NYC public schools to close for two Muslim holidays

New York City Public Schools will get two new days off in 2015, as Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the city will incorporate the Muslim holidays of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha into its academic calendar. It will be the largest US school district to do so.

good idea??

http://rt.com/usa/237737-nyc-schools-close-muslim-holidays/

I'm sure the students are happy for more days off regardless of the reason.

where do you draw the line though? Shouldn't ALL religious holidays for every religion be taken off then?

Kids wont care one way or another. Only people it will effect are nut jobs scared of a Muslim invasion.

Fun fact: In my military days a lot of the lads suspiciously embraced Islam in order to take advantage of the tonne of religious holidays you get out of it.

Look, a troll.

Why is he a troll?

I don't think it's a good idea. What makes those 2 holidays more important then others from the same or even different religions?

yeah, my thinking was along those lines. How are you gunna cherry pick holidays. Equality is out the window at that point and that's a problem. I was trying to think of christian holidays that are taken off but I seriously couldn't think of any. National holidays are observed but that's not a religous thing. Xmas falls during Winter break but the break isn't done specifically to honor christmas. Am I missing something or are there none?

It seems like a slippery slope.

I fully support all efforts which could lead to me receiving additional days off of work :P

That's an interesting point. Where do you draw the line in a secular nation? Does it begin and end with Christian holidays? Do we exclude Christian holidays as well to avoid drawing an arbitrary line?

Fairest way is to set threshold of a percentage of students enrolled are of a certain religion then there are days off for that religion's holidays or my personal preference no religious holidays of any kind.

I don't think any school kids are going to be complaining. It won't be changing teacher salaries. I imagine the day of school will likely be made up earlier or later in the year.

Still, I get the feeling to allow for this is largely based around the break school kids get for Christmas, which on its face is a religious holiday, and a national one, so this action seems largely to avoid a double standard, but I don't see it that way. I see Xmas more as a secular holiday in practice, and its roots come before Christianity. The idea of spending time with people important to you, exchanging gifts, having fun, religion doesn't own that.

If you ask me I'm against it though, mainly because doing so may open a can of worms, soon people will be asking for Satanic holidays and Spaghetti Monster holidays, even going to court for it.

I think we need to look at this from a different perspective. The issue stems more from how many students are generally absent those days. If a large percentage of students are gone those days, due to, in this case a religious event, it may be more beneficial to just make that a holiday and just add another school day to the year.

Regarding Christian holidays, Easter is generally given a day off if I remember right.

I never got any holidays off in the military. -_-

Private schools can choose, but the Constitution doesn't really allow this kind of thing. Eroding the wall between government and religion is at odds to the Constitution.

"hussein obama's muslim rule"

"tyrant administration"

"great countries Christian downfall"

"Grab your bible and pray. This was foretold in the great book and Jesus is coming to take back what is his"

I mean, he's either a troll or a nutjob who actually believes stuff from the Fox News talking heads

Wow, it's hard to believe that there are some people who still think that the President runs this country. Obama and the 43 other dudes are just puppets on a string.

Except for JFK, but we all know what happen to him when he tried to cut those strings.

Yah but I was in the NZ military. Your guys' military actually does stuff.

NZ? Neutral Zone?...I think maybe I've been watching too much Star Trek. :)

New Zealand. Don't stress, we're left off about 7 out of 10 world maps and are only famous for our recent Orc infestation.

I... don't know? I mean...Okay? It's not a big deal to me. Don't know why people are happy/angry.

Easter is always on a Sunday. And Christmas is always during winter holiday.

Correct... Of course Easter is on a Sunday, but that's not the point I was going for. What I was going for is that school districts often give the Friday and/or Monday off because of Easter while naming it "Easter break" or "Spring break".

Lets get rid off of all religious holidays officially sanctioned by the state. There. Done.

Troll harder....

Our sheep shagging cousins across the ditch! :)

What? Theres no holiday for lunar new year, but this gets two? These holidays better allow smoking and drinking.

Respecting religious diversity in a religiously diverse nation is a step in the right direction. Picking and choosing which religions the First Amendment applies to would be unconstitutional. That is not to say that violence is ever justified and that is the truth whether it be for religious reasons or based on philosophical thought.

Really? I got the 4th of July off.

Exactly. Thomas Jefferson would be behind that. And so should all true Americans.

@BSC14: lol

Personally, kids need to stay their asses in school. It's ridiculous how many days off kids in my area are getting that aren't even based on holidays.

When was that during slavery? or when segregation was the norm when most people that where so racist that they didn't even respect black churches and blew them up?

No religious holidays should be acknowledged.

Our dollar is worth more than yours, I'll be the one making the disparaging comments here.

Well as an athiest is say it is a great idea because you show you have respect for muslim traditions by acknowledging it as a official holiday.

Respect is the first step to acceptance...

How come?

@mjorh: Don't try to talk to the redneck

Your unit never took "training holidays" ??

Pain in the arse for any non-muslim parents now having to pay somebody to care for their children while they're at work.

@repub4liberty: Hmmm. The constitution, the document upon which our nation was founded, contains 4,543 words, none of which are Jesus, Christianity, or the bible. Would you mind explaining how you believe this nation was built upon Christian values?

Also, which part of the bible directly references the state of New York allowing Muslim holidays as part of the educational school system's holiday and the punishment we are to receive from Jesus because of it?

Oh, and in your response, please spare me from your stock propagandic statements.

@repub4liberty: While Lincoln was a Republican, he didn't just issue the Emanciaption Proclamation because of the goodness of his heart. The blacks were recruited to fight with the North against the South. The United States were in a state of turmoil and war. The Emanciaption Proclamation was issued to keep the country from falling apart because the North and the black people were fighting for what's right.

I wonder how many people would still be racist if they knew Jesus wasn't white?

Too much

the terrorists have won apparently