CAIR-NY Welcomes City Council Vote on Muslim Holidays in Schools

NEW YORK, June 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) today joined a coalition of community organizations in welcoming the passage of a resolution by a committee of the city council that calls for adding Muslim holidays to the school calendar.

Resolution 1281, passed overwhelmingly by the New York City Council Education Committee, calls on the "New York City Department of Education to incorporate the Muslim holidays of Eid Ul-Fitr and Eid Ul-Adha as observed school holidays in the school calendar for the city school district of the city of New York" and also asks that the state legislature "pass, and the Governor to sign into law, A.8108/S.5837, an Act to amend the education law, in relation to requiring that Eid Ul-Fitr and Eid Ul-Adha be school holidays in the city school district of the city of New York."

The Coalition for Muslim School Holidays - a broad interfaith, inter-ethnic coalition of labor, community, civil rights, and religious organizations - also urged the entire city council to support including Muslim holidays in the school calendar.

"Today marks a positive step forward in the effort to provide a more inclusive educational environment for all students," said CAIR-NY Community Affairs Director Faiza N. Ali, who sits on the steering committee of the Coalition for Muslim School Holidays. "This resolution advances religious liberty, recognizes the growing Muslim population in New York and promotes our great city's values of diversity and inclusion."

She noted that the New York City area is home to some 1 million Muslims, one of the fastest growing and most diverse religious populations in the city. More than 90 percent of Muslim students attend public schools and one in eight public school students is Muslim.

CAIR offers a booklet, called "An Educator's Guide to Islamic Religious Practices," designed to promote diversity and accommodate Muslim students in educational institutions.

Ali also urged Speaker Christine Quinn and the entire city council to pass Resolution 1281: "Our community continues to face issues of harassment and discrimination in schools. The city now has an opportunity to help foster a better understanding of Islam and re-affirm that Muslims are a valued part of this city."

Of course they are victims. Give them holidays and that will help make it all better?

In a similar effort to promote religious inclusion in New York, CAIR-NY yesterday joined the Sikh Coalition in its request to end a Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) uniform policy that requires Sikh and Muslim transit workers to brand their religious head covering with MTA logos.