new 44 Cent Forever Stamp, MUSLIMS, OBAMA, AND CHRISTMAS 14JAN11

NOT a full week after the Tucson, AZ shootings I received a e mail (forwarded from  friends), venomous in it's text against Pres Obama and Muslims, all over the EID stamps sold by the USPS and a purportedly new stamp that isn't even an USPS stamp at all. It saddens me that my friends, who are good people, who love God and country (he is a vet), who I have always considered my second parents, can be manipulated and enraged by an e mail that is full of deception, lies and propaganda. The purpose of this e mail is to incite fear, and the anger, rage, hate and prejudice that goes with it. So here is my answer to them, and I hope they pass it on to all they sent the original e mail to as well as to whoever sent it to them. And I wish them peace. 
Hi there,
Here is the real story on these stamps, first offered for sale in 2001 when Pres Bush was in office, here is what he had on the White House website, the link to check it out yourself is
http://web.archive.org/web/20071215160912/http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/ramadan/eidstamp.html
Also included the Snopes article on this e mail making the rounds. Finally, the stamp with butterflies and hearts and Arabic script isn't even an USPS stamp, it is a custom stamp sold by a company called Zazzle, note the line through the 44 showing it can not be used for postage. Just thought you should know.
Love & Peace,
Craig
Just an update, here is the response I got from my friends that sent me this e mail (the reference to the stripper is about the After 50 Stripper video I sent them, also posted on this blog).
Thank you ole pal, I knew you if anybody could find out  about the stamp. There is so much junk going on you don,t know what is true and what is bull. Have a great day and thanks for the stripper. it was great. Parksie 

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About the Stamp The Eid stamp, designed by 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 Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting, prayer and reflection. Ramadan remembers the month in A.D. 610 when Muslims believe that the prophet Muhammad received the revelations from God that would form Islam's holy book, the Quran.

Stamping Grounds Claim:   President Obama has directed the issuance of a U.S. postage stamp commemorating Islamic holidays. MIXTURE OF TRUE AND FALSE INFORMATION: TRUE: A U.S. postage stamp commemorates the Islamic holidays of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.   FALSE: President Obama directed the issuance of the above-referenced stamp. Examples:   [Collected via e-mail, August 2009] Can anyone be supprised that A Muslim Communist OBAM would direct the Post Office to do this??? Remember Obama has referred to MY Muslim Religion several times, maybe a Freudian slip, huh??? USPS New 42-Cent Stamp!!! Celebrates 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 !!!   [Collected via e-mail, December 2002] How ironic is this??!! They don't even believe in Christ and they're getting their own Christmas stamp, but don't dream of posting the ten commandments on federal property? USPS New Stamp This one is impossible to believe. Scroll down for the text. If there is only one thing you forward today.....let it be this!   Dear Fellow Patriotic Americans, REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of PanAm 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 the World Trade Center on 9/11/01. REMEMBER all the AMERICAN lives that were lost in those vicious MUSLIM attacks. Now the United States Postal Service REMEMBERS and HONORS the EID MUSLIM holiday season with a new commemorative first class holiday postage stamp. I strongly urge you to REMEMBER to adamantly and vocally BOYCOTT this stamp when purchasing your holiday stamps at the post office. 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. I also strongly urge you to pass this along to every Patriotic AMERICAN you know, whether by email or otherwise.   Variations:   The following image has been circulated as a picture of the USPS Eid stamp (or as an "Arabic Valentine's Day stamp"), but it does not depict the Eid stamp, nor is it a USPS issue; it is a custom stamp ordered through the Zazzle web site: Origins:   The stamp described in the Examples section above exists, although it is not new, it is not a "Christmas stamp," and it has nothing to do with Barack Obama: The EID stamp is a nine-year-old USPS Holiday Series stamp commemorating two Islamic holidays that have no connection to Christmas. The EID postage stamp was introduced by the United States Postal Service (at the then-current 34-cent rate) as part of its Holiday Celebrations Series on 1 September 2001, just ten days before the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. The EID stamp has since been reissued at updated first-class postage rates in 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, and most recently in September 2009. 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 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 2010, Eid Al-Fitr begins at sundown on September 8, and Eid Al-Adha commences at sundown on November 15.) The EID commemorative 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, some of which generally occur around the November-December "holiday season" timeframe (Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Thanksgiving), some of which occur at other times of year (Cinco de Mayo), and some of which move around from year to year on the Gregorian calendar (Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha). The statement "[Muslims] don't even believe in Christ and they're getting their own Christmas stamp!" is therefore nonsensical, akin to protesting Hanukkah stamps because "Jews don't even believe in Christ but they have their own Christmas stamp!" (Athough Muslims do not believe that Jesus was the son of God, Islam does regard him as a prophet, a mortal who was divinely chosen to spread God's message.) An August 2009 version of the "Muslim stamp" e-mail added the claim that "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." This statement is manifestly false: As noted above, the EID stamp was introduced in 2001, eight years before Barack Obama became President of the United States. The issue of "boycotting" a stamp that commemorates Islamic holidays is largely moot, since EID stamps are generally a specialty item sold only to postal customers who specifically request them. Moreover, the EID stamp is an ordinary first-class postage stamp; all proceeds from its sale go to the USPS, not to any Muslim-related groups or organizations. The EID stamp is also not the first or only governmental or commercial recognition of these Islamic holidays in the U.S. The American greeting card manufacturer Hallmark produces a variety of holiday cards celebrating Eid al-Fitr, and the President of the United States, George W. Bush, extended official greetings, issued messages, participated in commemorations of both Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha (even after the September 11 attacks), and promoted the EID stamp via the White House web site. (*This is the reverse of Judeo-Christian tradition, which holds that Abraham was commanded by God to sacrifice not Ishmael but his other son, Isaac.) Last updated:   11 July 2010 The URL for this page is http://www.snopes.com/politics/stamps/eidstamp.asp Urban Legends Reference Pages © 1995-2011 by Barbara and David P. Mikkelson. snopes and the snopes.com logo are registered service marks of snopes.com. Sources:     The Associated Press.   "Muslim Stamp Reissued at New Rate."     28 September 2007.