Muslim Holiday Added To Fair Lawn School Calendar, Advocates Celebrate

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — Muslim students are often faced with a choice to observe Islamic holidays, or skip school and make up their work later. But this city's Muslims are fighting to add the religion's holidays to the school calendar, and on Feb. 23, they, at least in part, prevailed.

Fair Lawn's Board of Education voted unanimously to add Eid al-Fitr to the 2023-24 school calendar, after local Muslim students and family members petitioned the board.

"I came here convinced I was going to vote 'No' on this, but after hearing what (you all) had to say, you've convinced me that we should add this," Board member Gene Banta said at the meeting. "I'm voting 'Yes.' It is because you showed up and made compelling arguments."

Fair Lawn is one of nine districts that has added school closures in observance of Eid for the 2023-24 academic year, according to the New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NJ), which tracked nearly 30 closures for the holiday in 2022-23.

The Board's decision came after parents' and students' advocacy efforts, which recently organized under the group, Fair Lawn Muslim Community.

"Closing schools for Eid is a necessary and long-overdue accommodation," FLMC President Waseem Mohammed said in a statement. "With this vote, the Fair Lawn Board of Education adhered to its principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion."

Fair Lawn recognized April 10 as Eid al-Fitr, or the "Festival of Breaking the Fast" — marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. On the holiday, Muslims customarily "offer public prayers, exchange social visits and seek to strengthen family and community bonds," CAIR-NJ said.

Board president Ron Barbarulo said the holiday could fall on another date, depending on interpretation of the Islamic lunar calendar. But, "for the purposes of now," the board, he said, has agreed to amend the calendar to give a day off.

"We're proud of the students and parents in Fair Lawn who've pushed for this accommodation, and we're grateful to the Board of Education for making this a smooth and graceful process," CAIR-NJ Outreach Coordinator Zaid Hussein said.

"We’re hopeful that more schools will follow Fair Lawn’s lead," Hussein said.

New Jersey, as of 2020, had the third-highest percentage of Muslims across the U.S., at 3.5%, so "it only makes sense" that more public schools in the state would begin closing in observance of Eid, Hussein said.

"We’re optimistic that this accommodation will inspire conversations among students and staff that can be instrumental in pushing back against anti-Muslim bigotry," Hussein added.

President Barbarulo acknowledged the other major Muslim holiday, Eid al-Adha ("Festival of Sacrifice"), yet said the district is limited in the number of days off to schedule and that it would revisit the matter of establishing a second holiday at a later time.

"We will definitely consider," Barbarulo said. "But let's start here."