Stamp of approval
for Muslim holidays

Thoughtful Americans have sought to assure the Islamic world that they respect Muslims and their faith despite the terrible loss of life caused by Muslim terrorists on Sept. 11. A bit of evidence comes from a press release found under paper piled on my desk over the last three weeks.

The U.S. Postal Service has issued a 34-cent stamp to commemorate two Muslim holidays. Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the month of fasting called Ramadan, will be celebrated on Dec. 6, 2002, and Eid al-Adha, a festival in which gifts are exchanged while feasting with family and friends, will be marked the following Feb. 23. The stamp, designed by Mohamed Zakariya, of Arlington, Va., carries an engraving in Arabic with the greeting "Eid mubarak," meaning "blessed festival."

The stamps with the Islamic motif were not connected with the terrorist assault. They were issued, 75 million of them, on Sept. 1, ten days before the horror of Black Tuesday.

Richard Halloran

---