Posted on 05/28/2004 10:26:52 AM PDT by NYer
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) _ Atlantic City has become the fourth school district in New Jersey to recognize Muslim holidays.
The city's board of education approved districtwide days off for Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, two sacred Islamic holidays, for the upcoming school year. Previously, under state law Muslim students and teachers were allowed to take off Islamic holidays without being penalized.
According to Superintendent Fredrick P. Nickles, about 560 of the city's 7,800 children are Muslim. Board member Cornell Davis, who is Muslim, called the decision ``courageous'' in light of current tensions between Americans and Islamic extremists. ``It shows a lot of character about us as Americans,'' Davis told The Press of Atlantic City.
Eid al-Fitr, a festival celebrating the breaking of the fast of Ramadan, will be observed on Nov. 15. Eid al-Adha, a festival of sacrifice and pilgrimage, will be observed on Jan. 21.
To fit the two holidays into the school calendar, officials reduced the number of days schools can take off for emergencies from six to four. That means if schools close for snow or other emergencies more than four days, the days would have to be made up during spring recess or on Saturdays in June, Nickles said.
School districts in Trenton, Paterson and Irvington already recognize Islamic holidays.
AP-ES-05-28-04 1312EDT
I can only imagine what comes next. Christians's can't say the Pledge of Allegiance with the words "under God", can't say prayers at school functions, can't even celebrate Christmas in a non-secular way, but these kids will be bowing to Mecca! Give me a break.
Surely the ACLU is fighting this tooth and nail.
I have wanted to visit Spain for quite some time.
Can I consult you for travel advice?
You can legally do that in NJ.
Oh goodie! I am sure that there may be at least 10 or so witches within the district, so I do hope they are also able to secure district-wide holidays for at least 2 of their wiccan high holy days. </end sarcasm>
me too - thinking about Barcelona
"A Festivus, For the Rest of Us!" - Frank Costanza
I will go with that,
Many pastors and teachers are already characterizing this as the "post-Christian age" in America.
I wondered that at well. I also wonder...
Why have school districts dropped the terms Christmas vacation and Easter vacation due to the religious connotations (not to mention badgering from non-Christians), yet naming Islamic holidays is supposedly courageous?
Why can Christian children (and teachers) be disciplined for openly displaying Christian symbols of their faith, yet Muslim girls are permitted to wear headwear that signifies their faith?
Why has the White House been opened to Muslim prayer?
Where are we headed?
If Christians started wearing red shirts, blouses, jackets, coats, t-shirts, and such to signify the blood of Jesus Christ, would school districts, employers, and the government ban the color red?
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