May 24, 2024 at 6:00 am Updated May 24, 2024 at 6:00 am
Seattle Times staff reporter
Muslim students at three Seattle high schools have a difficult choice to make on June 17: Celebrate Eid al-Adha, one of the most important Muslim holidays, with their families or attend their graduations, an important rite of passage.
Some Muslim students at Cleveland High School alerted their principal to the dilemma last October when they noticed that their 2024 graduation was scheduled on Eid al-Adha, the Muslim holiday marking the Prophet Ibrahim’s submission to Allah’s (God’s) command to sacrifice his son, Ishmael.
But the students said the outreach to their administration and follow-up efforts with Seattle Public Schools officials went nowhere. Last month, a coalition of students from Garfield, Cleveland and Franklin high schools spoke during a School Board meeting, asking the district publicly to change the graduation date. The change, they said, would ensure that Muslim students won’t have to choose between their faith and a significant milestone.
