I just got a huge forward that was too good to not reply to.
It was about a Stamp the was supposedly a Christmas Muslim stamp. It was all about how much we should hate Muslims and how they should basically get the hell away from our Christmas.
So, I spammed the group right back. I’m sure death threats are on the way. But this is what I wrote:
Please see here for the facts about this stamp:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/eidstamp.asp
Here are some pull-outs on the facts of that stamp:
Origins: The stamp described above exists, although it 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 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.
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 EID stamp 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.)
*****************************
I know that the only thing Christians don’t like more than Muslims is Atheists. As an atheist I stereotypically like statistics. It’s an actual fact you would rather see pretty much any other faith in the Presidential office other than the likes of me.
But as an atheist I’m allowed to see this debate and hatred between Muslims and Christians quite non-partially. I think, as you can imagine, you are both silly. 🙂
So, I have some use for you.
This hatred you have for Muslims is synthetic. It’s been trumped up. You have been trained to hate Muslims by our government leaders. It’s all very intentional to get you to support the causes and our interests in the Middle East. That’s not to say it isn’t important. I do actually feel we should be in the Middle East real heavy. It’s a matter of our very American existence that we have a strong arm in that area of the world. However, that fact doesn’t preclude me from seeing the propaganda being shoved down our throats to make us support the cause.
I quite assure you that within a year’s time you could be trained to feel a completely equal hatred for the Chinese. That, actually, will probably happen in your life time. But right now, you don’t think much of them, do you? If you are old enough, do you remember how much you used to hate the Russians?
But enough of that. Here’s the reason I’m writing.
I implore you. I beg you. Please don’t let the hatred inflicted on you by our government to taint the beautiful faith you know and love that comes from Jesus. Jesus was, and is, great because of his Love. That was what made him different and is what still makes him different. The Love of Jesus is greater than any power in the world.
I’ll leave you with my absolute favorite part of the Bible. (I wasn’t always a heathen atheist, you know 🙂
1 Corinthians 13
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Sage
Powered by ScribeFire.