When Natasha Khan Kazi was a student at the University of Pittsburgh in the early aughts, Eid al-Fitr — a major Muslim holiday that marks the end of a monthlong fasting during Ramadan — fell just before Christmas break. So while many of her classmates went through finals week anticipating the warmth of holiday gatherings a few days later, Khan Kazi spent her Eid in a crowded classroom bent over her exams.
“There were so many moments growing up where I wasn’t seen or acknowledged, or all the joy I felt for my celebration was quieted,” she told Religion News Service recently.
So when Khan Kazi saw earlier this month that Target, the big-box store and online retailer, had included her recently published children’s book, “Moon’s Ramadan,” in its first Ramadan and Eid holiday collection, “I was speechless,” she said. “It was being seen, and being acknowledged, it was showing that our celebration mattered.”
