Eid al-Adha declared holiday in Maryland school district in US

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Sunday 17 Jan 2016 - 13:32 Makkah mean time-7-4-1437 Image from World Bulletin Maryland, (IINA) - The Howard County Board of Education in Maryland state voted unanimously on Thursday to add Eid al-Adha to the list of days off for religious holidays, as recognition of Muslim holidays grows within U.S. school districts, World Bulletin online news reported. Eid al-Adha will now become a holiday where more Muslim children in the US can look forward to celebrating outside of school. Alongside the Eid, the County boards also added Lunar New Years and the Hindu holiday Diwali. "I am extremely pleased by the Board's ability to discuss and unanimously agree to seek ways to recognize the diverse backgrounds of Howard County's students and families," said Christine O'Connor, the chairwoman of the board, the Baltimore Sun reported. "We want to do our best to find flexibility within the calendar to provide opportunities for all students to experience all cultures within our community." Back in March 2015, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio also announced that the city's public schools would close for Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, starting in the fall of 2015. "This is a common sense change and one that recognizes our growing Muslim community and honors its contributions to our city,” de Blasio said in a statement. School districts elsewhere in the country, including in Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut, have made similar decisions to close on Muslim holidays. Some have recognized the holidays for years, while others have done so only recently. "When these holidays are recognized, it’s a sign that Muslims have a role in the political and social fabric of America," Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), told the New York Times in March 2015, after New York City's decision to observe both Eid holidays. SM/IINA