Last week, the Howard County (Maryland) Times reported that the county's Muslim community is asking public school officials to excuse Muslim students early from school every Friday afternoon so they can attend prayer services and religious instruction. School officials, however, object saying that this would cause students to miss twenty percent of a course over the school year. Instead a committee set up by the school board to study the issue has proposed an alternative policy: "students with an approved, documented religious obligation that cannot be fulfilled at any other time may be lawfully excused from class once per week for a thirty minute period or less ... to fulfill that obligation within the school building." Muslim students would rather be able to leave the building to attend traditional services held weekly at an Interfaith Center. Congregational prayer on Fridays is required of Muslim men and encouraged for Muslim women.
The Howard County Board of Education will hold a public hearing on the issue on May 23. Meanwhile there has been a vigorous discussion of the question on Religionlaw listserv.
