Muslims lobby to close schools on sacred days

Baltimore Sun ^ | Mar. 1, 2004 | Sara Neufeld

[DemWatch]

A group of Muslim parents, students and community activists is lobbying for the Baltimore County school board to close schools on their two most important religious holidays of the year.

If schools are closed Christmas and the Jewish High Holy Days, the group argues, it is only fair that they close on Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha as well. But amid cries for fairness and cultural sensitivity, others say closing schools on Muslim holidays would set a precedent the system would have to follow for any number of other religious and ethnic groups...

[Spruce]

Simple solution. Referendum.

[alloysteel]

Keep your kids home that day, and take them to the mosque yourself. Or better yet, take them out of the public schools altogether and operate your own private schooling system.

The Amish do.

[humblegunner]

it is only fair that they close on Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha as well.

No worries, have them strap on a few bombs to celebrate these
traditional days and celebrate in a safe zone.. the local dump perhaps.

My apologies to any dump owners who might be offended.

[Iberian]

Amen.

[sgtbono2002]

Go back to the Middle East and take your chaps with you.

[Phantom Lord]

Actually, public schools are not closed on "christmas". You will be hard pressed to find a school calendar with "christmas" on it.

But Muslims are getting their way more and more in American government schools. Some have even installed "prayer rooms" for Muslims. Just try getting a prayer room for christians in a government school.

[Ronin]

Simple solution, explusion. As from the country. No Muslims, no problem.

[Lion in Winter]

I have NEVER heard of a public school closed for Jewish High Holidays!! Holidays are WINTER and SPRING BREAKS now.

The nerve of these muslim whiners!

[Iberian]

Screw the sand crabs, they are the real threat to our country. THEY shoud be rounded up and sent packing.

[Howlin]

I have NEVER heard of a public school closed for Jewish High Holidays!! Holidays are WINTER and SPRING BREAKS now.

Exactly. They were so successful in diluting anything having to do with OUR religion in schools, they'll be hard pressed to make the case that those are religous holidays now!

[CathyRyan]

I will go you one better.....Just say NO!

[RoseofTexas]

This truly seems far fetch, BUT watch the school board bend under pressure!

[Former Proud Canadian]

I knew this stuff was going to start to happen.

[tiamat]

I actually don't have a problem.

When I was in school, we had all of the Jewish holidays off.

[ChicagoHebrew]

In Philly, where I grew up, schools are closed for Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur. Yes, it's marked on school calenders. The same is true in NY and other cities where a high % of the teachers are Jewish.

[ChicagoHebrew]

In Philly, where I grew up, schools are closed for Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur. Yes, it's marked on school calenders. The same is true in NY and other cities where a high % of the teachers are Jewish.

[tiamat]

Lion in Winter wrote:

I have NEVER heard of a public school closed for Jewish High Holidays!!

---

I dunno where you are, but we ALWAYS got the High Holidays off, and that is what they were called.

[FreedomCalls]

Schools aren't closed on Christmas because it's a religious holiday. They are closed because most of the staff and students would stay home that day if the school was open. So they might as well close. What good would it be if the schools were to be open on Christmas and 90% of the staff and 90% of the students were to stay home? Some schools in rural areas have a day off on the first day of deer hunting season for the same reason -- most of the staff and a large number of students will not be at school anyway. Here in Texas schools are closed when the Rodeo comes to town and on Cinco de Mayo -- again, because of the fact that few staff and students will be there anyway. So if the Muslims want one of their holidays off, then they should have it off when the number of Muslim students in a school district exceed 50%. I have no problem with then taking their holidays off if they live in such a district (Patterson, NJ perhaps?).

[ChicagoHebrew]

There's a difference. Christians are not mandated to pray at any specific time. Muslims are required to pray five times a day-- at specific times. Therefore, granting Muslim students a prayer room facilitates their freedom of religion. It's also probably constitutionally required under the current Church-State test-- for the same reason that schools must permit after-school Bible clubs.