Jun 30, 2009 2:07 pm US/Eastern
Bloomberg: Schools Won't Close For Muslim Holidays
ALBANY (CBS) ―
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NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg (File)
CBS
Mayor Michael Bloomberg says New York City's schools can't close for Muslim holidays.
The City Council is considering a nonbinding resolution on Tuesday asking the Education Department to observe Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.
The city has the nation's largest school system. A 2008 study by Columbia University's Teachers College estimates at least 10 percent of its 1.1 million students are Muslim.
Eid, which means "festivity", al-Fitr, "to break fast," marks the end of Ramadan.
Eid al-Adha celebrates the willingness of Ibrahim -- known as Abraham to Christians and Jews -- to sacrifice his son. It is the most important Islamic holiday.
The resolution asks the Bloomberg administration to observe the holidays in schools and for the state to require it by amending education law.
The mayor says the city is so diverse schools can't observe every holiday.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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