Muslims in Maryland petition schools to close on Eid, like on Christmas, Yom Kippur

Muslim activists in Maryland’s Montgomery County Public School district want schools to officially close down for two important Islamic holidays--Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. 

Schools are usually closed on Easter Monday and Rosh Hashanah—why not Eid al-Fitr?

That’s the question Mimi Hassanein, a resident of Brinkow, Md., asks herself every time the Eids fall on a school day. The two most important Islamic holidays —Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha —are traditionally spent praying and feasting with family and friends. But Hassanein says that every year, her grandchildren and other Muslim youth in her school district are forced to choose between their religion and their grades.

“Of course it’s hard when they miss a class and have to make up an exam,” the grandmother told the New York Daily News. “But it’s like asking them to go to school on Christmas.”

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