City schools will be closed for an Islamic holiday for the first time in district history when Eid ul-Fitr is celebrated Thursday, Oct. 2.
Eid ul-Fitr is the Islamic holy day marking the end of Ramadan, a currently continuing period of sunrise-to-sunset fasting and religious observance representing the holiest month of the Islamic calendar. The school board voted to include the off day on the 2008-09 district calendar during an April meeting.
“We believe in celebrating the diversity of our students, staff, parents and community, and we are excited to embrace this holiday,” said district information officer Eric Jones. “I think it’s a testament to what the Plainfield Public Schools is all about — we believe in celebrating who we are.”
School board member Rasheed Abdul-Haqq was instrumental in an April push to have both Eid ul-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, a December holy day on the Islamic calendar, included as being districtwide off days. Only the former was included on the calendar, but Abdul-Haqq said he hoped Eid al-Adha — a festival day of celebration and feasting referred to as “The Big Eid” in many heavily Muslim countries around the world — will ultimately be reconsidered as a districtwide off day.
Abdul-Haqq, who is Muslim, said he felt the step to have the one off day still represented a move in the right direction for the district.
“It was encouraging to a lot of people,” said Abdul-Haqq, who added that Eid ul-Fitr represents a time of celebration — not to mention feasting, after going about four weeks without eating or drinking anything during daylight hours.
“People just celebrate. They’re just happy to have completed the month,” Abdul-Haqq said. “You really appreciate eating at the end of the day.”
According to Mohammad Javed, president of the Woodbridge-based Muslim Community of New Jersey, the district’s move is part of a larger movement in the state that has seen several districts begin to recognize Islamic holy days alongside those of other religions such as Yom Kippur, Christmas and Easter.
“It is getting more and more common ... the number of schools (to do so) is increasing every year,” said Javed, who added that many local school districts that may not close school for Islamic holidays do not penalize Muslim students who do not attend school those days. “I think this is a positive, that the communities are integrating and recognizing other people’s beliefs, respecting other people’s religions ... I think of it as a good thing for this country.”
Paterson, Atlantic City and Trenton are three of a handful of other school districts statewide to hold off days for Islamic holidays, most commonly on Eid ul-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, although the dates for both change every year owing to the fact that the Islamic calendar is based on lunar cycles. Those dates are the two biggest holidays on the Islamic calendar, according to Riaz Siddiqui, chairman of the Religious Committee for the South Brunswick-based Islamic Society of Central Jersey.
Siddiqui said between 300,000 and 350,000 of the state’s approximately 8.7 million people, or nearly 4 percent of the population, are Muslims. He estimated that during the two main holidays his mosque, which typically draws 600-700 people most days, annually draws between 6,000 and 8,000.