Education

Ok so I received an email a few days ago, not really stopping to give it adequate attention to it I passed in on like some other emails I have in the past. This time I sent it to my younger brother David. I feel as though I need to post his email because he really taught me something.

"All,
I rarely reply to forwards, but sometimes things have to be said. Most of you have no idea who I am but you apparently know either my father or my sister. I have included every e-mail on every distro list I received with this forward. Feel free to forward my thoughts further or reply to me with your feelings. I am an officer in the Army currently stationed in Iraq. Today I am just over 6 months into a 15 month tour, my second tour.
I know full well what extremist Muslims have done to this world and Americans. I have lost close friends to the hands of such people and I have held Soldiers under my command while they passed on. While you all have the right voice your own opinions and practice whatever religion you want, I would like to share my views on this subject with you and maybe cure some of your hatred with education.
First off let's take a little trip back in time to remember why this great country of ours was formed. Pilgrims from Europe wanted freedom from religious persecution. Islam is a religion very closely related to Christianity, Qu'ran and the Bible share many of the same stories. If you look far enough back in recent history, you will also find that America could be held responsible for starting this conflict we are in right now. We all remember Desert Storm, but we probably don't all realize that just a few years prior to the invasion Saddam Hussein was America's biggest ally in the Middle East.
Eid ul Fitr is the holiday that the stamp in question commemorates. For those of you unfamiliar with the Islamic religion, EID celebrates the end of Ramadan. Ramadan is a month long fast in which Muslims do not partake in any "pleasures of the flesh" for a complete moon cycle. They don't eat, drink, smoke, chew tobacco, or anything else that could be considered pleasurable while the sun is up. Can you imagine waking up before the sun rises to eat breakfast then fasting completely for the rest of the day until the sun goes down for an entire month? EID lasts 3-5 days, depending on which country you are in and which Muslim sect. It is a huge celebration where entire tribes and villages come together to for feasts of lamb, chicken, fish and rice and to pray. There is nothing in EID that includes killing Americans, much like the rest of Islam.
I work hand in hand with Muslims and am here to tell you now that they don't like the war, or the insurgency, any more than we do. More Muslim Iraqis have died in last five years than Americans and most have been killed by other Muslims.
This has gotten a little long, but I wanted to provide some real information on Muslims for those who are interested. The point I am trying to make is that the idea of boycotting something simply because it has a religious meaning is going against everything this country is founded upon. Further I hope that with just a little education some of you will realize that all Muslims are not bad people. There are some that need to die, if this stamp had Osama bin Laden on it, then this would be a totally different story, but it doesn't. This stamp represents a holiday, it is the holiday season, so what is wrong with that. Sure, Muslims don't celebrate Christmas, but neither do Jews, or Buddhists, or hundreds of other religions. The issue brought up by this forward is much larger than a stamp." David

Here is the stamp that was created, I did not realize that this is an old email when I forward it since it is for 37 cents and we are using 42 cent stamps now.

I realized when I received David's email response that I was perpetuating hatred. That was not my intention when I forwarded the email. Just like I do not want to be judged by what a few may think or do I to can't judge what a few Muslims may do. As a mother I try to teach my little girl to be nice to everyone, to treat them as you would want to be treated. I have big dreams for my little girl, just as every other mother in this world has dreams for their children. My brother is my hero he may not realize how much strength I have borrowed from him, how he has been an example to me in my life. Thank you I miss you.