By mailAbout Islam
Open Letter to ISIS
The following is an open letter to ISIS from over 100 Muslim Scholars from around the world. The list of signatories on pages 18 through 23
Click to view larger font or download: English Letter (with signatories)
Resources
The following is information about Islam
Islamic Holidays
About the Islamic calendar
The Islamic calendar (known as the Hijri calendar) is a purely lunar calendar. It contains 12 months that are based on the motion of the moon. Because 12 synodic months are only 12 x 29.53= 354.36 days, the Islamic calendar is consistently shorter than a solar year, and therefore shifts approximately 11 days every year with respect to the Gregorian calendar.
There are an estimated 3-6 million Muslims in America. While American Muslims are from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds-- including African-American, South Asian, Arab, African, Persian, European, Southeast Asian and Turkish--they may have additional ethnic or national holidays in addition to the religious holidays we describe below.
Recognizing these holy days not only brings awareness of the diversity within the student population, but also instills pride in Muslim students who celebrate them. Muslim students may be embarrassed or shy to acknowledge these practices or holy days, which are not yet a part of the dominant American culture. We hope this information will be useful.
2025 Calendar
March 1 – March 29, 2025
Ramadan (Islamic month of Fasting)
Ramadan is the 9th month of the Islamic calendar, during which Muslims fast daily from dawn to sunset as part of an effort towards self-purification and moral excellence. Muslims believe that Ramadan is the month in which the first verses of Islam’s holy book, the Qur’an, were revealed by God through the Angel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad.
March 30, 2025
Eid ul-Fitr (Festival of Breaking the Fast)
This holiday commemorates the completion of Ramadan and lasts for three days during which Muslims celebrate with special prayers, sweets, presents for children and community festivities.
June 3 – June 5, 2025
Hajj (Annual Pilgrimage to Mecca)
The Hajj, or annual pilgrimage to Mecca, consists of several rituals which symbolize the essential concepts of the Islamic faith, such as devotion to God, brotherhood, and unity. The rituals of the Hajj also commemorate the trials of the Prophet Abraham and his family. Hajj is required once in a Muslim’s lifetime if one is financially and physically able. Two to three million Muslims perform the pilgrimage annually.
June 6, 2025
Eid-ul-Adha (Festival of the Sacrifice)
This holiday takes place on the third day of Hajj and lasts for four days. The holiday commemorates Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son, who was miraculously replaced by a lamb. The holiday is celebrated much like Eid ul-Fitr with the addition that Muslims sacrifice a lamb, goat or cow, and share the meat with friends, relatives, and the needy.
June 26, 2025 (1447 A.H.*)
Islamic New Year
Islamic New Year marks the beginning of the new year on the Islamic calendar. The Islamic calendar began with the migration – or Hijra – of the Prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina. This event has a special significance in Islamic history as it marks the end of the period of persecution in Mecca and the transition to a recognized faith community in Medina.
July 5, 2025
Ashura
Ashura falls on the 10th of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. For Sunnis, Ashura commemorates the exodus of Moses from Egypt, and is usually observed by completing an optional fast as practiced by the Prophet Muhammad. For Shi’as, it marks the anniversary of the tragic death of the Prophet’s grandson, Husain at the hands of the Umayyad ruler, Yazid. For Shi’as the day is marked with mourning and often enactments of the tragic event.
Upcoming Islamic Dates
2026 Calendar
Ramadan: February 18 – March 19, 2026
Eid ul-Fitr: March 20, 2026
Hajj: May 24 – May 26, 2026
Eid ul-Adha: May 27, 2026
Islamic New Year: June 16, 2026 (1448 A.H.)
Ashura: June 25, 2026
Islam 101
MUSLIM LIFE IN AMERICA
Websites Pertaining to: Muslim Life in America http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/muslimlife/homepage.htm
Islam is one of the fastest-growing religions in the United States today. According to one recent survey, there are 1,209 mosques in America, well over half founded in the last 20 years. Between 17 and 30 percent of American Muslims are converts to the faith.
At the center of both traditional American life and the lives of the generally more recent Muslim immigrants is the family. As Shahed Amanullah, an engineer who lives in San Francisco, California, puts it, "American values are, by and large, very consistent with Islamic values, with a focus on family, faith, hard work, and an obligation to better self and society."
This booklet is a brief introduction to a complex subject, an attempt to explore in words and images the extraordinary range and richness of the way American Muslims live. That point of cross-cultural commonality -- the family -- is where we begin.
9/11 Teaching Materials
Articles/podcasts
How to talk about 9/11 with a new generation of kids
Bringing 9/11 in the classroom
Books for young adults
Yusef Azeem is not a hero (purchase Kindle)
Yusef Azeem is not a hero (borrow from library)
Contextual materials
What is the truth about American Muslims?
Lessons about 9/11 often provoke harrassment of Muslim students
Films
Lesson Plans - College Students
Brown University; “Responding to Terrorism: Challenges to Democracy”
Lesson Plans - High School Students
Training for Educators - K through 12th Grade
ISBA Educator Training for Understanding Muslim Students
More 9/11 Teaching Resources from our Affiliates
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