Elected Official Highlights ‘Flagrant Bias’ of Mayor against Muslim students

Hundreds of New Yorkers Rally for Muslim School Holidays

(New York, NY 6/30/10)— On Wednesday, June 30, the one year anniversary of the city council vote overwhelmingly in favor of Muslim school holidays, hundreds of New Yorkers joined Comptroller John Liu and Council Member Robert Jackson at a rally and press conference on the steps of City Hall.

The rally, hosted by the Coalition for Muslim School Holidays, a diverse group of more than 80 community, labor, civil rights, and religious organizations from throughout New York, called on Mayor Michael Bloomberg to keep his promise and include Eid-ul Adha and Eid-ul Fitr in the New York City public school calendar.

At the press conference, Councilmember Jackson noted a "flagrant bias" against Muslim students highlighted in a June 28th letter sent by Chancellor Joel Klein to NYC public school parents: "How is it that you can consider re-tooling the school calendar for parental convenience or the Jewish holidays but categorically refuse to accommodate the 12% of the student body who are forced to choose between honoring the tenets of their faith or meet academic obligations?"

To view the entire letter, see: http://bit.ly/9oZGU8

In response to the letter, Community Affairs Director from the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) Faiza N. Ali said: "The Chancellor's letter indicates that the NYC school calendar is flexible and incorporating Muslim holidays will not compromise instructional days. Then why is the mayor's office failing to accommodate 100,000 Muslim students? "

Comptroller John Liu said: "One in every eight school kids in the City of New York observes the Muslim faith. Yet these students are forced to choose between their education and their faith, and it's a situation that needs to be rectified. For a long time, this has been framed as a contracts issue. But this is not an issue of contracts. This is an issue of conscience. And we need to do the right thing to ensure that our school kids no longer have to choose between schools and their faith."

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio said: "About 12 percent of New York City students are Muslim and consequently thousands of students miss exams and important activities because they are scheduled on Muslim holidays. The Department of Education should treat these students equally and include the two main Islamic holidays in the school calendar, just as it does with other major religions."

United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew said: "The United Federation of Teachers is committed to helping ensure that all New York City school children are equally supported and respected in their religious traditions. The United Federation of Teachers supports the students, parents and educators who are seeking a way to incorporate these important Muslim holidays into the school calendar."

Social justice activist and daughter of Malcolm X Ilyasah Shabazz said: "By incorporating the Eids in the public school calendar, we will send a powerful message of inclusion and respect to the City's 1 million Muslims—and we will send a message of inclusion to the world. We will uphold my father's vision of an America that grants our children an equitable education while respecting religious traditions and diversity—while respecting humanity."

After the rally, NYC public school students hand delivered an Eid Now! Message to the mayor's office to highlight the unfair choice 100,000 Muslims students have to make between observing important religious holidays and their education.

The Coalition for Muslim School Holidays is a broad inter-faith, inter-ethnic coalition of labor, community, civil rights and religious organizations as well as students, parents and educators. The Coalition recognizes the importance of the City Council's passage of Resolution 1281 and calls on the Department of Education to incorporate the holidays into the school calendar.