Students ask Lake Washington district to recognize Eid as school holiday
Ayah Edris often thinks about the ease with which she can usher in Eid celebrations.
As a home-schooled student, Edris doesn’t have to worry about making up exams, or if she will be able to find a quiet place for prayer – a privilege many Muslim students in public schools don’t have, she said. Because it’s so difficult for public school students to celebrate, she is one of several thousand petitioners asking the Lake Washington School District to recognize two holidays: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.
Eid, an Islamic holiday focused on communal celebration, prayer and reflection, is welcomed with two events: Eid al-Fitr, which comes after Ramadan and is celebrated over three days, and Eid al-Adha, which is celebrated about two months after Eid al-Fitr, when many Muslims perform the hajj pilgrimage – one of the five pillars of Islam.
Because Eid al-Fitr is dependent on the lunar calendar, which is 10 to 12 days shorter than the Gregorian calendar, yearly celebration dates will differ.
“Having to give up observing the religious celebrations can begin to feel like we’re compromising our faith,” said Edris, 16. She’s been pushing for Lake Washington School District officials to recognize Eid as a holiday for two years.
Edris created an online petition that has amassed more than 4,000 signatures requesting the holiday designation. Edris, who grew up in Redmond, has joined with two other students, Taha Shafaqat and Sakina Rizvi, to form a coalition called the Eid For All campaign calling on the district to recognize the religious celebration.
School district officials have declined to address if they plan to consider making Eid a school holiday, but said they are aware of student efforts.
Coordinating the calendars
The trio finalized a proposal this month outlining the dates Eid holidays are expected to fall for the next two decades, until the 2044-45 school year. Eid al-Fitr will sometimes coincide with spring break, but students want to ensure the religious celebration is a guarantee every year.
Next year, Eid is expected to begin April 10 for Muslims celebrating in North America. The district’s tentative calendar for the 2023-24 school year lists spring break as April 8-12.
The Eastside district, which includes Kirkland, Redmond and part of Sammamish, has a sizable number of Muslim students, Shafaqat said, although a count isn’t available. It is the second-largest school district in the state.
Islam is the third-largest religion in the U.S. In a few decades, Muslims will make up the second-largest religious group in the U.S., according to a Pew Research Center estimate.
The Lake Washington School District, Seattle Public Schools and the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction do not have data on the number of Muslim students in the districts or King County as they don’t track students’ religious affiliations, officials said.
The Muslim Association of Puget Sound serves more than 5,000 families in King and Snohomish counties. There are several major mosques in the area, including the Islamic Center of Redmond, Sammamish Mosque and the Islamic Center of Eastside.
Shafaqat and Rizvi spoke during a May 8 School Board meeting about the difficulties Muslim students face even when they’re able to get an excused absence. Many Muslim families attended the meeting in support.
“Lake Washington School District recognizes that we serve a diverse community with many different religious and cultural backgrounds,” said Shannon Parthemer, a district spokesperson. The district determines its school holidays based on state regulations, she said.
School Board members suggested students put the efforts aside until next year, Edris said. However, the students plan on advocating to possibly have spring break moved to cover Eid, she said.
Several states have districts that recognize Eid as a holiday, including districts in progressive states such as New York and California as well as conservative states like Texas and Florida. “What students are trying to achieve here is not unprecedented,” Edris said.
Currently, no Washington school districts recognize Eid.
Edris has met with School Board members on a few occasions after seeking the support of CAIR Washington, a grassroots advocacy and civil rights organization based in Seattle serving the Muslim community.
Communities need to move beyond merely offering tolerance and inclusivity to actually valuing and accepting Muslims, said Mariam Badr, who works with CAIR.
“We’re definitely past the point of like, ‘Oh, I have a Muslim neighbor and I acknowledge them,’” she said. “That’s not where it should end.”
To see the district recognize Eid as a holiday would feel like true acceptance and recognition, she said.
“This is us standing up for our religion, and we want to be heard,” Rizvi said. “We want to push this forward.”
How Eid is celebrated
Edris described the way many families celebrate Eid: Upon waking and eating a quick breakfast, families will usually head to the mosque and later have a big feast at home with family and friends.
Eid celebrations reflect the environment and energy of the day, Edris said. Eid is about introspection as much as it is about familial relationships and friendships, she added.
Eid al-Fitr, arriving at the tail of Ramadan, roughly translates to “the feast to break the fast,” Edris said.
“It’s a highly people-oriented holiday from the morning to the evening,” she said. “Most people are around other people, having meals, exchanging presents or doing prayer.”
Many families, such as Edris’, will host feasts at home with family and friends, though mosques will usually also host feasts for members and even bring petting zoos and bounce houses for children to the mix.
“I am blessed that I don’t have to wake up on the day of Eid and choose between going to school because I have a very big exam or celebrating my faith,” she said.
Rizvi’s family also heads to the mosque on the first day of Eid for special prayers and to wish friends and family a blessed feast and festival by saying “Eid Mubarak” before heading home to open presents.
Her family usually attends a couple of Eid parties they were invited to through the evening, she said.
“Us students want to be able to enjoy our special day without having to worry about schoolwork.”
Why it’s hard to celebrate in school
Praying in school can be a challenge, Shafaqat said, and “performing the prayer at school takes the spirit away from the prayer and makes Eid feel less like Eid.”
Many Muslim families in the U.S. dress in traditional clothing of their respective cultures during Eid, Shafaqat said, but that’s not always an option at school, where students may face harassment or bullying for celebrating their culture.
Growing up, Shafaqat celebrated Eid with family from “dawn till dusk.”
“Eid is really highly centered on human interaction – familial and friendship – that’s a really fundamental part of this holiday, so it does take a lot away when some of the kids aren’t there.”
The 17-year-old said he and many of his Muslim classmates must also navigate Advanced Placement tests and final exams that usually coincide with the celebration.
“School moves on. No one is waiting for you,” he said.
Students not only face academic consequences, even with an excused absence, but also are made to feel “otherized” in a culture that guarantees Christmas lands on a holiday despite the prominence of Muslims in the U.S., Edris said.
“My mom used to tell me stories about her experience with this, and unfortunately, the stories she told me 25 years ago are still relevant today and kids are still telling me those same stories,” Edris said.
Rizvi echoed Shafaqat’s sentiments.
Missing one day of school can set a student well behind their peers and many would rather not deal with the stress, Rizvi said.
Every year, her parents email all her teachers explaining her absence on the first day of Eid, she said.
“Yeah, we’re allowed excused absences, but it’d be discriminatory if they didn’t,” Rizvi said.
The district says it aims to foster an equitable and inclusive environment with a stated core value of respect for all people, Shafaqat said, but to live up to that, officials should strive to recognize Eid as a school holiday.
Many school districts have recognized Eid or moved their spring break so it could coincide with Eid, he said. “Why can’t we?”