[This was originally posted over at my LiveJournal, in a friends-only post. The comments there were very lively and helpful, but because the authors of the comments might not have said their remarks in public, I've chosen not to unlock that post, even though I'd like to share this post with the world now, so I am re-posting it here, for public display and consumption.]
Well, I just burnt a work-related bridge. One of my former colleagues has a tendency to forward every stupid thing she reads on the Internets. Much to my dismay, I have now learned that she’s a very, um, enthusiastic believer in Christ. Normally, I have no problem with Christians, as long as they don’t get in my face about it and aren’t intolerant asses to the rest of the world.
Well.
Um.
Yeah, I’ll let it speak for itself. I even re-created, as best I could, the insane formatting of this non-plain-text email when it arrived in my inbox. Complete with graphic attachment. My reply is below the original.
I checked SNOOPES and this is real.
Where will it Stop !!!!
They are blowing up Christians everywhere and we are going to honor their MUSLIM holiday with a postal stamp and our GOVERNMENT expects us to buy and use them on our cards that celebrate the birth of JESUS, whom the MUSLIMS hate and want to rid the world of all who believe in Him. Remember what this stamp looks like and do not BUY them.
CHRISTMAS STAMP
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!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of PanAm Flight 103!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the World Trade Cente r 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 bomb ing 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!
Most recently, remember the NUN that was shot in the back (9/06), by MUSLIM’S because they purposly took what the Pope said out of context so they could kill more innocent people!
Now the United States Postal Service REMEMBERS and HONORS the EID MUSLIM holiday season with a commemorative first class holiday postage stamp.
REMEMBER to adamantly and vocally BOYCOTT this stamp when purchasing your 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.
REMEMBER to pass this along to every patriotic AMERICAN you know!
And, of course,
2) The Government doesn’t expect anyone to use commemorative stamps. What’s more, the December holidays include two important Muslim holidays that Christians tend to forget about. And yet, every year there are always Christmas-themed stamps. Do what us atheists do– buy the flag stamps if government stamps with religious themes bother you.
3) The stamp in question does not fiscally aid anyone but the post office– it is sold at the normal first class postage rate. It does not “push out” any Christmas-themed stamps, which continue to be printed and sold during the holiday season.
4) Despite the results of a blending of religious and political beliefs (which is the main cause of Islamic extremism, by the way– religion is used as an energizer for political action, much the way Christianity is used to mobilize people into voting for the religious right), the Koran carries a message of peaceful co-existence with all “peoples of the Book,” meaning all believers in the single, monotheistic god that is called “God” or “Jesus” by Christians, “Yahweh” by Jews, and “Allah” by Muslims. The extremist movement is a reaction to political forces (such as US intervention in an area that is still hashing out conflicts that date back over 500 years), and is not a religious dictate from the Koran in any sane interpretation, nor in the dominant interpretations by the vast majority of Muslims. In fact, in the Middle Ages, the cost of being a non-Muslim in the Muslim world was to pay a small annual tax. Compared to pogroms, witch hunts, and the Crusades (all of which happened in the same time period), it seems rather tame, doesn’t it?
If you read this forwarded message with a critical eye, you will see how carefully it’s been written to excite a Christian believer’s emotional response, without actually presenting any information that is new or useful or relevant– nobody involved in the terrorist attacks of 9/11 bought these stamps, I am sure. The only fact presented is that the U.S. Post Office has issued a stamp with Arabic letters on it, which goes out between November and December. Yet the message reads like this is the end of the world! Being angry about this is like the KKK being angry about the Rosa Parks stamp. Pointless and a not very thinly disguised message of hate.
If you truly love Jesus, then you will love your neighbor as yourself, even if he’s Muslim or just wants to put an Arabic message of celebration on his letters.
If you want to read the Snopes article, it’s here.
5 Comments
Rock on, you, sez I! Excellent response.
I almost never get chain letters anymore because I always reply with some variation on this:
OK, so I definitely need to log into LJ when I get home.
In the mean time, re-vamped my site and finally cleaned up the links. Hopefully that will nudge me to read this more regularly.
And hi, since it’s been ages
Hello. Interesting reply. It’s good to know there are people out there calling the haters to the carpet instead of letting it slide (as many of us do) under the excuse, “Well, what kind of a difference can I make?”
It’s too bad your ex-colleague doesn’t think enough of her Christian commandments to fact check before bearing false witness against 1/5 of the world’s population.
I’m not sure if it’s a failure on the part of Muslims or a failure on the part of people like this (probably both) that she (and the person who wrote it, and all the people who fwd’d it) doesn’t seem to know that indeed, Muslims do believe in and love Jesus Christ. We believe that he is the Messiah and will have a second coming (peace be upon him and his mother). The difference is that we do not believe he is the son of God or part deity himself or anything like that (and we certainly don’t worship him or the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon them). Also, when did Christians start believing in collective punishment? Why should the regular ol’ American Mozzies like me be held responsible for things other people did? Should we hold all Christians responsible because some gangbanger who wears a cross shot an innocent by stander (or whatever)? These people are like the gangbangers of Muslims…
Also, the holidays are not really in December. It’s just that the lunar calendar moves back about 11 days compared to the Gregorian one. A few years ago, when this stamp was first issued, ‘Eid al Fitr was in December, but ‘Eid al Adha was in February. Now ‘Eid al Fitr will be in October, I believe, while ‘Eid al Adha will be in late December. In a few years, our holidays won’t even coincide with “the holiday season.”
yes, there’s a lot of hate out there – actually, on all sides.
yes, we need more responses like yours to clear the air a bit.
yes, we are all sick of the lies about Islam being promoted in the West.
yes, we are responsible to set those lies straight instead of leaving them to sit there and fester.
I hope more of these types of things get aired for their sheer stupidity out in the open, to discourage the morons in the wings.
Shokran.
Alsalamu alaykum
Peace people
We love you
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