Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland Closed for Major Muslim Holiday

Like school closings on major Christian holidays -- Christmas, Easter and on major Jewish holidays -- Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, yesterday all of the public schools in Montgomery County, the county I grew up in and a county known to be one of the most diverse in the country closed yesterday for a major Muslim holiday -- Eid al Adha. This happened for the first time in the county's history. The decision by the school system in November 2015 to close Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) for students for Eid ul Fitr and Eid al Adha, the two major Islamic holidays, one of which culminates a month long fast every year and the other at the end of the Hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca came as a result of a two year initiative called Equality for Eid. This initiative involved the hardwork and commitment of many concerned parents, students, faculty, staff, clergy, Muslim organizations such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations or CAIR, community members both Muslim and non-Muslim, and others. Advocates of Equality for Eid spoke out against the unfairness of the county's public schools being closed on major Christian and Jewish holidays but not being closed on the two major Muslim holidays. Advocates articulated how this inequality had negative consequences on Muslim students, teachers, and others of the Islamic faith who attend and work in the county's public schools.

I share this news concerning the closing of MCPS for a major Muslim holiday because it is a huge success and because I remember being involved in the Equality for Eid initiative 3 years ago. In fact, I was interviewed by two newspaper journalists on the day of a press conference and rally at the Montgomery County Council Building in September 2013. I left work to attend and returned to work afterwards to finish up my duties for the day. Another reason I share this with you is because the decision to close MCPS on Eid days is evident of the fact that standing up and speaking up for equality, for justice, for one's and other's rights is necessary for change, for things getting better, and for the dignity of all. Thus we should never give up on the power of our voices and our commitment to doing good will.

Yours truly,

Najwa Kareem

To learn more about Equality for Eid and the closing of MCPS for Eid, please view the following.

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/calendar/index.aspx?calendarViewType=...

http://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2015/11/montgomery-county-schools-to-c...

http://news.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/quicknotes/mcps-to-close-schools-on-...

http://www.muslimlinkpaper.com/community-news/community-news/3483-equali...

https://issuu.com/thegazette/docs/silverspringgaz_092513/1