Muslims Fear Backlash Over Ramadan Feast on 9/11

Ramadan’s final celebratory feast just happens to fall on or around September 11 this year, and American Muslims are a bit worried people will get the wrong idea. It’s entirely a coincidence—thanks to Islam’s lunar calendar, the holiday, called Eid al-Fitr, occurs about 10 days earlier each year—but many fear the feast will be misconstrued as a celebration of the attacks, the Guardian reports. Some communities are even shifting their celebrations to other days.

“I don’t think people will change their religious observances,” which consist primarily of a morning prayer, said a Council on American-Islamic Relations spokesman. “But they might do something about the funfairs and bazaars they hold to celebrate.” Another Islamic group is urging the same, telling groups to celebrate another day. “We wish it to be as close to Eid as possible,” said a spokesman, “But we don’t want it on 9/11. That would be insensitive.” (More Ramadan stories.)