No religious holidays for U.S. Muslim students

[-thetruth_]

2/28/2006 10:40:00 AM GMT



A Baltimore County school board didn’t recognize Islamic religious holidays in its school calendar that includes holidays for non-Muslims.

Bash Pharoan, head of the Baltimore County Muslim Council, has been demanding the school board to recognize two Islamic feasts since 2004.

The school calendar includes a holiday for the Jewish High Holy Days of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. All schools close for Christian holidays Christmas and Easter.

“The main issue is that the ad hoc committee failed again to recognize that the issue is about equality,” he said.

"This is not really about perfect attendance, this is about equal treatment,” he added.

State rules already consider religious observance a “lawful absence”, along with illness or death of a family member.

But the committee wants the county school system to petition the State Board of Education to change its regulations so “religious observance would not mar a student’s official attendance record nor prevent any student from obtaining perfect attendance”.

Committee Chairman Luis E Borunda said: “currently they are penalized de facto by the fact that their record indicates an excused absence.”

A state steering committee on minority achievement made a similar recommendation to the state board in 2004.

William Reinhard, spokesman for the State Department of Education, said that individual school districts set their own policies for recognizing perfect attendance.

Board members will examine the recommendations this week. If there is consensus, the recommendations will be sent up for approval.

The committee’s recommendations include: the recognition of Muslim holidays Eidul Fitr and Eidul Adha on the calendar, avoiding the scheduling of exams on the two Muslim holidays, demanding the superintendent to educate the county’s students on the significance of these holidays, and having the superintendent monitor attendance at schools in areas where Muslims live.

Source: Daily Times

[aswad]

Also Italian school don't do Islamic religious holidays but also don't do holiday for the Jewish High Holy Days of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.

We have only All schools close for Christian holidays Christmas and Easter.

[-thetruth_]

I know. for instance it is not allowed to have a mosque in Creece. it took 10 years for some muslims to built a mosque there and they were not allowed. even the place they pray in was crucified(meaning a cross was put by force in it)
So sad to have double standards.

Today the Jews in palistine burned a church there and the muslims were the first to protest and were attacked by the Zionist police and hurts few Muslims.Chrsitians

So sad

[GingerSnap]

I'm sorry, but I don't see this as unreasonable. Sure, Christmas is a school holiday in the US. The vast majority of Americans who express a religious affiliation say that they are Christian. Historically in this country, schools are closed from about sometime the week before Christmas until just after New Years Day (usually school resumes Jan 2, unless that's a weekend.) That's worked its way into the social calendar so much that its not even religious.

As for Easter, it falls on a Sunday by definition, which is not a day that any school system that I've ever heard of is open. Most public elementary-to-secondary (high school) systems in the US do work their Spring Break into the schedule as either the week before or the week after Easter, but if the schools miss days due to weather (snow, hurricane, flood, whatever), those days are often taken back to make up missed days.

If you grow up in area that doesn't have a significant Jewish population, Jewish holidays aren't worked into the school calendar. Islamic holidays count as excused absences, so what's the big deal?

Am I missing something here? I would get my dander up if public school systems were not excusing absences for religious holidays, but I'm having a hard time getting offended for not keeping thousands of kids out of school for a couple hundred kids (max) religious views.

[GingerSnap]

I just realized that my placing of my post made it sound like I was against mosques, or people puting them where they wanted, or making people put crosses in front of them (which seems just plain strange-- Must be those weirdo Catholic Italians.... or Orthodox Greeks... just kidding!) That was not my intention at all-- as a die-hard typically Americam freedom-of-religion kind of girl, I strongly support anyone's right to worship as they choose!

I was just opposing public schools without a significant Muslim minority being forced to close to close for Muslim holidays.

[voltaires_priest]

I don't see why not; it's inclusive after all - every schoolkid enjoys holidays anyway

Obviously there isn't any point in areas without a significant Muslim population, but where there is, some kind of recognition would do no harm at all.



V

[-thetruth_]

Well no one is asking the schools to close on muslim holidays ( and there are only 2 in a year not a big deal really) but if muslims wish to enjoy their holidays they should not be made to feel like they are strangers. we are talking about US citizans here.
Here in the UK. you can have a holiday even you worship a cat That's a spirit and that is the good tolerance.

Back to the churche being burned in Palistine. Israel have done it before and will do it again .after all their Zionist teaCHINGS DO SAY that a non Jew is like a animal and it is up to the Jew to either be merciful or just kill him. if you don't believe me check out those evil schools where they teach the kids that arabs are evil and must be killed.
I am not talking about decent Jews because judaism has nothing to do with Zionism. I am talking about those evil racists who live in Israel and they happen to be a lot