{"id":3477,"date":"2023-03-21T11:26:05","date_gmt":"2023-03-21T15:26:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pa.cair.com\/pitt\/?p=3477"},"modified":"2023-03-21T11:34:19","modified_gmt":"2023-03-21T15:34:19","slug":"cair-community-advisory-template-offered-for-requesting-religious-accommodations-for-muslims-students-this-ramadan-eid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pa.cair.com\/pitt\/cair-community-advisory-template-offered-for-requesting-religious-accommodations-for-muslims-students-this-ramadan-eid\/","title":{"rendered":"CAIR Community Advisory: Template Offered for Requesting Religious Accommodations for Muslims Students This Ramadan, Eid"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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CAIR Community Advisory: Template Offered for Requesting Religious Accommodations for Muslims Students This Ramadan, Eid<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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(PITTSBURGH, PA, 3\/21\/2023)<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 The Pittsburgh Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Pittsburgh), a chapter of the nation\u2019s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, released a template message for American Muslim parents to request school officials provide Muslim students religious accommodations on Eid ul-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of the Ramadan fast.<\/span><\/span><\/div>
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This year, the month of Ramadan began on or about\u00a0Wednesday, March 22, and will end on or about Thursday, April 20. The Eid al-Fitr holiday, marking the end of the fast, will begin on or about Friday, April 21.\u00a0Because many Muslims calculate the start and end of Ramadan and Eid based on moon sightings, it is common for Muslims to have different views about when Ramadan and Eid start and end.<\/span><\/p>

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TEMPLATE MESSAGE TO SCHOOL OFFICALS \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

https:\/\/www.cair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/RamadanAccommodations.docx<\/span><\/b><\/a><\/span><\/p>

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CAIR\u2019s template letter states in part:<\/b><\/span><\/p>

\u201cAs the parent of [student name], I request that they be allowed to observe Ramadan and Eid in accordance with their beliefs and well-established law. Allowing breaks to begin or conclude their fast and allowing brief breaks for prayer during the day are reasonable and will not interrupt school and administrative functions. In previous instances, school administrators have accommodated students by allowing them to leave class to go to a private multipurpose or activity room to conduct their daily prayers, along with providing students with the choice to attend a study hall instead of a lunch period during Ramadan. \u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>

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\u201cI also request that [student name] be given an excused absence on [date] to celebrate Eid al-Fitr with their family, friends, and community. Any schoolwork missed or tests can be made up. Please do not hesitate to contact me to further discuss providing these accommodations while continuing to promote a safe and supportive school environment. Thank you very much for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you soon.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>

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In a statement,\u00a0CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert S. McCaw\u00a0<\/span>said:<\/span><\/p>

\u201cIt is crucial for school officials to recognize the significance of Ramadan for their Muslim students and to create open spaces for fasting during this holy month, and prayer throughout the year. Muslim parents whose children attend schools without designated prayer spaces or areas for fasting students should contact their child\u2019s school and request necessary accommodations. By working together, we can ensure that Muslim students feel welcomed, respected, and supported in their schools during this holy month and beyond.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>

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BACKGROUND ON EID AND RAMADAN:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Eid ul-Fitr is the first of the two major Muslim holidays. The second holiday, Eid ul-Adha (EED-al-ODD-ha), comes near the end of the Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca.<\/span><\/p>

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During Eid ul-Fitr or \u201cfeast of fast breaking\u201d holiday, Muslims offer public prayers, exchange social visits and seek to strengthen family and community bonds. During this holiday, Muslims greet each other by saying \u201cEid mubarak\u201d (EED-moo-BAR-ak), meaning \u201cblessed Eid,\u201d and \u201ctaqabbalallah ta\u2019atakum,\u201d or \u201cmay God accept your deeds.\u201d Many communities also hold multicultural bazaars and other family activities following communal prayers.<\/span><\/p>

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Ramadan is the month on the Islamic lunar calendar during which Muslims abstain from food, drink and other sensual pleasures from the break of dawn to sunset. The fast is performed to learn discipline, self-restraint and generosity, while obeying God\u2019s commandments. Fasting (along with the declaration of faith, daily prayers, charity, and pilgrimage to Mecca) is one of the \u201cfive pillars\u201d of Islam.<\/span><\/p>

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CAIR\u2019s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.<\/span><\/p>

La misi\u00f3n de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensi\u00f3n del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.<\/span><\/p>

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CONTACT:<\/strong>\u00a0CAIR Pittsburgh Executive Director Christine Mohamed, 412-606-3601, cmohamed@cair.com<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CAIR Community Advisory: Template Offered for Requesting Religious Accommodations for Muslims Students This Ramadan, Eid (PITTSBURGH, PA, 3\/21\/2023)\u00a0\u2013 The Pittsburgh Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Pittsburgh), a chapter of the nation\u2019s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, released a template message for American Muslim parents to request […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":2894,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community"],"ticketed":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pa.cair.com\/pitt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pa.cair.com\/pitt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pa.cair.com\/pitt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pa.cair.com\/pitt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pa.cair.com\/pitt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3477"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/pa.cair.com\/pitt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3477\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3489,"href":"https:\/\/pa.cair.com\/pitt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3477\/revisions\/3489"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pa.cair.com\/pitt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pa.cair.com\/pitt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pa.cair.com\/pitt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pa.cair.com\/pitt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}