The Muslim Association of Malawi (MAM) has formally condemned the Government of Malawi for failing to gazette Eid al-Adha (Eidul Adhuha) in the official 2026 national public holiday calendar — an omission the association describes as a deliberate act of religious discrimination against Malawi's Muslim community.
The Ministry of Local Government released Malawi's 2026 public holiday calendar without any recognition of Eid al-Adha — one of the two holiest celebrations in the Islamic calendar. While the government has on occasion announced the day as a public holiday informally, the failure to gazette it formally means Muslim workers and students have no legal protection to observe the day.
MAM Spokesperson Sheikh Dinala Chabulika said the omission is unacceptable and undermines the principles of religious equality enshrined in Malawi's constitution. "This is not just an oversight — it is a deliberate snub. The government has reduced a holy celebration to a political gesture, announcing it without the formal legal recognition of gazetting it," said Sheikh Chabulika.
He warned that the continued failure to gazette Eid al-Adha marginalises Malawi's Muslim population — estimated at over 35 percent of the national population — and sends a deeply troubling signal about the government's commitment to religious equality.
MAM has submitted a formal petition to the Government of Malawi demanding that Eid al-Adha be immediately and permanently gazetted as a national public holiday, with the same legal recognition afforded to Christian holidays. The association calls on all Members of Parliament, civil society organisations, and people of goodwill to support this rightful demand.
"Malawi is a nation of diverse faiths and we must ensure that no religious community is made to feel like second-class citizens in their own country," said Sheikh Chabulika. "We will continue to pursue this matter through all legitimate channels until justice is done."