Holidays

Audio transcript:

>>STEVE ST. GEORGE: Hi I'm Steve St. George. And this is your crash course in Islam. Each year you can count on most businesses being closed Christmas and Thanksgiving. For Muslims though the major holidays are the two Eids, Eid Al Fitter and Eid Al Ada. Eid Al Fitter marks the end of the Muslim month of fasting known as Ramadan. Eid Al Ada is a commemoration of Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael to Allah. Luckily for Ismail Allah replaced the boy with a ram. This Eid also marks the end of the Hajj the required pilgrimage to Mecca. There are some employers who are beginning to recognize these holidays and allow their Muslim employees to take time off for them. There is a bit of a problem however because the holidays may be marked on different days by Shia and Sunni Muslims. Another problem for employers can be simply the fact that Muslim holidays are marked by the lunar calendar and can vary from year to year, unlike holidays such as Christmas which are marked by a specific day each year. For Crash Course in Islam, I'm Steve St. George,

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