A letter of thanks and
appreciation signed by more than
400 Muslim Americans was
recently sent to the US Postal
Service for the issuance of the
Eid Stamp. This
‘thank-you’
petition was initiated by Mr.
Ghazi Khankan,
Dr. Farooque Khan and
other leaders of the New York
chapter of the American Muslim
Alliance.
“A
true multicultural society
acknowledges the symbols and
values of all its citizens,”
said Dr. Agha Saeed, the
national chair of the American
Muslim Alliance.
“We
really appreciate Postmaster
General William Henderson’s
view that stamps like the Eid
Stamp
‘continue
to bring history to life’.”
Saeed said.
The introduction of the Eid
stamp on November 13, 2000 and
the Malcolm X stamp a few years
earlier shows ever-increasing
aware-ness about Islam and
Muslims in America. These stamps
symbolize and signify the
history of Muslims and Islam in
America.
The US Postal Service Web Site
provides the following
information about the Eid
Stamp:Two individuals, Al-Haaj
Ghazi Y. Khankan, and late Dr.
M. T. Medhi, deserve special
mention here. Al-Hajj Khankan
had worked with the legendary
Dr. M. T. Mehdi for thirty
years. Next to Al-Hajj Malekul
Shabazz, Malcolm X, Dr. Mehdi
was the
fi
nest cultural strategist the
American Muslims have ever
known. His genius lied in his
under-standing of the power of
symbols and cultural practices.
Dr. Mehdi and Al-Hajj Khankan
deserve all the credit for the
display of
‘Crescent
and Star’
in the White House on December
18, 1997.
“It
was the
first
time in the history that the
Muslim symbol was exhibited in
Washington’,
next to the National Christmas
Tree.
Late Dr. Medhi was
fi
rst to ask the US Postal Service
to issue a stamp about Muslims
and Islam in America. Muslims
and Friends of Muslim are
encouraged to write letters of
thanks to the Post-master
General William Henderson.
www.usps.gov
“This
stamp in the Holiday
Celebrations series commemorates
the two most important festivals
or eids in the Islamic calendar.
Eid al-Adha
(celebrated on March 6 in 2001)
marks the end of the hajj, the
annual period designated for
Muslims to make their pilgrimage
to Mecca.
Eid al Fitr
(celebrated on Dec. 16 in 2001)
celebrates the end of the
Ramadan fast. Designed by
calligrapher Mohamed Zakariya,
the Eid stamp features the
Arabic phrase
“Eid
mubarak”
in gold against a blue
background, which is reminiscent
of many great works of Islamic
calligraphy.
Eid mubarak translates as
blessed festival,”
and can be paraphrased,
“May
your religious holiday be
blessed.”