Bill recognizing 2 Islamic holidays clears WA Senate: ‘We stand by all our communities’

When state Sen. Yasmin Trudeau was still in law school, she had to have an uncomfortable conversation with a professor about the timing of an exam. The test fell on Eid al-Fitr, an Islamic holiday celebrating the end of Ramadan, a month of fasting and prayer.

Trudeau asked for the exam to be moved. The professor declined.

Now, as the first Muslim-American to serve in the Washington state Legislature, Trudeau is spearheading a bill that would officially recognize Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha in Washington state. Last week, Senate Bill 5106 passed off the upper-chamber floor by a vote of 47-1, with one lawmaker excused.

Trudeau told McClatchy that her experience with the professor helped inspire her to bring the bill forward.

“It really just left me feeling like nobody should be in a position to have to advocate for their own religious holidays and their own opportunities to observe,” the Tacoma Democrat said in an interview. “And I don’t want anyone else to really experience anything like I had to experience in that conversation.”

Some 80,000 to 100,000 Muslims call Washington home, and there are about 50 mosques throughout the state, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Washington chapter.

Trudeau’s bill comes at a time when the broader Muslim community has a “target on our backs,” the lawmaker said Feb. 26 on the Senate floor. Speaking with McClatchy, she referenced the so-called Muslim travel ban during the first term of President Donald Trump, who’s now back in the White House.

Over the past year, she said, many Muslims in the U.S. have faced isolation and questioned where they belong.

“I really wanted an opportunity for this Washington to show that we stand by all our communities — that we recognize and we actually respect that we have religious liberties here in this Washington, even while the other Washington doesn’t,” Trudeau said.

The state Legislature currently recognizes 20 days that aren’t considered paid legal holidays, including Korean-American Day and the Lunar New Year. Trudeau’s bill would add Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha to the list.

Eid al-Fitr would be recognized on the first day of the 10th month of the Islamic calendar, which operates based on the lunar cycle and shifts by 10 to 11 days every year. In 2025, Eid al-Fitr is expected to start March 30 or March 31, according to the Muslim charity Islamic Relief.

Eid al-Adha, a holiday remembering the Prophet Ibrahim’s sacrifice, would be commemorated on the 10th day of the 12th month of the Islamic calendar. This year it’s expected to start June 6.

Trudeau noted that the Muslim community has already been in a vulnerable place following decades of misinformation and misrepresentation.

“It feels like the Muslim community is often pitted between, you know: It’s either you’re an engineer or you’re a terrorist,” she said. “And I was like, ‘We’re just out here, obnoxiously average.’”

The Feb. 26 Senate floor vote on Trudeau’s bill was nearly unanimous. State Sen. Jim McCune, a Pierce County Republican, was the lone “no.”

Trudeau said she was grateful and overwhelmed by the widespread support her bill received. The sole no-vote was at once a shock and not, she said, adding that she hasn’t spoken to McCune about it yet.

“But I think it is something that we should all pay close attention to, because why would you vote ‘no’ on something that is about someone’s constitutionally protected religious liberties, and that doesn’t mandate anything or cost anything?” she said. “It is a simple message that’s really deep, and I’m very disappointed that he felt like he needed to take a no vote and reject the entire community and his caucus’s position on the bill.”

McClatchy reached out to McCune’s office seeking comment on the vote, but the senator did not reply.

Trudeau hopes that her bill will spark meaningful conversations. There are Muslims all over the state who might feel more seen.

“We learn to be better towards each other when we have opportunities for dialogue,” she said. “It is a lot harder to hate people that you talk to and understand and see as everyday people.”

This story was originally published March 4, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Bill recognizing 2 Islamic holidays clears WA Senate: ‘We stand by all our communities’."

Simone Carter

The Olympian

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