Canada Post has issued a new stamp for Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, featuring a prayer rug that celebrates the historic connection between Indigenous and Muslim communities and the multi-faith collaboration that led to Canada’s first mosque.
Canada Post says the Canadian Prayer Rug was created in 2016 as a project of The Green Room, a youth-support program run by the Edmonton-based charity IslamicFamily, which provides spiritually and culturally sensitive services to the local community. The rug was designed by local Métis artist Kit Craven and Muslim weaver Noor Iqbal, based on research and interviews carried out by youth with Indigenous Elders and descendants of early Muslim settlers.
The rug’s design depicts Alberta’s diverse landscapes and distinct seasons. At its centre are an archway and a lodgepole pine – a tree that supports teepees and lodges and is reminiscent of the cypress of settler homelands. Weaved with locally sourced wool, dyes and other materials, the prayer rug reflects the rich cultural and geographical history of the region, bringing together elements that honour the community’s heritage.
More than a work of art, Canada Post says the rug symbolizes unity and multiculturalism within Treaty 6 Territory, which includes Edmonton. It celebrates the deep, enduring connection between Indigenous and Muslim communities, which helped to open the country’s first mosque in Edmonton in 1938.
This is Canada Post’s seventh stamp issue commemorating the Islamic holidays of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. Celebrated by Muslim Canadians, both events can last several days and include communal prayers and feasts, visits with family, gift-giving and acts of charity. The Eid stamp is one of several stamps Canada Post issues each year to mark annual celebrations that are important to Canada’s culturally diverse population – others include Diwali, Hanukkah and Christmas.
Released on March 10, the stamp issue was designed by Kristine Do with illustration by Kit Craven and photography by Maya Visnyei. Printed by Colour Innovations, the issue includes booklets of six Permanent domestic rate stamps and an Official First Day Cover cancelled in Edmonton, Alberta.
See additional images in the next issue of Canadian Stamp News — V49N25.