Sunday, October 20, 2013

NYC Mayoral Candidates both say schools should close on Muslim Holidays

No matter who is elected mayor next month, city kids will likely find two new vacation days on the school calendar: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, the holiest days of the Muslim year. 
Both Democrat Bill de Blasio and Republican Joe Lhota say schools should close on the two holidays, just as they do for major Jewish and Christian days.
It's a matter of "respect" for a religion practiced by an estimated 13 percent of city school kids, de Blasio said Wednesday at a campaign rally with Muslim groups in Brooklyn. 
"The origins of this nation (are) people of many different faiths coming together … That's why we have to respect Muslim faiths by providing the Eid school holidays for children in our school system," de Blasio said.
The two holidays fall at different times during the year but often land on school days, including in 2006 when they coincided with a state-wide test. 
“A child who has an exam on a day that right now is one of the Eid holidays, they're either respecting their religious obligation or they're doing what their education requires of them,” de Blasio said. “They can't do both under our current system."
Read the rest of the story HERE.

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