US Mayor explodes Anti-Islam Sentiment over Stamps
American Muslims and non-Muslims are reacting angrily to an anti-Islamic e-mail by Tennessee Mayor Johnny Piper protesting the issuance of stamps commemorating two Muslim feasts.
In an e-mail circulated nationwide, Piper urged whom he called "patriotic Americans" to protest a US Postal Service stamp marking `Eid Al-Fitr and `Eid Al-Adha. "I was surprised at a stamp being developed, and would have thought others would be, too," he said.
Ahmed Joudah, president of the Islamic Center of Clarksville, Tennessee, told the Leaf-Chronicle last week.
"The e-mail represents appalling ignorance of what Islam is, and who Muslims are,"
The stamp features the phrase ‘Eid mubarak or blessed feast in Islamic calligraphy. It was first issued in 2001, and was reissued in 2002, 2006, 2007 and 2008.
Stereotyping the world's 1.5 billion Muslims, Piper said the Americans should not commemorate the holidays of those who attacked them, calling for a national boycott of the stamp which he described as a "slap in the face" to Americans.
Joudah retorted saying that it was unfair to blame all Muslims for the actions of a radical fringe.
Similarly, he said it would be unfair to resent all Clarksville non-Muslims for the acts of vandalism by a few against their local mosque.
Many Americans warned that the mayor's mail risks stereotyping the whole Muslim community.
Bert Randall, a philosophy professor at the Austin Peay State University said he was puzzled by the mayor's e-mail.
"Last year about this time, Mayor Piper and I were the only two members of the Clarksville community, out of dozens who were invited, to share in the celebration ‘Eid Al-Fitr'," a Muslim feast celebrating the end of Ramadan.
Randall called on all politicians and community leaders to avoid actions that could harm society cohesion.
He stressed that all Muslims should not be judged by the acts of a very small group
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