Minnesota school districts to officially observe Muslim Eid holidays

BY CHRISTINE DOUGLASS-WILLIAMS

SEE: https://robertspencer.org/2022/03/minnesota-school-districts-to-officially;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

With the burgeoning Muslim population in Minnesota, several district schools will now be observing Muslim high holy days. Beginning in the new school year, Eid El-Fitr and Eid El-Adha will be included as official school holidays.

Demographics rules.

Also in Minnesota, a special Quran holds the signature of almost every Minnesota Muslim elected to office. The practice began when Ilhan Omar was elected to Congress in 2016. Imam Asad Zaman, Executive Director of the Muslim American Society of Minnesota, ordered the “largest Qur’an he could find for her swearing-in ceremony.” Afterward, Zaman arranged for other Muslim officeholders to sign it, and the practice continues.

“Minnesota school districts to observe Muslim Eid holidays for the first time this year,” by Brooke Anderson, The New Arab, March 1, 2022:

With its small but vibrant Muslim community, Minnesota’s schools have until now not observed Muslim holidays. That will change next school year.

Even with its growing Muslim community, Minnesota’s district schools have until now not officially observed Muslim holidays. That will change starting next school year, when several school districts will recognise Eid El-Fitr and Eid El-Adha as official school holidays.

“Muslims are no longer a tiny minority. In some districts, they represent a large percentage of Muslims,” Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Council of American-Muslim Relations-Minnesota, told The New Arab.

“Many are traditional Muslims, so taking part in Eid holidays is important for them.”

The school districts that will observe the holidays are Minneapolis, Hopkins, Moorhead and Mankato. In addition to these districts having high Muslim — mainly Somali — populations, some of the leaders of the schoolboards are also Muslim, which Hussein said has helped the process.

With this new policy across several school districts, Minnesota joins a growing number of states that are increasingly recognising Muslim holidays.

“We expect more of this to happen,” said Hussein, “Now that we have momentum, we will target more districts.”

Though counties across the US with high Muslim populations have been making their cases for the inclusion of Muslim holidays in schools, the decisions are not always based on numbers.

For example, Fairfax County in Virginia has a high Muslim population, and so far has not managed to get Muslim holidays off, despite major efforts….