Muslims are not pleased with Maryland's largest school district after they voted to remove religious labels from the holidays on next year's calendar as a means of avoiding adding a Muslim holiday.
The district voted 7-1 to remove Christmas, Easter and the Jewish holidays of Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah.
The 7-1 decision by the Montgomery County’s Board of Education on Tuesday came after Muslim leaders in the community asked that equal recognition be given to the Muslim holy day of Eid al-Adha.
School still will be closed for the Christian and Jewish holidays and students will get the same days off. School will remain open for the Muslim holiday. (Guardian)
“By stripping the names Christmas, Easter, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, they have alienated other communities now, and we are no closer to equality,” said Saqib Ali, a former Maryland state delegate and co-chair of the Equality for Eid Coalition. “It’s a pretty drastic step, and they did it without any public notification.”
Zainab Chaudry, also a co-chair of the coalition, expressed dismay, too, contending the school board's members were willing to "go so far as to paint themselves as the 'Grinch who stole Christmas' to avoid granting equal treatment for the Muslim holiday. (Washington Post)
About the Author
