These teacher notes have been prepared by the Council on Islamic Education, a national, non-profit educational resource organization, dedicated to providing information on Islam and Muslims to public school teachers, textbook publishers, and others involved in the education field.

Islam is one of the world’s major religions, and is the final link in the Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition of monotheism (belief in One God). Islam has two major religious celebrations. One of them, known as Eid al-Adha (Festival of Sacrifice), takes place during the time of the Hajj, or annual pilgrimage to the city of Makkah (in modern-day Saudi Arabia). See this page for more information on the Hajj.

The second holiday occurs after the completion of Ramadan. Ramadan is the month in the lunar calendar during which Muslims (believers in Islam) fast daily from dawn to sunset as part of an effort towards self-purification and betterment. This holiday at the end of Ramadan is known as Eid al-Fitr (Festival of Breaking the Fast).

In order to teach about the important holidays of Islam, teachers can print out and copy information from these pages and distribute them to their students. After providing 15-20 minutes to read the pages, teachers can use the provided questions to guide discussion and elicit responses from the students. Some suggested activities for students are also included.