A woman has said a gift from her neighbour to celebrate Eid has restored her “faith in humanity”.

Shafaq Hassan, from Streatham, south London, said her neighbour treated her and son Ayaan, 14, to dates and a prayer mat in celebration of Eid, which this year began on Wednesday evening and will end on Thursday evening.

Posting a photo of the gifts to Twitter, Ms Hassan said: “Our non-Muslim neighbour (our biryani pal!) totally surprised us with Algerian dates and a prayer mat for my 14-year-old, who fasted the whole month.”

Ms Hassan, 40, told the PA news agency: “He’s been our neighbour for over 20 years, but completely surprised us with the Eid gifts.

“I didn’t realise he noted Ayaan was fasting the whole month… we were all surprised at his gesture and my son felt really special.

“They’re friendly neighbours, they’re fans of my mum’s biryani so we always send over a box.”

Ms Hassan said the family is celebrating with a meal and a special Eid cake, as they are unable to have a big party due to Covid-19 restrictions.

She told PA: “The whole family fasted but missed a few days, Ayaan fasted the whole month… he was determined to fast the whole month which is quite impressive, if I may say so myself.

“Due to Covid we can’t have big family party, obviously, we’re having a special meal with family to celebrate my son’s achievement.”

Muslims around the world are celebrating Eid al-Fitr in a subdued mood for a second year as Covid-19 forced mosque closures and family separations on the holiday marking the end of Ramadan.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan shared a photo of Trafalgar Square lit in purple lights to celebrate the occasion.

Ms Hassan told PA: “It’s hard we are not able to meet extended family or go to the mosque to pray. It’s isolating not being able to attend the mosque but we’re blessed we’re together as a family.

“Our neighbour’s gesture helps put faith in humanity. We’re a diverse community and its heart-warming that our neighbour was so thoughtful and encouraging of Ayaan and his religious beliefs.

“Eid is about sharing, being charitable and is a blessing.”

A Maryland county will allow Muslim and Hindu students a day off from school to celebrate Diwali and Eid al-Adha.

The Howard County Board of Education faced a tough decision: to foster inclusion by removing all religious holidays from the academic calender; Or add extra days to include non-Abrahamic celebrations.

A unanimous decision in favour of the latter will result in school closings or professional development days for staff in the 2016/17 academic year. The board also voted to allow staff to take a professional development day off for Lunar News Years Eve, after requests from the local Chinese and Korean communities. As it falls on a Saturday, students remain unaffected.

Schools in the county have shut during Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.  But a recent motion threatened to end this  tradition. It proved controversial enough to attract more than 300 people to a public hearing in December.

State and federal laws prevent schools from closing on religious holidays (unless mandated otherwise). Adjusting academic calendars requires a secular reason. Baltimore County had recorded a large levels of absenteeism during these Jewish holidays.

Art Abramson, Executive Director of Baltimore’s Jewish Council, welcomed changes to academic calendars on the condition that students would avoid punishment if they took a day off for religious holidays. He had also noted how schools with large Jewish communities faced an added economic burden to open during holidays like Rosh Hashanah. So it required a discretionary approach for individual schools to open or close on such days. A point missing in Breitbart’s reporting.

This was the case when Anne Arundel County voted to keep schools open during Rosh Hashanah in the next academic year. A move that has not happened since 2003. Students could still celebrate the holiday with a day of absence, but staff could not take a day off.

Within this framework,  Howard County rejected this similar motion in favour of diversity.

The school system in the area does not count the religious affiliation of students, but it does for race. Howard County has 74 public schools that serve 51,366 students. Enrollment from black and Asian communities stands at 56 per cent. And the schools in Howard County have a greater diversity of students when compared to other parts of Missouri.

State-mandated holidays do fall on Christian holidays, like Christmas and Easter. Any decision to increase days off rests on the shoulders of local schools.

Last July, the Baltimore County Policy Review Committee recommended that schools not close during Eid. It did, however, stress that students and staff could take time off to celebrate Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. In nearby Montgomery County, the school board voted to allow students and staff to take a day off for Eid al-Adha.

A private firm surveys communities to gauge the impact cultural and religious holidays have on absenteeism levels. This information could help bring greater diversity to the academic calender in 2017/18.

The 2017-2018 Academic Calendar Committee has already begun to meet. And it includes representatives from the Jewish Federation of Howard County, the Howard County Muslim Council, the Hindu community, and the Chinese American Parent Association.

Students will begin the 2016/17 academic year on August 29. It ends on June 13, 2017.

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