, VA-based calligrapher Mohamed 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.”
Zakariya used homemade black ink, and his pens were crafted from seasoned reeds from the Middle East and from Japanese bamboo from Hawaii. The paper was specially prepared with a coating of starch and three coats of an 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 colored by computer. The colors chosen for the stamp — gold script on a blue background — evoke great works of Islamic calligraphy from the past.
Another Obama Attack Email
While no one should ever forget the heinous crimes against us undertaken by Muslim terrorists, the portrayal of President Obama as the source of the stamp’s production is an outright lie and an obvious attempt to fuel the fire that is slowly burning across the nation. There’s virtually no conceivable scenario in which the author, whoever started this, could have missed the history of the stamp. According to the USPS:
This stamp was first issued in 2001 with a 34–cent denomination, and with the same design, a 37–cent denomination in 2002, 39–cent denomination in 2006, 41–cent denomination in 2007, and 42–cent denomination in 2008.
Update – As JD points out in the comments and Snopes confirms, there was a 2002 version of the viral email that contained much of the same language, just re-arranged and obviously not including President Obama. Hat Tip to JD. And yet there were never viral emails or outrage about those instances. What has changed? What is driving the lies? The answers are obvious, and frightening for the tranquility of our nation.
Other Holiday Stamps
The last line in the email states “They (MUSLIMS) don’t even believe in Christ, & they’re getting their own Christmas stamp! BUT, don’t dare to dream of posting the Ten Commandments on federal property! This is truly UNBELIEVABLE!!!”. Besides being an obvious red herring (comparing stamps to the establishment clause), it makes the entire email look like satire. An Eid stamp is a celebration of Eid, not a Christmas stamp. And the all caps with three exclamation points at the end really drives it home.
But the USPS issues stamps commemorating other holidays as well, including at least 13 Christmas versions and 5 devoted to Sandro Botticelli’s Virgin and Child with the young John the Baptist artwork. Other examples of holiday stamps are shown below:
I’ll personally take this stamp book, which no one could possibly claim is un-American:
Discussion
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You are correct that Obama has no part in this, and that it is ridiculous to assert that he did. Just because a person is President doesn’t make them categorically responsible for every action of US public servants (would that we might remember that in other circumstances…).
In general, you make an admirable effort to “debunk” some relevant internet legends. This time, though, you digressed from your fact-finding and “created” some bilge of your own:
You said:
“And yet there were never viral emails or outrage about those instances. What has changed? What is driving the lies? The answers are obvious, and frightening for the tranquility of our nation.”
If you’d done a little more research, you would have found that this email has been circulating since about 2002, which makes your statement that “there were never viral emails or outrage” factually incorrect. This should have been obvious, since the email you quote says Obama is issuing a 42 cent stamp, when in fact that denomination was issued before Obama was President. Whoever added Obama’s name to the old viral email forgot to update the value of the stamp.
While the 2009 version adds Obama to the same email that’s been around for years, it is no more conspiratorial than it was under Bush, nor does it suddently NOW equate to some “obvious” force “driving” the lies. That the President wasn’t “connected” with an Islamic topic in the early 2000s may be as much a function of him being famous for being a “born again Christian” as anything else.
You added your own emotion to what is purportedly an “objective” evaluation. Such subjective melodrama, particularly when it isn’t based on facts (or worse, incorrect assumptions), is the SOURCE of irresponsible chain emails; it doesn’t stop them.
I hardly think the “tranquility of our nation” is threatened by this email, just as it hasn’t been for the past few years.
JD, when you’re right, you’re right. I didn’t find references to the 2002 version and never remember it being a commonly received email, but it certainly did exist. I looked through our database and found only 3 instances of the 2002 forward since that date. We’ve received dozens of the newest version in the past two weeks alone. I do believe that it is only getting so much traction this time around because of the super charged political atmosphere, but I’ll edit the article to reflect the information you helped point me to.
As always, thank you for setting me straight.
Fair enough. You may have a point that it gained “traction” with the current political atmosphere, and I won’t argue the fact that there are those who would go to great lengths to associate Obama with anything remotely Islamic.
Just pray the USPS doesn’t issue a stamp having to do with Kenya…
[...] View original post here: President Obama Honors Muslims with Eid Stamp – Bilge | Battle of … [...]
[...] See the original post: President Obama Honors Muslims with Eid Stamp – Bilge | Battle of … [...]
Has anyone ever thought about why the post office is in financial
trouble,would it be the Muslins do not supportit or the Americans
do not support such stamps
@h, Americans have supported stamps of various fabrics since the establishment of the USPS: cotton, wool, madras, and yes, even muslin.
Ok, that was pretty funny there stamp collector
Although I think the USPS problems go a lot deeper than a commemorative stamp. Have you changed your address online recently? The process is so riddled with offers for magazine subscriptions and collectibles that it was like logging in to Facebook.
How ironic that the stamp first came out in 2001 the year of the terrorist attack. I feel that since this is a re-release that we should just discontinue the stamp as a way of backing the USA and not promoting ones religion or way of life that is inconsistant with ours. If there are Muslims that are legally in the US and want to promote their own holiday, they can do it within their own. But there is no reason for the US population to be forced, without our voice heard, to promote others of whom we have no faith or trust in.
We do not support this or approve of this stamp or the administration that promotes this.
I can’t see how anyone is forced to purchase any particular commemorative stamps, particularly the Eid stamps.
My coment on the eid stamp is this . Enough of the Muslim butt kissing from Obama. Who’s side is he on anyway?? Did they not kill us and want to kill more of us?? Whats up with him?? Why does he not support our men and women in our military ?? Whats up with that ?? Hope I did not insult anybody but put your shoes on the other foot for a change. Just ticked about all the kid gloves for Muslims by our White House and congress,and Senate seats. Vote them out soon….
Hey lets start a stamp supporting our troops. Maybe also a stamp for the new congress and white house, and senate. Lets call the stamps FREEDOM FROM LARGE GOVENMENT TAKEOVER .
Paul, just wanted to make sure you were aware that the Obama administration did not start this stamp, nor did they ‘direct… the United States Postal Service to REMEMBER and HONOR the EID MUSLIM holiday season with a new commemorative…Stamp..’ as the email claims.
Also, there was a stamp released in May that honored “G.I. Bob”, Bob Hope and his contributions to the military. This goes along with a Purple Heart stamp as well as many flag based stamps.
Thanks for all the information on this stamp. My opinion about why the USPS has a downturn is due to email as a popular choice for sending mail. Also the other mediums such as cell phones and also Face-book plus other such electronic mediums. As far as blame setting, as a christian, I believe in praying for our leaders and not the other way. Lets be quick to look in the mirror before we start down a road of judging and placing blame. Lets lift each other up and make our country strong again. Lets have compassion for the poor, give out a hand to those who are struggling in these hard times of our economy. God Bless America, God Bless our Commander in Chief, God Bless those in harms way.
How about a new stamp that says;-”USA Without Apology”.
When most people stared to read this garbage E-mail being sent out, most people thought so what! A postage stamp for a devout group of US countrymen. Beauty and hate are in the eye of the beholder. How you interpreted the first few lines of this will tell what kind of human being you are. There are devout muslims and those that blow up buildings. There are devout catholics and those who molest children. Do we ban Jesus Christ because of some of his followers commit despicable acts. Time to grow up America. I live here and hate watching the rest of the world laugh at us because of our stupidity
America is far from the only nation to commit despicable acts, but I agree that it is growing up time. I saw this story on Fox News and it was presented as fact without the re-issue information. Shaping peoples minds for greedy purposes is the trust sign of authoritarian methods, something the far right and big money are much better at doing than the left. The left vote for candidates because they want to, the right votes for candidates because they are told to.
First of all this man Obama is not a true American , People of this country voted in someone that hates Americans and shows a hatred for our own troops . So I am not surprised what this president will do to harm this country and I agree with another response is that we seem to be kissing a lot of Muslim ass lately
and enough is enough this is a scary administration more so than Bush any day . Lets pray to GOD he does not get re-elected .
Kevin, people like you are the reason this country is in the mess it’s in now. You are an idiot and a racist.
You conservatards do not think for yourselves. You are so lazy that you allow Rush Limpballs and Faux Noise to tell you what to think and you just regurgitate that propaganda.
President Obama IS an American. He was born in HAWAII in 1961 AFTER Hawaii became a state.
He is NOT a Muslim and even if he was, WHO CARES?????????????
GET OVER IT!
“How about a new stamp that says;-”USA Without Apology”.”
Because this country is NOT perfect.
Not by any stretch of the imagination.
”USA Without Apology”.” — how arrogant!
Ok, let’s quit the name calling please. Issues only or I’ll turn this car right around.
I’m amazed at comments that talk about Muslims forcing their holidays and values on Americans. Get a clue. There have been Muslims in America since this country started. The vast majority of Muslims in America are indigenous, are U.S. citizens, and have been citizens for generations. I agree with Dale when he says, “Time to grow up America. I live here and hate watching the rest of the world laugh at us because of our stupidity.” The ignorance is absolutely unbelievable sometimes.
Perhaps the world is laughing because of our “ignorance” and ” stupidity” actually leads us to believe those “indigenous” Americans from the so-called religion-of-peace are no threat to us. I wonder how we explain the massacre at Fort Hood in those terms or the five Americans captured in Pakistan going over there to kill Americans. Or the recruiter slaughtered an “indigenuoous” US citizen? Perhaps the silent and docile complicity of the US Muslim community in daily acts of barbaric cruelty and justification of violence as a means for conlfict resolution is no reason to be concerned? Maybe the integration of Sharia law here, as is being done in Canada, is nothing to be concerned about? Maybe the fact that every single attack on airlines since the 80′s has been carried out by Muslim men is still reason to frisk my 90 year old mother at an airport? If this truly is the “religion of peace,” I’d love to pick up a newspaper just ONE morning and see ANY evidence to support that belief. I love my country and my culture and I will not tolerate any attack on it by a barbaric violence-prone culture/religion stuck in the fifth century…let them laugh as their throats are being slit like Danny Perls.
America Wake up before it is too late!!!!. Islam is a militant religion. Terrorism is driven not by fanatic muslims but through the scriptures themselves. A true muslim is the one who follows the Quran . The quran labels chistians and jews as the sons and daughters of “PIGS AND MONKEYS” and that the believers (the muslims) should seek them wherever they are and slit their throughts where ever they find them. The moderate muslims are the ones who do not know their book or choose not to live by it. I am a christian from the Middle East and I know what the Quran teaches because I know Arabic. It is spreading like cancer. I was beaten and insulted in my country for not wearing a veil. Obama has muslim affiliations and it is a shame on America to elect him after the 2001 attacks. Wake up America. Read about the Christian massacres during Christmas eve in Naga Hamadi in Egypt.
The following are some of the verses in Quran than promote killing of anybody who is not a muslim: [ENJOY]
The Qur’an:
Qur’an (2:191-193) – “And slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution [of Muslims] is worse than slaughter [of non-believers]…and fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is for Allah.” There is a good case to be made that the textual context of this particular passage is defensive war, even if the historical context was not. However, there are also two worrisome pieces to these verse. The first is that the killing of others is authorized in the event of “persecution” (a qualification that is ambiguous at best). The second is that fighting may persist until “religion is for Allah.” The example set by Muhammad is not reassuring.
Qur’an (2:244) – “Then fight in the cause of Allah, and know that Allah Heareth and knoweth all things.”
Qur’an (2:216) – “Fighting is prescribed for you, and ye dislike it. But it is possible that ye dislike a thing which is good for you, and that ye love a thing which is bad for you. But Allah knoweth, and ye know not.” Not only does this verse establish that violence can be virtuous, but it also contradicts the myth that fighting is intended only in self-defense, since the audience was obviously not under attack at the time. From the Hadith, we know that Muhammad was actually trying to motivate his people into raiding caravans with this verse.
Qur’an (3:56) – “As to those who reject faith, I will punish them with terrible agony in this world and in the Hereafter, nor will they have anyone to help.”
Qur’an (3:151) – “Soon shall We cast terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers, for that they joined companions with Allah, for which He had sent no authority”. This speaks directly of polytheists, yet it also includes Christians, since they believe in the Trinity (ie. what Muhammad incorrectly believed to be ‘joining companions to Allah’).
Qur’an (4:74) – “Let those fight in the way of Allah who sell the life of this world for the other. Whoso fighteth in the way of Allah, be he slain or be he victorious, on him We shall bestow a vast reward.” The martyrs of Islam are unlike the early Christians, led meekly to the slaughter. These Muslims are killed in battle, as they attempt to inflict death and destruction for the cause of Allah. Here is the theological basis for today’s suicide bombers.
Qur’an (4:76) – “Those who believe fight in the cause of Allah…”
Qur’an (4:89) – “They but wish that ye should reject Faith, as they do, and thus be on the same footing (as they): But take not friends from their ranks until they flee in the way of Allah (From what is forbidden). But if they turn renegades, seize them and slay them wherever ye find them; and (in any case) take no friends or helpers from their ranks.”
Qur’an (4:95) – “Not equal are those believers who sit (at home) and receive no hurt, and those who strive and fight in the cause of Allah with their goods and their persons. Allah hath granted a grade higher to those who strive and fight with their goods and persons than to those who sit (at home). Unto all (in Faith) Hath Allah promised good: But those who strive and fight Hath He distinguished above those who sit (at home) by a special reward,-” This passage not only criticizes “peaceful” Muslims who do not join in the violence, but it also demolishes the modern myth that “Jihad” doesn’t mean holy war in the Qur’an, but rather a spiritual struggle. Not only is the Arabic word used in this passage, but it is clearly not referring to anything spiritual, since the physically disabled are given exemption. (The Hadith reveals the context of the passage to be in response to a blind man’s protest that he is unable to engage in Jihad).
Qur’an (4:104) – “And be not weak hearted in pursuit of the enemy; if you suffer pain, then surely they (too) suffer pain as you suffer pain…” Pursuing an injured and retreating enemy is not an act of self-defense.
Qur’an (5:33) – “The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His messenger and strive to make mischief in the land is only this, that they should be murdered or crucified or their hands and their feet should be cut off on opposite sides or they should be imprisoned; this shall be as a disgrace for them in this world, and in the hereafter they shall have a grievous chastisement”
Qur’an (8:12) – “I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them” No reasonable person would interpret this to mean a spiritual struggle.
Qur’an (8:15) – “O ye who believe! When ye meet those who disbelieve in battle, turn not your backs to them. (16)Whoso on that day turneth his back to them, unless maneuvering for battle or intent to join a company, he truly hath incurred wrath from Allah, and his habitation will be hell, a hapless journey’s end.”
Qur’an (8:39) – “And fight with them until there is no more persecution and religion should be only for Allah” From the historical context we know that the “persecution” spoken of here was simply the refusal by the Meccans to allow Muhammad to enter their city and perform the Haj. Other Muslims were able to travel there, just not as an armed group, since Muhammad declared war on Mecca prior to his eviction. The Meccans were also acting in defense of their religion, since it was Muhammad’s intention to destroy their idols and establish Islam by force (which he later did). Hence the critical part of this verse is to fight until “religion is only for Allah.”
Qur’an (8:57) – “If thou comest on them in the war, deal with them so as to strike fear in those who are behind them, that haply they may remember.”
Qur’an (8:59-60) – “And let not those who disbelieve suppose that they can outstrip (Allah’s Purpose). Lo! they cannot escape. Make ready for them all thou canst of (armed) force and of horses tethered, that thereby ye may dismay the enemy of Allah and your enemy.”
Qur’an (9:5) – “So when the sacred months have passed away, then slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them captives and besiege them and lie in wait for them in every ambush, then if they repent and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate, leave their way free to them.” According to this verse, the best way of staying safe from Muslim violence is to convert to Islam. Prayer (salat) and the poor tax (zakat) are among the religions Five Pillars.
Qur’an (9:14) – “Fight them, Allah will punish them by your hands and bring them to disgrace…”
Oh Jane, did you do all that research yourself? I doubt it. Go to the Old Testament & quote all the vindictive violence that is written there.
You can treat Muslims any way you want but has anyone out there ever read the Koran?
This book that Muslims are reported to follow
states that anyone that does not believe in
what they believe are considered Heathens. The actual verbage is “Blue-eyed devils” and that we need to be killed.
Please read this book then decide how you fit
into their overall equation. And this is who we are being sympathetic to? Please wise up.
old don,
Just for your information, the violence you spoke of in the old testament was from GOD not from man. Read your Bible sir. Jane was
correct. Choke it down. It’s a fact
[...] 4) Obama orders new stamps commemorating Muslim holidays. [...]
Typical Right Wing BS! Why is it they never met a LIE they didn’t like? Doesn’t the truth count for anything in Rightwingville? Reminds me of another infamous always lying right wing politician: ADOLPH HITLER!
So many people are being mislead by Obama and other evil things of this world. People wake up GOD is coming back for his children you MUST be ready and the time is VERY close. GOD is speaking to us all thru the signs of the times and scripture to back it up . It is up to you & me to do our part as witnesses for our LORD and try to tell people to get your life ready for his return.
Thank you for addressing this email! I constantly go back and forth with my GOP friends (yes, they are my very good friends!) who send me this stuff all of the time. So much in fact that I had to start my own website to post my debunks! http://www.nowwaitaminute.com
Another point I’d like to address about the email is the whole overtone of Muslims being our worst enemy. My point is that if you start down the path of avoiding religious groups whose people have harmed Americans, then by fairness, you should avoid EVERY religious group whose people have harmed Americans. Germans were Protestant and Catholic (Hitler was a baptized Roman Catholic) and then there are the Buddhists, Taoists, Shiites, Sunni’s, Confucianists, and I won’t even go into the Civil War. And you can logically include agnostics and Atheists as well I guess! Well, you get the point that you paint yourself into a corner pretty quickly.
BTW, our wars against Muslims account for 4 tenths of 1% of all American casualties from all of our wars. (1.6 million total dead, about 5,500 from Iraq and Afghanistan).
[...] A massive chain email campaign is underway with the subject line “President Obama Honors Muslims with Eid Stamp” [...]
the muslim swine need to go back to their middle eastern pits and await allah or the bomb there going to get when americas head isnt a damn muslim sympathiser. obama,every chance he gets spits on his countrymen,benedict arnold has nothing on this guy!
I noticed that someone posted that Islam is a militant religion. How about Christianity? It’s not militant. Read history. Any religion that puts itself above another or says that all must convert is militant.
Christians are the worst. Over and over again I hear Christians say they want Obama dead or that person dead or “they’ll get theirs”. That’s not militant? Get over yourselves!
Some people here on this site making comments about our President are so very wrong in what they post it is pathetic. I feel sorry for those who think Obama hates this, Obama hates that, Obama is a muslim, etc.
President Obama is a good decent man, a family man, one who loves his country. President Obama has integrity. This is what makes a great president, besides being very intelligent. President Obama is a Christian! President Obama is NOT a muslim!
Most Obama haters get their feedback from Fox News. Now that is affirmative. This is what Fox News projects to its viewers. Fox/ cable news show continually lie all the time. Do you think for one minute they are telling the truth? They simply want people to believe this hatred about Obama. This is what they do. This is a game with them. They are in the tank for Obama ever since he won the election. Their only objective is to help get their GOP party elected and back into office once again.
Why do you think that Bachmann, Palin, Pawlenty, Gingrich, Huckabee, etc., constantly spew their hate on Obama. Exactly. The GOP politicians simply know that President Obama is a great politician so the next bext thing is to diss him and diss him and diss him and tell lies.
Please people, you have been told lies by Fox News.
your sort of right warren payne, but not really in numbers 31 1-54 Moses told his army to slaughter everyone but they didn’t. They wanted to keep the women for themselves. Moses told them no you kill them but keep the virgins for yourselves. They kept like 32,000 virgins for themselves. There are many, many examples just like this one, let me know if you would like more.
As far as Obama goes, he has done things that I don’t approve of and he has done things that I do but that can be said for any President. He really isn’t doing a bad job. He has proven that he is a citizen time and time again and hasn’t really done anything that would make anyone think that he is against America. I”m not really sure where all this is coming from.