been a long battle but finally...

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/05/nyregion/new-york-to-add-two-muslim-holy-days-to-public-school-calendar.html

Mayor Bill de Blasio will announce on Wednesday morning that New York public schools will observe two of the most sacred Muslim holy days — Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.

The changes to the school calendar, which already recognizes several Jewish and Christian holidays, fulfills a pledge Mr. de Blasio made during his campaign and represents the increasing influence of the city’s diverse Muslim community.

Mr. de Blasio announced the new school policy in a message on Twitter on Wednesday, calling it “a change that respects the diversity of our city.” He will join Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña later this morning to discuss the change.

Official estimates of the number of Muslims living in New York City vary from 600,000 to 1 million.

A Columbia University study in 2008 found that about 10 percent of New York City public-school children are Muslim, and about 95 percent of Muslim children in the city attend public schools.
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Students at a forum held in March at Public School 69 in Jackson Heights, Queens, calling on New York City's public schools to recognize Muslim holidays.
Muslims in New York City Unite on Push to Add Holidays to School CalendarAPRIL 17, 2014

Eid al-Adha, also known as the Festival of Sacrifice, commemorates a pivotal event shared by Judaism, Christianity and Islam: the willingness of Ibrahim, or Abraham, to sacrifice his son to God.

Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the holy month of fasting for Ramadan, which is signaled by the sighting of the crescent moon.

For years, Muslim community leaders have been urging the city add Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha to the calendar, and in 2009, the City Council passed a resolution supporting such a change.

But Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg took a different view, saying children needed more time in school, not less.

Since then, Muslim New Yorkers from a host of countries, including Bosnia and Montenegro, Egypt and Syria, Pakistan and Bangladesh have banded together to press the issue.

After Mr. de Blasio was elected mayor, a coalition of Muslim groups began holding rallies in the city’s five boroughs and distributing postcards that reminded Mr. de Blasio that including the Muslim school holidays is a matter of “recognition, inclusion and respect.”

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that there should be no official religious observances to begin with.

If you need to observe for a religious holiday, you should just be allowed to stay home.

Was a product of the NYC public school system my whole life and still can't get my Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Passover days straight. I always just saw them as days off from school.

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Maintain chill at all times.

so even though those wouldn't be official religious holidays if you removed all official religious observances
there'd still be the same issue for people of faiths other than Christianity

"i fear no fate" e.e. cummings
"No girl. No fried chicken. I'm going back to get some sleep." - Haruki Murakami

http://instagram.com/schemeofthings

good work.

fuck you.