Topic: Eid al-Fitr

The Mayor’s anti-Islamic email is a major embarrassment

September 4, 2009 |

The stamp in question

Clarksville Tennessee’s Mayor, Johnny Piper has sent an inflammatory anti-Islamic email to employees of the city, encouraging them to boycott a stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service.

According to the U.S. Postal Service, the stamp in question commemorates the two most important festivals—or eids—in the Islamic calendar: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. On these days, Muslims wish each other “Eid mubarak,” the phrase featured in Islamic calligraphy on the stamp. “Eid mubarak” translates literally as “blessed festival,” and can be paraphrased as “May your religious holiday be blessed.” This phrase can be applied to both Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.

The email in question is the equivalent of a chain letter, which according to the Snopes Urban Legends web site was first seen in 2002. The letter was modified in August 2009 to falsely accuse President Barack Obama of ordering the U.S. Postal Service to issue a 42 cent first class stamp in honor of these Islamic holidays. In fact the stamp was first issued on September 1st 2001, and has been re-release several times since then. Mayor Piper’s email painted everyone of the Islamic faith with the same brush as those who carried out the various terrorist bombings over the years.

Several questions arise regarding the Mayor’s actions in sending this email that must be answered…. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Politics | 16 Comments

Labor Day reinstated as paid holiday at Tyson’s Shelbyville, TN, plant

August 8, 2008 |

Tyson Foods requested change from Union

Springdale, Arkansas – August 8, 2008 – Tyson Foods, Inc. announced today it has reached a new agreement with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), an American union, reinstating Labor Day as one of the designated paid holidays under the contract for covered employees in the Shelbyville, Tennessee, plant.

Tyson made this request on behalf of its Shelbyville plant employees, some of whom had expressed concern about the new contract provisions relative to paid holidays. In an effort to be responsive, Tyson asked the union to reopen the contract to address the holiday issue, and the union agreed to do so. The union membership voted overwhelmingly Thursday to reinstate Labor Day as one of the plant’s paid holidays, while keeping Eid al-Fitr as an additional paid holiday for this year only. This means that in 2008 only, Shelbyville employees will have nine paid holidays. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Business, News | No Comments

Shelbyville’s Tyson Food plant shifts holidays; trades Labor Day for Ramadan

August 3, 2008 |

SHELBYVILLE, TN: Tyson Foods in Shelbyville is rocking the boat for approximately 500 workers accustomed to the traditional Labor Day holiday on the first Saturday of September.

In its new five-year contract, Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union has opted to ditch the familiar paid holiday in favor of a change that will please the plants 700 Muslim workers: Eid-al-Fitr, which occurs at the end of Ramadan. The contract contains the same number of paid holidays as before; the holidays have simply changed. Eid al-Fitr, which this year happens on Oct. 1, ends the Muslim faith’s month of fasting. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Business, News, Spirituality | 4 Comments

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