As a devout Muslim, I completely concur with the statements of Britain’s equality chief to put “Christ” back into Christmas. The key to religious pluralism is not censorship or religious dilution, but accommodation. To divorce religious holidays of their religious purpose in an attempt to be inclusive is not only unreasonable, but unjust to those who celebrate those holidays on religious grounds.
Inclusiveness does not necessitate diluting holidays so that everyone can take part in them. Rather, inclusiveness necessitates that every religious group have the freedom to observe its religion – and religious holidays – in a way that is authentic and true to their beliefs. The objective is not for every American – or Briton in this case – to take part in Christmas, but for every American or Briton to have the right to give public expression to their religious commitments, which includes the celebration of religious holidays.
The challenge for secular governments is to protect the religious freedom of those who wish to give public expression to their religious values and beliefs while ensuring that no religion enjoys an exclusive monopoly over such public expression. The problem that religious minorities encounter is when government officials ignore the fact that state-institutionalized preferences for Judeo-Christian traditions exist as a by-product of both history and the dominant cultural reality. Muslim American students particularly encounter this challenge when it comes to requesting an excused absence from classes during religious holidays or requesting prayer space on high school or university campuses to fulfill the religious mandate to pray at five set intervals throughout the day.
Based on my experience with the national Muslim Students Association, requests for such religious accommodation have been denied at times by school officials or professors on the basis of secularism and the need for schools to exercise religious neutrality. Indeed, while school officials should ensure that no religious group enjoys privileges not granted to other groups, they sometimes fail to realize that we are not always operating on neutral ground. For example, neither Jewish nor Christian students have to request on-campus facilities for Sabbath rituals or for the Sunday service, respectively, because Sunday and Saturday are already off-days at all American institutions of higher learning. Similarly, students of the Christian faith do not have to request leave for Christmas because it is already an official U.S. holiday. Hence, when Muslim students request a certain level of religious accommodation, whether it be a place to pray on campus or an excused absence during Eid, they are not asking for privileges, but for rights that are already granted to students of the majority religion by virtue of our country’s historically religious roots.
Second, when it comes to drawing the line between secularism and religious freedom, it is important not to confound “equality” with “sameness.” In order to facilitate citizens’ rights to religious freedom, governments cannot seek to provide the exact same religious accommodation for every religious group, because while one accommodation may fulfill one group’s need, it might be rather meaningless to another group. The concept of reasonable accommodation is premised on the fact that although people are equal, they are not identical. Individuals’ circumstances, backgrounds, and religious requirements vary, and thus, they necessitate different types of accommodations. For example, employers must allow pregnant female employees or disabled employees certain accommodations that other employees might not need. It serves the interests of no religious group for governments to offer all citizens the “same” accommodation; instead, they should strive to give equal importance to their distinctive religious needs.
Lastly, no one can truly enjoy religious freedom unless it is afforded to everybody. No one benefits from having his/her religion granted a special or privileged status above other religions because true religious liberty can only exist when all are afforded that right. Nothing captures the spirit of such accommodation better than the reaction of the Muslim community in Hillsborough County, Fla., when the County School Board decided to eliminate all religious holidays rather than accommodate the request of Muslim students and parents to recognize Eid as an official holiday. The Muslim community, represented by the Council on American-Islamic Relations-FL chapter, quickly lobbied the School Board to reinstate Christian and Jewish holidays that were removed from the 2006/2007 school calendar. Speaking before the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners, the CAIR-FL Central Florida Director said: “Reinstate Christian and Jewish holidays even if it means that we don't get our own holiday. . .(as Muslims) we're taught to love for others what we love for ourselves” (http://www.cair-florida.org/ViewArticle.asp?Code=PR&ArticleID=513)
That is the essence of religious pluralism – to want others to enjoy the freedoms that you wish for yourself.
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