At the post office yesterday I saw that holiday stamps are already on sale. And, would you know it, there are holiday stamps out there for everybody! If you’re a secularist (or think they're cute and like how they look), you can buy an “ornament stamp.” If you’re one of those Christian religious people out there you can buy the traditional Madonna and Child stamp. And then, of course, there’s the Hanukah stamp and the African Kwanzaa stamp. There was also an “Eid” stamp on display.
Call me ignorant but I’d never heard of Eid before. After doing some brief research online I discovered that it’s a spiritual Muslim holiday. It makes sense that we would bend over backwards to validate Islamic holidays since we’re fighting them in the Middle East and don’t want the Muslims here at home to “feel bad” and take it personal. Isn’t it just so much fun to live in such a bighearted and tolerant society?
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5 comments:
OMG.. I don't think that you are ignorant to not have heard of this holiday.. As a matter of fact, I have to say that I've never heard of it either. I WILL call you ignorant for:
1. thinking that muslims = terrorists.
My goodness, it's a religion that wants peace. A jihad certainly would not allow any terrorism or murder. Just as you have Christian extremists, you also have Muslim extremists. You should not generalize to the point that any Muslim = a terrorist just because a few extremists could be classified that way.
2. Assuming that just cause there's a stamp for holidays you don't celebrate that we are trying to be politically correct.
I will also call you an idiot for even thinking that we should not be a tolerant or bighearted society.
I see nothing wrong with it. If you have a problem, just don't buy the f-cking stamps.
I have fond memories of Eid al-Fitr and am looking forward to it in exactly one more week! In India we used to get two days' holiday from the office, even in the very Hindu south. Here in the UK, my Muslim friends will be breaking their month-long fasts and celebrating with three days of FOOD! (Hence, my excitement.) I found out through trial and error several years ago that it's pronounced as "eed" (rhymes with "need").
Your observation is interesting though. London is filled with Muslims -- half my classmates are Muslims and I live in a Muslim neighbourhood -- yet you see/hear nothing about Eid. And like the US, the UK is also in war against Muslims (the terrorist ones, not the peaceloving ones, of course). In contrast, the only sizable Muslim community in California would probably be the Iranian expats, and at least those I know are nominal Muslims at most and never fast at Ramadan. Apparently, however, there is enough of a market to buy Eid stamps! (In California, I wouldn't be surprised if the main purchasers are white, agnostic liberals feeling guilty about the war. :)
Your comments did seem a bit harsh - especially if you stop to consider that many of the people who celebrate Eid are from nations with whom we have peaceful relations, such as my Pakistani friends. Also, this is not the first year that the post office has printed stamps for Eid; they have been doing it for at least three or four years, maybe longer.
CLARIFICATION FROM THE AUTHOR:
1) I definitely do NOT believe that Muslim = Terrorist. After re-reading what I wrote in my post, I don’t believe that anything I said logically indicates that I do. My only point was that it’s “interesting” our society bends over backwards to recognize the various holidays (not that that’s even necessarily a bad thing!) and my speculation about Eid is that it’s another indication we are trying to be tolerant. (Because, after all, tolerance is the greatest virtue in today’s society.) I think it’s important that we do not repeat the tragedy that happened to Japanese-Americans during WWII. But I also think we go overboard sometimes in “being nice” to Muslims (e.g., most public schools teach Islam to children nowadays, our post office carries their stamps, and our airport searches can never be targeted toward Muslims despite a compelling interest to protect our national security).
2) To the first “anonymous” poster, I would like to ask that you please be “tolerant” and “bighearted” toward ME. That’s the problem I have with the tolerance rhetoric – people expect me to tolerate what they believe but then refuse to tolerate what I believe. If “tolerance” is a two-way street then I’m happy to drive on it.
-AMY
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