The Muslim pilgrimage, or hajj, commemorates the trials of the Prophet Abraham and his family. According to the Traditions of the Prophet Mohammed, Muslims must make the pilgrimage at the earliest opportunity in their lives because those who delay might be unable to go later, dying as sinners. Safoorah Khan, a teacher in Berkeley, Ill., takes her religion seriously.
Once Khan could afford the pilgrimage, she told the Berkeley Board of Education in mid-2008 that it was a religious requirement to make the pilgrimage as early in life as possible. The hajj fell in mid-December of 2008. Khan explained she wanted 15 school days off (19 days counting weekends), but that she’d return sooner if necessary.
In response, the board didn’t ask Khan why her religion required her to go that December. The board didn’t ask Khan how soon she could be back. The board didn’t say Khan’s absence would harm her students. The board just said such leave was not authorized by the collective bargaining agreement. End of discussion.
There is lots of information missing here: Did the other teachers have tenure? Were either of their leaves occuring during the same time as Khan’s requested leave? I understood that her position was unique in the school system; a substitue would not have had her qualifications.
Sounds like there is a lot of “me, my” involved!
A contract is a contract, and when you break it, you suffer the consequences. End of story.
If she wins her case all Catholics should demand their holy days like Ascension Thursday, The feast of the Immaculate Conception, and even Easter Monday–which is a holiday in most Catholic countries. The first two I named are Holy Days of Obligation. Catholics are supposed to, if possible, attend Mass that day and even treat it like a Sunday. But these days are slowly being wiped out as it becomes harder and harder to celebrate them. In the school system where I taught before retirement the union got it in the contract that Jews and Bhuddists, and soon Moslems, may use one of their ” personal business” days to celebrate their holy days. A Catholic asked to be able to do the same and was told to get lost.
[blockquote] Ironically, the board gave longer leaves to two other teachers during the same period (one from Nov. 3, 2008, to Feb. 6, 2009, and the other from Nov. 22, 2008, to Feb. 15, 2009) for secular reasons. In fact, the board regularly gives teachers leaves for secular reasons.[/blockquote] I knew there would be a ‘rest of the story’ in this. The question then becomes “What circumstances do they accommodate?” I hope she wins. School Boards are usually bought and paid for by the education system so you can’t trust what they say.
carl
I’ve known substitutes who have covered classes for longer than 15 days — say, in cases of maternity leave; accidents; FMLA; etc. SO I don’t see where it would be that great of a hardship for a substitute to take the class… shoot, I even had to tally the grades for a teacher one year when she had to take emergency leave at the end of the year.
Jim E.
Deaconjohn25,
How did the union manage to secure a contract that specified only certain religious categories (and excluded other minority faith expressions, such as Shintoism and the various Native American sects)?
Wouldn’t a contract with a provision that was less than universally applicable, breach First Amendment rights? I’m surprised the individual in question didn’t challenge it in court (with the backing of some organization interested in such matters, of course).
It’s impossible to comment on this case without knowing a whole lot more facts. The article refers to “a lengthy investigation” before the feds took the case. It would take a lengthy investigation to form an intelligent opinion. What were the terms of the union contract? What had been done in the past? To say that similar leaves had been granted in the past for “secular reasons” doesn’t tell you anything at all. Health? Death in the family? And were these reasons covered in the union contract? If you’re going to bargain collectively then you can’t complain because your employer refuses to bargain individually with you. But there’s a lot more that needs to be known here.
If what I have read in earlier reports is true, then she had not even taught for a full school year. If so, then of course other teachers with more seniority are going to get longer leaves if and when requested.
As has been said already, there is so little known about the actual facts here that its difficult to speculate.
I agree there is not enough information. The other two teachers may have taken leaves that were mandated by Federal or state law (like FMLA), they may have had more tenure, etc. The author of this article is the teacher’s lawyer so obviously the information here is a little one-sided.
The leaves the other two teachers were granted sound like pregnancy leave (given the length of them and the fact that the lawyer didn’t specify what they were for, leaving it at “secular” reasons). Pregnancy leave is mandated by federal law. The hajj isn’t even mandatory for Muslims–there’s an economic qualifier. I admire Ms. Khan’s zeal, but she was asking for a privilege that no other teacher would have received for any reason that wasn’t mandated by law.
Jeremy– I have no idea about the politics of it–but I was the one who tried to get equality for Catholics and not only wouldn’t the union treat Catholics the same as other favored religions–In fact, it was hinted that I was being anti-Semitic for trying since–at the time– Jewish teachers were much the largest group getting their holy days.
I was not interested in getting involved with courts, legal actions, etc. Besides most of us Catholics are thoroughly neutered when it comes to defending our rights and I realized I would have little or no support from fellow Catholics on the faculty. Their excuse was that it would create a major problem if we won because so many on the faculty at the time were Catholic.