Aziz Bhatti said his children missed out on having their photos taken with classmates at Bourchier Street Primary School because, like a billion other Muslims worldwide, they were celebrating Eid al-Fitr with their family and community.
Mr Bhatti said the celebration of Eid marked the end of the holy month of Ramadan and was not something the family could miss. This year that began at sunset on Monday, May 2, and ended at sundown on Tuesday, May 3.
“Eid is something which we and over a billion Muslims around the world look up to and this is the most important day of the Muslim calendar,” Mr Bhatti said.
“The holy month of fasting, at the end of it we celebrate being thankful to God that he provided for us, that he gave us this opportunity to observe this holy month and to finish this fasting month.
”It is an event where the families get together and our kids were so excited and every member of the family give gifts to each other and we discuss this, especially the last 10 days of Ramadan, how we’re going to celebrate it, who’s going to get what, and we decorate the house.“
Mr Bhatti said he contacted the school to ask if the school photographs could be delayed so his and other Muslim children could be included, but was told that was not possible.
He said while the exact date for the Eid celebration each year depended on the moon, it was also predictable.
That meant schools and other organisations could avoid booking events at that time which might exclude their Muslim students or employees, he said.
“I can tell you when next year’s Eid will be right now,” Mr Bhatti said.
“If I say it will be on Monday, it could be on Tuesday, but it can’t be on Wednesday. So it’s very predictable and schools can definitely prepare themselves for this one or two days.”
Mr Bhatti said he had spoken out not through anger, but in an attempt to educate the general community.
“I am not angry, I am not. I think I want our communities to learn each other’s important days, and if we can do that it would be really good,” he said.
“It makes us better humans and it gives us the impression that we are one community and one people, although we have differences.”
Mr Bhatti said he loved Shepparton and was only trying to help social cohesion, not only at his school, but also in the broader community.
“I have lived in Shepparton for eight or nine months now, a year. We have never come across any incident that I can say, not even a look, where you feel alienated or you feel like you’re in a town which is not yours,“ he said.
“From the day you come to Shepparton, you feel like home.”
Mr Bhatti said he approached the school to inform it of the clashing dates when his children brought home information about the school photos, but was disappointed with the response.
Bourchier Street Primary School provided a response prepared by the Education Department.
“The Bourchier Street Primary School photo day was pre-scheduled for Tuesday, May 3, the same day as Eid celebrations,” the statement read.
“Every effort was made to reschedule the photo day but given current demand this was not possible. Impacted families have been invited to have individual photos taken on another day. Every effort will be made to avoid such a clash in future.”
