Valley Muslims seek equality in school holidays (Lehigh Valley, PA)

Allentown Morning Call ^ | 1/21/07 | Daniel Sheehan

[randita]

From The Morning Call January 21, 2007

Valley Muslims seek equality in school holidays

As diversity increases, educators aim to balance fairness with a strict schedule.

By Daniel Patrick Sheehan Of The Morning Call

Kulsum Soonasra is one of perhaps 50 Muslims at Parkland High School but 1.5 billion in the world. And, while her argument for public school recognition of Islam's holiest day isn't a statistical one, those numbers mean something.

''We're a huge religion,'' the 17-year-old junior from Upper Macungie said, offering an earnest distillation of her message: that Eid al-Fitr, the prayerful family celebration that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, is as important to Muslims as Christmas is to Christians. And if schools are closed for Christmas, they ought to be closed for Eid.

It's an argument being posed around the country as the Muslim population grows, and it's become a challenge to school districts as they try to balance cherished principles of inclusiveness and diversity against the strict demands of the school calendar. The law requires a fixed number of class days a year, so any time off must made up somewhere along the line.

''It's a big hot button issue, for sure,'' said Elinor Pierce, a senior researcher with Harvard University's Pluralism Project, which studies religious diversity in America. ''This is something people are negotiating all over the country.''

And it isn't just Muslims. Jews, Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Baha'i — all are represented in the nation's schools, along with other faiths ''from Afro-Caribbean to Zoroastrian'' seeking various levels of recognition, Pierce said.

Typically, districts consider the religious makeup of the student body in determining which holidays will affect attendance enough to justify closings.

[randita]

Coming to a school district near you.

[kittymyrib]

Yes, Eid is the great Muslim family festival where an animal's throat is slit. Maybe they can talk our multi-culties into making a TV special featuring that blood-fest, but they'll have to kill PETA first. This could get interesting...

[DeusExMachina05]

When can they beat themselves with sticks and knives and watch the blood come down their faces? Thats diversity for you...every culture is equal...what a bunch of BS.

[Beckwith]

Is 9/11 a holiday on the muslim calendar?

[corkoman]

First question I would lob thier way is "does the muslim country you come from honor Christmas as a school holiday? And why not?

But our spineless multi-culti mumbo jumbo school administrators can't seem to cough that one up.

[Leftism is Mentally Deranged]

Yeah when Christians and Jews have full rights in sharia-controlled countries!

[dmw]

"First question I would lob thier way is "does the muslim country you come from honor Christmas as a school holiday? And why not?"

Excellent point! The PC cops are gonna give in to this ridiculous non-sense and it won't be long before every school in America goes along with it. When is this ever going to end?!

[poobear]

Can we call it "Winter Holidays" and "Spring Break" instead of Christmas and Easter too?

[sure_fine]

grab them by the short hairs and drag their assesout of that school

[Dudoight]

Maybe there will eventually be enough 'holidays' to the extent we can cancel out school altogether. For crying out loud.

[WorkerbeeCitizen]

Step by step, little by little they probe and push.

[Bulldawg Fan]

She is making a big mistake. Equal representation with Christian holidays means no recognition. I dont think she wants to be shut out like Christians are now. But not to worry, she wont be.....

[Ole Okie]

Maybe there will eventually be enough 'holidays' to the extent we can cancel out school altogether

Naw, there's a simple solution. Cancel all holidays, so everybody's diversely equal. Then put the teachers to teaching the three R's instead of "Heather has Two Mommies".

[grjr21]

What the heck . Why not ? Don't we already celebrate Cinco de Mayo. </SARC>

[boomop1]

Deport them all, if they open a Muslim school it will be hate Jews and Americans 101.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

Here's an odd thing that's never reported in these stories. Muslim holidays are done by the Hegra calendar which has a shorter month than ours. It's based on lunar cycles which gives them a 28 day month. Every year the holiday happens is more or less two weeks earlier each year by our calendar.

The start of Eid is set by the start of Ramadan which can only be ballparked for planning purposes each succeeding year. It's decided by two righteous men reporting sighting the moon in the holy city of Mecca. One year it started ten days later than the projected date due to cloud cover over the country. The most we ever heard of was two weeks later.

If one would say it sounds like a nightmare for Western businesses and governments they they'd be correct. But they have tons of money so those dealing with them make allowances and have to be pretty flexible.

With these facts in mind, those asking for this holiday in the US aren't asking for some accommodation, they asking the schools to bend over backwards to add what is in reality a floating holiday. This doesn't even bring up what happens when the holiday hits during our summer.

[CPOSharky]

...holy month of Ramadan, is as important to Muslims as Christmas is to Christians

How about caving to this when Saudi Arabia schools recognize and celebrate Christmas.

[n230099]

This is a logical extension and tenet of "multi-culturalism". National unity on cultural issues goes away.

[ByteMercenary]

"''We're a huge religion,'' the 17-year-old junior from Upper Macungie said ..."

Wrong! Islam is a cult. Treat it as such. Deport all muslims. Start with the CAIR folks ...

[proudofthesouth]

Better yet, get them by their short hairs and deport their worthless butts.