Meet the woman who led the charge to get Muslim holiday recognized in Broward schools

Miami Herald

28-03-2025

This weekend marks the end of Ramadan, the holiest month for believers of Islam, and one that's made up of fasting, prayer and self-reflection.
On Monday, students in South Florida will get a chance to celebrate Eid al-Fitr — one of the most important Muslim holidays — with their families, enjoying a day off from school.
But it wasn't until two years ago that the religious holiday was first recognized by Broward County Public Schools — a milestone for South Florida school districts. Shortly after, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach county school districts followed suit.
That's due largely in part to the seven-year struggle of one woman: Naima Khan-Ghany, a retired Broward public school teacher of over 17 years who has been instrumental in advocating on behalf of Muslim students in South Florida.
For years, she chipped away at her goal of getting Eid al-Fitr recognized as a day off by Broward County Public Schools. Her efforts resulted in the recognition of American Muslim Heritage Month by the Broward County school board — the first school board to do so in South Florida — then by the Broward County Commission. Miramar, Pembroke Pines, Hollywood and Cooper City followed with their own proclamations.
Khan-Ghany has helped organize city-sponsored Ramadan dinners, or iftars — celebratory meals that mark the breaking of the daily fast during Ramadan — that have been attended by local elected officials and residents in various cities throughout Broward County. Then-County Commissioner Barbara Sharief hosted the first Broward iftar event with public officials from across the county in 2019. Other cities, including Miramar, Pembroke Pines and Cooper City, followed. Lauderdale Lakes held its first iftar this year.
An important part of her advocacy, Khan-Ghany said, is the ability to foster relationships with community members and stakeholders.
'Change does not take place overnight, I know this for a fact,' she said. 'It has to be gradual, and it has to be well-calculated. It has to start off with building relationships.'
Helping Muslim students feel safe
Often the only female Muslim teacher at her school, Khan-Ghany served as important representation to Muslim students and a bridge to non-Muslim students, constantly helping dispel negative stereotypes held by students and parents. She said she would often tell her students to 'be a voice' for their community.
'Be a voice to help people, whether it's your own people or people in your community,' she said. And I try not to … speak only for Muslims, because there are lots of issues that affect us as a community.'
Though the holiday may seem like a small thing for some, Khan-Ghany said the impact on students and young Muslims has been the most telling. The main reason she advocated so long for Eid, she said, was to help students feel safe and seen in their school environment.
'I had Muslim students who were scared to be identified as a Muslim,' she said. 'They want to stay in their little bubble and just not say anything because they're scared. So it took a lot of work to get these students to actually come out and be comfortable and feel safe.'
A multi-day festival, Eid al-Fitr is the culmination of a month of fasting where practicing Muslims refrain from food and water from sunrise to sunset. It's also the holiest month in Islam, where it is believed that the Quran was first sent down from heaven to guide people toward salvation. The disciplined fasting period is believed to bring a heightened spiritual awareness and joy to those who practice. It's also a time when Muslims practice charitable giving and community service.
On Eid al-Fitr, Muslims may spend the morning in prayer at their mosque, then gather with friends and family to eat dinner, enjoy special sweet treats and give gifts. Khan-Ghany likens the celebration to Christmas or Thanksgiving.
Khan-Ghany's activism is just one example of recent Muslim advocacy in South Florida. Local groups including the Coalition of South Florida Muslim Organizations (COSMOS) and the South Florida Muslim Federation have worked for years to build bridges in the South Florida community through establishing interfaith relationships and organizing community events.
On Sunday and Monday, for example, the county buildings in downtown Miami will light up green in honor of Eid, according to a spokesperson from the Miami-Dade County mayor's office.
And just last week, the city of Coral Gables presented a proclamation in honor of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr for the first time in the city's history, following the efforts of community activist Sadia Raja.
The advocacy comes at a time when Islamophobic and anti-Palestinian incidents have been on the rise. Last month, two Israeli men were shot on Miami Beach after they were allegedly mistaken for Palestinians. The shooter is now facing escalated hate crime penalties on top of the original charges.
Advocate for the 'underdog'
Around 2015-2016, Khan-Ghany began noticing that her Muslim students, friends and her own family were unable to celebrate one of the more important holidays in the Islamic faith without missing a day of school.
'They couldn't stay home and enjoy the festivities and really be relaxed and enjoying the holiday,' Khan-Ghany said. Many students, in her experience, would often still attend classes. The make-up work and missed tests were not always worth it to stay home, she said.
'Well, how come other days off are given for other faith groups and we are not recognized as though we don't exist? That really bothered me a whole lot,' she said.
As a parent and teacher, Khan-Ghany began getting more involved in various committees, starting email campaigns and attending school board meetings — staying, at times, as late as midnight. In 2016, she was appointed to the Diversity Committee, which makes recommendations about diversity and inclusion to the school board.
Soon after, Khan-Ghany organized a Muslim Students Association at her school, McArthur High School, encouraging students to partake in community service activities, identify common issues for Muslim students and create change.
Students set up Ramadan displays in schools and organized what she calls 'courageous conversations,' or small group discussions with non-Muslim students to help foster understanding. Students would talk and answer questions about why Muslims fast or why women wear a head covering, for example. The Muslim Students Association members would eventually show up to school board meetings to advocate for issues they felt were important, like having food options in the cafeteria that obeyed Muslim dietary laws or Halal.
It was all a part of giving Muslim students — and others who felt invisible — a voice. Khan-Ghany, who is originally from Trinidad, advocated not just for Muslim students but for 'all students who were scared or had issues that were bothering them,' she said.
'I became an advocate for those, for the underdog,' she said.
Debra Hixon, chair of the Broward County school board, said on the issue of Eid, the school board heard from Muslim students and people in the wider community but that Khan-Ghany led the 'biggest push.'
'Naima does a really good job of, of telling them, 'Listen, you need to speak up for yourself,'' said Hixon.
'I had her granddaughter in first grade, and she was having some issues with the cafeteria, and she was very cute. She couldn't wait to tell me what the issues were. She was very articulate about it,' Hixon said.
Khan-Ghany is now an adviser for local middle and high school chapters of over 10 Muslim Students Associations in Broward County schools, with new groups being formed every year. Hixon said she first met Khan-Ghany at one of those groups' events.
'It was so nice to see that, because it wasn't just Muslim students that were part of that organization, there was a wide variety of them, and they were being recognized and awarded for … just accepting each other and doing good things in the community,' Hixon said.
No stranger to struggle
But the wins didn't always come easy.
For years, the school board declined the proposal to recognize Eid as a day off. Their reasoning, according to Khan-Ghany, was that the small minority of Muslim students was not enough to justify changing the calendar for all students. Logistics of the school calendar, which must accommodate standardized testing schedules, union requirements and hurricane days, were also a factor, according to Hixon.
However, it was important to the school board, according to Hixon, that even smaller communities felt 'valued and heard.'
The Muslim community in Florida is a small but growing population, according to the South Florida Muslim Federation, which estimates there are 150,000 to 200,000 Muslims in South Florida.
'They were advocating for this for a long time,' said Hixon. 'They were ... very excited about it, and then seeing other school boards take similar measures ... when it was appropriate in their community gave them a sense of belonging and value.'
The Broward school board voted 7-1 to approve the 2022-2023 school calendar with Eid as a day off and has approved the holiday — which changes each year according to the lunar calendar — ever since.
Khan-Ghany has encouraged her Muslim students to be proud of their religious and cultural upbringings. She said she would often see them shying away from their heritage — choosing not to wear a hijab, or head scarf, for example — out of fear of being bullied.
Khan-Ghany, who wears a hijab, is no stranger to discrimination herself. While she was still teaching middle school, she said she discovered a student's threats and detailed plans to harm her in a school notebook. She was told by the same student, in a derogatory manner, to 'go back where she came from' — a sentiment that was echoed by the student's parent.
She learned to deal with students who showed up to her classroom with preconceived ideas about Muslims. Some, she said, would express fears about having a Muslim teacher. After 9/11, many negative stereotypes associating all Muslims with terrorists resulted in a rise in hate crimes against innocent Muslims, Sikhs, and people of Arab and South Asian descent.
But Khan-Ghany, who taught math, used her students' concerns and biases as a teachable moment, answering their questions about her religion and culture.
Perhaps the largest struggle for Khan-Ghany came in mid-2023 when she was not reappointed to the Diversity Committee and Human Relations Committee following a campaign led by a local blogger for the Middle East Forum — a group and website the Southern Poverty Law Center describes as a think tank that foments anti-Muslim sentiments. The article made serious accusations about Khan-Ghany's character and linked her to terrorist organizations, all claims that Khan-Ghany denies.
'I was devastated. I mean ... I've been involved in these committees and doing work with them for at least 15 years ... and I'm advocating for all students,' she said.
More accusations about Khan-Ghany came pouring in after the article. The backlash made her fear for her safety.
'At that time, it was devastating. It was depressing. I went into a dark hole,' she said.
Khan-Ghany believes the decision to not reappoint her was purely political, as there was no investigation into the allegations, and she continued teaching. Khan-Ghany said she wishes the school board members, who appointed her in the past and attended countless events with her over the years, would have stood up for her.
'Nobody was willing to do that,' she said.
Khan-Ghany is now retired from teaching and spends her days baking and sewing with her granddaughter. But she's still advocating and encouraging students to organize around causes they believe in.
'The struggle is still there. ... People have to persevere, they have to be persistent and they have to keep fighting,' she said.
Eid al-Fitr is observed on Sunday, March 30, or Monday, March 31, depending on the moon sighting. For a full calendar of Eid prayer times around South Florida, view this schedule created by the South Florida Muslim Association.
This story was produced with financial support from Trish and Dan Bell and from donors comprising the South Florida Jewish and Muslim Communities, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.