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Article: NYC haggles over holidays: Council wants Muslim school holidays; mayor doesn't.(Faith: Religion and the world)
- Article from:
- Iran Times International (Washington, DC)
- Article date:
- July 10, 2009
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 Iran Times International. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The New York City Council has overwhelmingly passed a resolution urging the city school system to close schools for the two major Muslim holidays each year.
But Mayor Michael Bloomberg has the final say on school holidays and he has publicly denounced the idea taking more days off.
The mayor told reporters before the vote that the school calendar simply cannot accommodate every religion practiced in New York City and that the city should recognize only those where "a very large number of kids" practice the faith.
The City Council resolution said 100,000 New York City students or 12 percent practice Islam and that is sufficient size to deserve ...