On Wednesday, New York City mayor Bill de Blasio announced that in the following school year the two Muslim holidays Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha will be included in public schools' academic calendars. Mayor de Blasio had previously pledged to make the city more tolerant and inclusive, and it seems that he is following through on his word. For Muslim activists, this has been received as a significant victory. New York City will be the first major city in the U.S. to have days off for these holidays. Although some critics were against this policy, due to their reasoning that children should be in school more, not less. However this reasoning was shot down due not only will school start a day eariler due to Eid al-Adha being on September 24th, and Eid al-Fitr falls in the summer according to the lunar calendar. So overall, there is very little impact of the student's academia on account of these two holidays, but the real impact lies on the social implications that comes with this. It shows that America is taking steps forward to decrease intolerance towards to Muslim community, and including them in the fabric of our society.
Article can be found here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/05/nyregion/new-york-to-add-two-muslim-holy-days-to-public-school-calendar.html?_r=0
By Anne Sortino
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