Canada Post Eid stamp features prayer rug designed by Indigenous and Muslim artists

By David Hartwig

A stamp issued March 10 by Canada Post commemorates Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, the two most important festivals in the Islamic calendar.

The design of the nondenominated permanent-rate (currently $1.24) stamp features a prayer rug designed by Metis artist Kit Craven and Muslim weaver Noor Iqbal.

“Prayer rugs hold deep relevance for Muslims,” Canada Post says. “Traditionally made of wool, cotton, or intricately woven silk, prayer rugs often reflect regional diversity while helping focus and beautify the act of prayer.”

According to Canada Post, the rug depicted on the stamp celebrates “the connection between Indigenous and Muslim peoples.” Craven and Iqbal relied on research and interviews from Indigenous elders and descendants of early Muslim settlers in creating the design.

An online article in Canada Post magazine explains some of the elements in the prayer rug shown on the stamp. The crescent moons in the top corners of the design are inspired by Al Rashid Mosque in Edmonton, Alberta, built in 1938 and the first mosque built in Canada.

A lodgepole pine, Alberta’s official tree, appears in the center of the design within the span of a blue archway, a common element in Islamic design and inspired by the architecture of Al Rashid Mosque. Alberta’s changing seasons inspired the horizontal bands of color around the archway.

The blue triangles under the lodgepole pine represent the Rocky Mountains and the North Saskatchewan River. The stalks of wheat in the bottom of the design stand for abundance, food and prairies, according to the magazine article.

The rug depicted was created in 2016 as a project of a youth program run by the Edmonton-based charity IslamicFamily, whose mission “is to uplift our community through culturally sensitive and compassionate care, ensuring every individual has access to safe spaces, support, and opportunities for holistic growth,” according to the charity’s website.

Omar Yaqub, executive director of IslamicFamily, told Canada Post magazine: “I hope the stamp makes people think about the history of the Muslim community in Canada, the place of art and dialogue in reconciliation, and what their own version of a prayer rug might look like.”

This is the seventh Eid stamp from Canada Post.

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