Add Eid To School Holiday Calendar, Residents Urge East Brunswick BOE

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ – Members of the Muslim community in East Brunswick have urged the school board to include Eid in the school holiday calendar.

During Thursday’s Board of Education meeting, members asked the district to consider their request as many Muslim children have to miss school to celebrate the festival.

Erum Shakir, Chair of the East Brunswick Human Relations Council, said she made a similar request to the board almost 10 years ago. "Since then, almost 30 school districts have incorporated the Eid holiday into their school calendars,” Shakir said.

“East Brunswick has been my home for 24 years. As a Muslim growing up in East Brunswick, I often had to miss classes, tests, instructional time and had the added stress of making up school work which is often viewed as punishment for celebrating and partaking in religious observations. We are all members of the same community that deserve their children to celebrate the holiday without hesitancy or second thought.”

There are two major Islamic holidays celebrated around the globe. The first is Eid al-Fitr which marks the end of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting, and the second is Eid al-Adah, according to History.com.

Muslim students who spoke during the meeting told BOE members they often have to miss classes if they want to celebrate with family.

“We want a day off for Eid because we feel excluded as all the other major religions get a day off their holidays. We always have to worry about missing homework and in 9th grade it gets really hard to make up if you miss a day,” a 9th grader from Churchill Junior High School told the board.

Eid currently counts as excused absence for students who take the day off to celebrate with family.

Mariam Ahmed, a Junior at East Brunswick high School said the school district has a significant number of Muslim students who would benefit from getting a day off on Eid. “When it comes to inclusivity, East Brunswick has done a really good job, in my opinion. Including Eid in our calendar shows more of that inclusivity and diversity,” Ahmed said.

Many school districts in New Jersey, including Edison and South Brunswick, have included Eid in their school calendars.

It’s not clear if the district will incorporate Eid in their school calendar.

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