Ramadan « Simerg – Insights from Around the World

By MALIK MERCHANT

Sections of the following piece have been adapted from Canada Post’s recent News Release and Simerg’s 2023 piece about the Eid stamps

Simerg wishes Muslims worldwide and friends of the Muslim community a very happy Eid Mubarak for 2024. We welcome Canada Post’s special Eid Stamp and First Day Cover publications for the auspicious occasion featuring images of a delicious Middle Eastern cookie — the maamoul.

We sincerely hope and pray that wars will be replaced by peace so that children everywhere, especially in war-affected zones, can experience the sweet delights that Eid offers everyone and begin to live with hope for the future. It is up to humanity to ignite the unfortunate ones with the spark of hope over a life of continuing degradation and despair.

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2024 Commemorative Eid Stamp Issued by Canada Post

Canada Post's Commemorative Eid Stamp for 2024, issued March 27. — *Canada Post’s Commemorative Eid Stamp for 2024, issued March 27. Photograph: Canada Post.* *Please click BUY 2024 EID STAMPS BOOKLET OF 6* *($5.52)*.

On March 27, 2024, Canada Post issued a new stamp to mark two important Islamic holidays: Eid ul-Fitr, which will be celebrated this week from April 10 after the month of Ramadhan after the sighting of the New Moon on April 9, and the upcoming Eid ul-Adha, which will be held from June 17 to mark the Festival of Sacrifice commemorating Ibrahim’s (Abraham) willingness to sacrifice his son to God. The Eid ul-Adha will be held at the end of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.

The 2024 issue is Canada Post’s sixth Eid stamp; the others were issued in 2017, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.

The 2024 stamp was designed by Kristine Do, photographed by Maya Visnyei, and food-styled by David Grenier. Printed by Colour Innovations, the issue includes six Permanent™ domestic rate stamps booklets and an Official First Day Cover cancelled in London, Ontario. The new stamp and collectibles are available at canadapost.ca and postal outlets across Canada.

Celebrated by more than one million Muslims in Canada, both events can last several days and include communal prayers and feasts, visits with family, gift-giving and acts of charity. The 2024 commemorative stamp features maamoul, Middle Eastern cookies, and a traditional carved wooden mould used to make them.

Melt-in-your-mouth cookies stuffed with a delicious walnut, pistachio or date filling, maamoul are a sweet staple during Eid celebrations. They are traditionally handmade from semolina and flavoured with fragrant rose or orange-blossom water and mahlab — a spice made from ground cherry pits. Before baking, the dough balls are stuffed with walnut, pistachio, or date filling and formed with specially carved wooden moulds. Early versions of maamoul can be traced back to ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Today, family and friends often gather before Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha to bake the cookies together.

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Canada Post 2024 Eid Stamp Booklet

2024 Eid Stamps by Canada Post — *2024 Eid booklet of six stamps issued by Canada Post on March 27, 2024. The stamps can be detached from the booklet and used to mail letters. Please click BUY 2024 EID STAMPS BOOKLET* *($5.52)*.

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Canada Post 2024 Eid Stamp First Day Cover

*2024 Eid Stamps First Day Cover issued by Canada Post on March 27, 2024. Please click BUY 2024 EID FIRST DAY COVER ($1.92).*

The Eid stamp is one of several stamps Canada Post issues each year to mark annual celebrations important to Canada’s culturally diverse population – others include Diwali, Hanukkah and Christmas. To buy the stamp online, please click Buy 2024 Eid Stamps Booklet of 6. Most postal outlets do not carry Eid stamps and are not aware of their release. I recommend that you obtain them online, where postage is free if you order 5 booklets or more.

Date posted: April 8, 2024.
Last updated: April 21, 2024 (typos).

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1. MAWLANA HAZAR IMAM HAD ADVOCATED THE PRINCIPLE OF “YES TO ENERGY, NO TO ARMS” SEVERAL YEARS AGO

Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, 49th hereditary Imam of Shia Ismaili Muslims Photo: AKDN/Anya Campbell. Copyright.

“We are a long way from the democratization of nuclear energy. Maybe I’m naïve but I advocate another approach, which I call “positive proliferation.” The positive proliferation that I would dearly love to see happen is based on a simple principle: yes to energy, no to arms….Iran could even contribute to the worldwide removal of nuclear energy for military use. That is what I told the Iranians several years ago: “Your history is that of an intellectual nation several thousand years old which has brought to Islam all the richness of its culture and its philosophical thought. Keep following the path that is truly your own and the world will thank you for it.” — His Highness the Aga Khan. Please read complete interview by clicking on The Power of Wisdom.

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2. TRIUMPH IN DIPLOMACY

I. President Hassan Rouhani

“Today is a new chapter to work towards growth and development of our dear Iran; a day for our youth to dream again for a brighter future. Many people prayed for the negotiating team during the holy month of Ramadan; I’m privileged to announce their prayers have been answered…This agreement goes both ways. The successful implements of IranDeal can dismantle the wall of mistrust brick by brick.” — Tweets by the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran

“I am happy that with the 23-month nuclear talks of Iran with the world six major powers, we have today been able to reach a new point; of course the month of Ramadan has always been source of blessing and destiny making for the 11th Government…The 25th of the month of Ramadhan in the year 1392 [A.H.] was the year of taking presidential oath; the 26th of the month of Ramadhan that year was the swearing-in ceremony and today, it is the day of Iran’s success to bring the six world powers to the Comprehensive Joint Plan of Action.” — Speech Excerpt, President Rouhani, http://www.president.ir/en/

II. The Guardian, UK

“This accord, so long in the making, offers the hope that one of the world’s great civilisations might be drawn back into the international community, with untold benefits not only for Iranians but for its conflict-ravaged neighbours. The opportunity should be seized.” — Editorial excerpt, http://www.theguardian.com, UK Edition

3. THE NEGOTIATIONS

US Secretary of State

“And I finally want to express my deep respect for the serious and constructive approach that Iran’s representatives brought to our deliberations. The president of Iran, President Rouhani, had to make a difficult decision. We all know the tensions that exist. Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, a tough, capable negotiator, and patriot, a man who fought every inch of the way for the things he believed, and sometimes these were heated and passionate exchanges. But he and his team, while tough, always professional, always dedicated to finding solutions to difficult problems. And we were, both of us, able to approach these negotiations with mutual respect, even when there were times of a heated discussion, I think he would agree with me at the end of every meeting we left with a smile and with a conviction that we were going to come back and continue the process. We never lost sight of the goal that an agreement could bring and the best long-term interests of all concerned” — US Secretary of State, John Kerry

4. IRANIANS CELEBRATE HISTORIC DEAL

Horns honked and flags waved here as darkness fell Tuesday and the Ramadan fast was broken as Iranians marked the nuclear deal reached between Iran and the six world powers led by the US. For the first time in years, they relished the prospect of an improved economy and reengagement with the West.

Narjes Sedaghatfar, a math teacher who voted for Rouhani but has kept expectations in check until now said, “The button has been pressed, we are beginning anew. I will be at home, and just be happy and plan for a happy future. When hope rises, that is celebration in itself.” — From reports in the Christian Science Monitor, http://www.csmonitor.com.