DAR AL HARB - U.S.A. - MARYLAND: MOSLEM HOLIDAYS MAY BE ADDED TO SCHOOL CALENDAR'S

Schools panel discusses adding Muslim holiday
Baltimore County Digest

A majority of the Baltimore County public school system's calendar committee is in favor of closing schools on at least one of the most important Islamic holidays of the year, one member of the group said yesterday.

The idea, one of many collected during four recent meetings, must be forwarded to schools Superintendent Joe A. Hairston. The superintendent would then decide whether to include the day among the countywide closings, such as Christmas and Yom Kippur, in the 2008-2009 proposed calendar. The school board makes the final decision on the calendar.

Brice Freeman, a schools spokesman who served as chairman of the calendar committee, said the group did not vote on specific recommendations but forwarded a list to Hairston of "outstanding issues" -- including the Islamic holiday -- raised by the panel of more than 20 members.

Yesterday, some members said it was not clear that the group had reached consensus on closing schools for Eid al-Fitr, which celebrates the end of Ramadan, a month of daylong fasting and reflection.

But Dr. Bash Pharoan, the Baltimore-area surgeon who has led the effort since 2004 to close schools for Islamic religious observances, issued an announcement yesterday morning that the group unanimously supported the change.

"The calendar committee members in their fourth and final meeting agreed unanimously that Islamic holidays should be treated equitably with the Jewish holidays as official school closing days for the secular reason of equity," Pharoan's announcement stated.

Another committee member, however, disputed Pharoan's statement.

"There wasn't a consensus," said Kevin Connelly, principal of Colgate Elementary. "Each person's input was welcome. Dr. Pharoan strongly advocated. As a group, we discussed [the school closing], but there was no consensus to add any official closings for religious observations."

In an interview later, Pharoan said he is hopeful that school officials will afford the Muslim community the same deference it has given to Jews and Christians.

"I believe this request is reasonable," said Pharoan, who added that Hairston refused to appoint him to the committee but allowed another member to cede her chair to him. "It's an issue of equity, which is protected by our Constitution. All Baltimore County school students should be treated equitably."

During last night's school board meeting, Hairston said the announcement distributed by Pharoan was "inaccurate." "No recommendation has been forwarded to me," Hairston said.
If the school system decides to close for the Islamic observance, it would become the only district in Maryland.


Pertinent Links:

1) Schools panel discusses adding Muslim holiday