Plan B: Greet 1,800,000,000 neighbors

Answer to the PizzaQ ...

Although lots of Ramadan artists put one or more stars inside the crescent moon, this is forbidden -- not by Islam, but by Astronomy. A crescent moon is just a moon -- a very solid and opaque object -- but with a zone darkened by the Earth's shadow. So you can't see through it, you can't see any stars behind it.

~ ~ ~

Post to the Artistamp Yahoo List (AML)

========

Hi Hi Thanks Thanks Jenny!

I will accept your praise for the SENTIMENT behind the stamp, but not for the stamp itself -- let's face it, I'm a crappy draftsman/draughtsman and a pathetic artist.

I can't even make a decent crescent moon. SO ... check out the files, I have switched to a New, Improved V.2 Ramadan Kareem stamp.

You would think that with an estimated 1,800,000,000 Muslims on this-here planet, I would know more than two of them. (I'm not counting my 8,771 Muslim pals on Internet Relay Chat.)

One pal suggested it's common to skew the crescent moon toward the North-Northeast, so I did. But a Google Image search of professional Ramadan cards doesn't always follow this convention.

These are my neighbors, and this is their most sacred holy month -- and most years I am lucky if I even know Ramadan is here. Last year I was zipping around Quebec and the Maritimes -- not a lot of big Ramadan billboards -- and was 10 days late in wishing my neighbors Ramadan Kareem.

I am dismayed at how rare it is for non-Muslims to wave this greeting to their Muslim neighbors. You probably wouldn't be at all surprised if a Muslim down the street wished you Merry Christmas.

Once I said Ramadan Kareem to the supermarket checkout guy (his ID badge said Mahmoud, I took a wild guess), and the guy almost had a stroke. 800 customers a day, and 1 Ramadan greeting. After we got him some smelling salts, he was Very Happy.

But I think this is the free, simple glue the world quite desperately needs to hold itself together and to keep from flying further apart.

We've tried running this planet as hostile, fearful, suspicious strangers. How's that plan working out?

Kareem means Generous -- built into Ramadan is the obligation to be generous to the needy. The other common greeting is Ramadan Mubarak -- a Blessed Ramadan.

BBC News has a pretty funny "Idiot's Guide to Ramadan" site, very informative for the clueless.

Most years on my blog I just shoplift somebody else's Ramadan Kareem image. This was my first original image. Please feel free to filch it and pass it around generously.

Bob / jameskpolka / Elmer Elevator