It is selective accommodation, while traditional American Christian holidays get watered down
A mere 25 years since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States by nineteen Islamic extremists, and the California Legislature appears ready to adopt two Muslim holidays.
Are Democrats following in the footsteps or one-upping a Minnesota school district, which recently approved a Muslim holiday to its academic calendar?
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Public schools are public institutions meant for foundational academic learning, literacy, numeracy, reading comprehension and mathematical problem-solving, history, geography, science, and the arts, and the ability to use them fluently, not centers for religious or ideological indoctrination.
AB 2017, sponsored by CAIR, authored by Assemblyman Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) would add the Muslim holidays of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha to California’s list of official state holidays, authorizing schools to close along with 11 other state recognized holidays.
The bill was put on the suspense file August 3, and appeared it would not make the cut. But Friday, the Senate read the legislation for a second time and ordered it to a third reading, meaning it could be on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk Monday morning.
Bill sponsors, the Council on American-Islamic Relations California (CAIR-CA), the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs (CAPIAA), and the recently formed Muslim Impact Council, claim the measure is a matter of “equity” so Muslim students and workers do not have to choose between religious observance and school or work, Haney said.
The Globe reported on Haney’s bill in July, noting preferential formal recognition plus curriculum celebration for one minority faith, while majority Christian cultural markers are often generically renamed, is not strict neutrality. It is selective accommodation. Similar optional recognition already exists or is expanding for other non-Christian observances (Diwali, Lunar New Year etc.). Pure consistency would either secularize all religious holidays uniformly or treat major faiths even-handedly without privileging celebration of one.
However, Christians remain the largest religious group in California, with Pew reporting 55% of adults identifying as Christian, and Catholics form a large plurality within that. Muslims are a small minority – only 1%.
This is a bunch of donkey dong. Hispanics in California celebrate Fiestas Patrias, the patriotic holidays. The American and Asian groups have their holidays, and so on. The schools don’t take them off. So, why should this group, which hates Americans and this country for what it stands for? This is BS!!!
PS: I forgot that Cesar Chavez Day is a holiday, and Kalifornia schools do get the day off. However, Kalifornia changed it to an immigrant holiday, for obvious reasons.
Newscum, re: making Islamic holidays a law here in CA – I have a much BETTER idea!!! Instead of signing a bill or allowing it to become REAL – IF you really want Islamic holidays – go the hell THERE!!!! You aren’t wanted here ANYWAY – and maybe you’ll be happier there!!!!!