Nassau School Decides Not To Add Muslim Holidays To Calendar

The Hewlett-Woodmere School District is under fire from Muslim advocacy groups for deciding not to add two Islamic holidays to the school calendar after including them in an early draft. Advocacy groups also condemned the anti-Islamic harassment that some residents faced for trying to have the holidays added.

The Board of Education of Hewlett-Woodmere voted unanimously last week to not add the Muslim holidays of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha to the calendar, even though administrators had requested that schools be closed on the two days, Newsday reported.

Eid ul-Fitr is a celebration that comes at the end of the holy month of Ramadan, and is celebrated by feasting with family and presents for children. Eid ul-Adha, marks the end of the Hajj, or the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca.

The board voted on Jan. 17 to not add the holidays to the calendar, following four hours of public comment at the meeting. “The common reason for discomfort in adding the Eid holidays was a lack of confidence in having a strong enough secular purpose for adding the holiday,” said Board President Scott McInnes in the Nassau Herald.

The district backed its decision in a statement to Newsday, saying that the board had “exercised its discretion and determined that insufficient secular purpose would be achieved by closure on these days.”

Many residents were angry, though, when a text message was sent out across the district on Jan. 16, urging residents to come to the meeting to stop the Islamic holidays from being added to the calendar. The message said that adding the holidays would bring more religious Muslims to the area which would drive down property values, "because no decent person would want to buy a house next to that."

“It’s disgraceful that these anti-Muslim advocates celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day by organizing in support of housing segregation,” said Albert Fox Cahn, legal director of the New York chapter of the Council of American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR-NY. “Our school calendars should reflect the diversity and inclusionary spirit of our state. We applaud those board members who condemned anti-Muslim harassment, but the Hewlett-Woodmere Board of Education must take this opportunity to stand with Muslim parents and students by recognizing the Eid holidays.”

The Board of Education also denounced the text that was sent around, and also quickly shut down anti-Islamic comments that were made at the meeting.

Photo: Patch