America was founded by Christians and theists who appealed to the Bible as they created what would become the greatest country in the world, but America is not, never was, and never will be a “Christian” nation. We live in a pluralistic society where people are free to worship golden calves if they desire.
Given the principle of freedom of religion, it’s only a matter of time before more Americans who practice Islam insist that their religious holidays days be recognized, just as Christian and Jewish holidays are recognized.
Muslims in Baltimore County, Maryland, have gone so far as to demand that Muslim holidays be added to the school calendar. After the request was rejected, they called for the removal of Jewish holidays.
Someone not affiliated with the school said the cost of using substitutes for absent Jewish teachers is high, so students get those days off, too. [Clarification: I assume kids get those days off. Don't quote that until I check it.] When acquiring substitutes for Muslim teachers becomes “too costly,” the school board may reconsider. That’s logical. But I don’t like it.
[Update: Commenter Christine says: "I grew up in Montgomery County Maryland, and yes we did (and the kids still do– at the moment) get Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur off...We’re one of the few school systems in the country that does this."]
I don’t like the idea of government schools in America observing the holidays of a religion I believe is incompatible with the very principles that allow its adherents in America to worship their god in peace. It’s a strange and twisted irony. Islamic governments would balk at such notions as “worship their god in peace.” Again, it’s ironic. 
For discussion:
1) The government recognizes and observes certain “Christian” and Jewish holidays. Should it recognize and observe Muslim holidays where economically feasible? Why or why not?
2) Would it lead to a “slippery slope?”
Sources and Resources:
- Baltimore County rejects Muslim holidays
- What Would the Founders Do Today?
- Recognizing Muslim Holidays
- School board bans religious holidays
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I never got good friday off, we got “easter” off but actually we got the monday after easter off, we actually got the following week or the second following week, but I think it was the week after, can’t remember for sure(not the week of easter) off, for “spring break” (which is actually a period of time allocated so that the teachers and school system could process standardized testing) so I have no problem with puting the monday after easter back into the curriculuum.
If you look at the religious holidays that are granted “off” you will see that they align either with nationalistic holidays, or with convenient periods of relaxation and catch-up for the educational system to process testing, grading and categorization of students.
I don’t much mind “amnesty” days, like for those faithful catholics who feel they must adhere to a day off for “good friday” or “ash wednesday” (though there is nothing in the faith that denies work, or effort, so their is no reason to really offer it) without punishment for attendance, however, the student MUST make up the work PRIOR to the holiday if there is to be a test (to prevent the aspect of peer test preparation, as in, all the kids who did attend tell the other kid what the test is testing) and all homework must be made up after.
Also note, that muslims have a sabbath on friday, and they have an entire month of “fasting” which isn’t really fasting, it is just controled feeding based on the daily solar cycle. So a school system would have to completely remake it’s schedule to accomodate these things. Tests could no longer occur on friday, as they often do, and nothing of importance would be allowed happen during ramadon (I don’t care about the spelling.) Yes, this is a slippery slope.
It would, in affect be a de facto segregation policy, forcing non-muslim students to be without accomplishment, while muslim students were forgiven every act during their innumerable holidays.
Not to mention, since the eid is a social holiday there is nothing to keep them from attending school, so will the schools start slaughtering goats at the beginning of the day, and then cook them up for the lunch menu?
I have enough problems with the whole “religiously acceptable” meals that schools are required to offer. You don’t like what is being offered? Bag lunch it buddy.
Heliotrope: A theocracy is a form of government, not a religion. And if I’m to believe the arguments commonly made on this and many other blogs, America was originally a theocracy. The arguments against the separation of church and state invariably turn to “We were founded on Christianity” or “Our forefathers were all Christian”, etc.
On a lighter note.. I thought Cinco de Mayo was already a national holiday.. it is here at my local Mexican restaurant
Ok I’m done now too.
True religion is the source of love, unity, peace and justice. Any “religion” which does not promote these things is not religion at all but ideology manipulating the language, symbols and institutions of religion for narrow, selfish purposes. It is such manipulation that is the real problem and people of good will of all faiths and no faith should unite in exposing this tendency whenever and whereever we recognize it. If we do this we will contribute to a society where spirituality can flourish and America can evolve into an even greater nation exemplifying the power of true religion for the world. This is my prayer as a proud American. Thanks LaShawn for raising this issue and for all those who have added their two cents to an important conversation. God bless us all.
The federal govt. can only establish legal holidays for federal employees and the District of Columbia. The states can each establish their own legal holidays. And private industry can establish their own recognized holidays.
There’s really only one Christian holiday recognized by the federal govt. and all states…..Christmas. Thanksgiving is religious oriented but is not necessarily uniquely Christian. So, I think it would be a slippery slope if you started considering creating legal holidays for other religions’ holy days.
Interesting things I found while surfing the ‘net on this subject:
A study by the University of Michigan found that the U.S. was one of the most religious countries in the world: 46% of Americans attended church services at least once a week compared to 14% in Great Britain, 8% in France and 4% in Japan. http://www.umich.edu/news/index.html?Releases/2003/Nov03/r111703
Religious persecution in Europe drove settlers to immigrate to America in search of a place to worship as they saw fit. Interestingly, these settlers were all Christians seeking to practice their version of Christianity. In Europe, they were killing people who did not ascribe to the one true universal church. http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel01.html
America’s founding fathers thought religion should play an important role in American Society. But they were not concerned with religious diversity in non-Christian religions. The debate leading to the first amendment was over the role the federal govt. should have in supporting religion as opposed to the states. Hence the amendment was not to proscribe states from making certain laws regarding religious practices but to prohibit the federal govt. from establishing and supporting certain religious practices and imposing them on all states.http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel06.html
I’m late to the comments, here. But just wanted to add that here in Detroit – in Dearborn, MI to be exact – one of our public high schools caters to the Muslim religion:
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060530/NEWS05/605300388/1007
“Completed in 1928, Fordson High’s architecture was based on buildings at Yale and the University of Michigan. Back then, almost all of its students were of European background, while today, almost 90% of the students are of Arab descent, students and teachers say.
On the walls of the new cafeteria hang menus that list $3 shawarma sandwiches and humus with bread, along with more traditional fare like pizza and subs. All meat is served halal, the Muslim equivalent of kosher.”
#103 Thomas: In a theocracy, the bigwigs of the sole religion run the country according to their religious beliefs. The Taliban would be a recent example. Iran is a theocracy, although it has a puppet “elected government” that is permitted to exist by the mullahs in Qom.
A basic pillar of Islam is that the religion rules the people. Turkey, under the dictator Ataturk, set up a state separate from Islamic rule in the 1920’s and they have been trying to keep their government separate from religious rule ever since. Egypt is another example. Both Turkey and Egypt have strong, dangerous factions who want to force the states to return to being theocracies. All across the world in Islamic countries from Pakistan to Malaysia, there are dictators that out power the mullahs, but are essentially theocrats. Even Saddam played the game of being a devout Muslim.
The history of Spain is an excellent one to study to understand Islamic theocratic rule.
Hope this helps clarify my question to you.
I expect that each state is different, but in my state, the local school board determines the days off during the school year. Again, each district may be different, but in our district, the contract negotiated with the teachers gives them a very strong voice in establishing the calendar each year. The way it works is that the teachers propose a calendar and the board either accepts it without change, or makes adjustments and then passes the calendar for the next year. This is usually done in the Jan – Mar. time frame.
Although it hasn’t been tested in court, most public schools avoid nomenclature that would indicate a religious nature to the holidays – we don’t have Christmas holidays, we have “winter break”. We don’t have Easter holidays, we have “spring break”. Winter break is always based on Christmas, spring break may or may not be based on Easter. Classrooms still celebrate the religious holidays of Halloween, St. Valentine’s day and St.Patrick’s day. They’ve been sufficiently secularized that most don’t even realize that they are religious holidays.
I presume that if some number of teachers were Muslims, it would be reflected in the school calendar. On the other hand, it seems that Muslims with extremist views send their children to Muslim schools which foster those views. Maybe getting them to send their children to public schools where their views are likely to be moderated might be a good thing – even if if requires a bit of accomodation. Maybe.
At least Yom Kippur is a holiday that Jesus celebrated.
Students and teachers have been allowed to take the less common religious days off if a school calendar does not recognize them. Radical Muslims will be enrolling their children in the Madrassas. Moderate Muslims should be given time off. I am more concerned that any Muslim who teaches in a public school adhere to the stated curriculum and not try to convert non-Muslims.
Personally, I think our political ends would be better served by seeking to establish common ground with liberal Muslims, because if we exclude them from our moderate fold they will simply turn to the extremist fold. I would rather have everyone take the first day of Ramadan off, and have Muslims feel more welcomed into American society (on the same grounds that Jews, Catholics, and others have had to accept — assimilation), than to make some silly religious or political point about how we hate bin Laden, so we will assume that all “true” Muslims support him. Dude, who cares what “true” Muslims think? I am much more interested in how we can get alienated PROFESSING Muslims on board with America, than attacking them because their beliefs use the same vocabulary as our estimation of “true” Muslims.
And our religious ends will be better served by Christians willing and able to intellectually engage other religions, not Christians who simply try to keep Muslims from proselytizing or keep Islam from becoming a part of American culture. I personally think that Britney Spears is a greater threat to the production of effective Christians than moderate Islam. Most people — Christians and otherwise — are vapid and emotional, and simply try to shut things up that they don’t like or dont’ agree with. Concern with the deeper issues is absent from intellectual discourse. Perhaps a tolerance of moderate Islam would encourage Christians to begin taking their intellectual responsibilities seriously again.
As for what Islam has contributed to the world, it was Islam’s fascination with ancient Greek philosophy that brought it to the attention of Europe, spurring the Renaissance and Enlightenment (not all of which were bad, by the way). The Islamic world contributed mathematical concepts, Arabic numerals, triangular sails, and a host of other innovations that were brought back from the Crusades.
I am more concerned that any Muslim who teaches in a public school adhere to the stated curriculum and not try to convert non-Muslim
I understand where you are coming from, but as long as we have people who are arrogant enough to believe that they are the only ones with the true path to G-d we have a problem.
That is all inclusive as we see this with all religions.
Shouldn’t we first establish whether or not Islam is a religion of peace? How many other religions cause military installations around the world to go on alert doing the observance of this Muslim holiday or that Muslim Holiday?
How tolerant is Islam? Shouldn’t that be a deciding factor as well? Christianity tolerates a great many faiths…would Islam? Sure they do here in the US but that is because the majority religions are tolerant of them. If you look at other nations around the world, their tolerance falls by the wayside for religious dogma.
I don’t think that we should be blackmailed or intimidated into adding other “faiths” into our public school system. These are the same tactics as the ACLU…the ‘Do it or else!’ clause that has intimidated so many groups into hiding their Christian faith in the public forum. Christianity is under attack in our country and we want to bring Islam into the fold? How does that help our country?
What next? Instead of the White House Prayer Breakfast their going to start having a ‘Call to Prayer’ in the White House where they all take out their prayer rugs and pray toward Mecca? And if they don’t do this then the Muslims are going to demand that all prayer is stopped in the White House?
They can buy a calendar that contains their holidays and they can take those days off if they choose to do so…changing everyone’s calendar to let us know why they aren’t at school or work that day goes to serve what purpose?
So I beg to differ with many of you. I believe that our nation was founded on Christian Principles and those principles have given our nation strength in the hard times and clarity in the troubling times of our past. We are a Christian majority nation and that majority does not impose it’s will upon minority faiths according to the Constitution. A minority faith imposing its will upon us is just as counter productive. The ACLU and the like finding offense with a cross in a field or on a tomb stone but fails to take offense when a greek goddess located on a county seal just reveals the double standard being used to address this issue.
What next…Satan’s Birthday? If I’m not mistaken, the Catholics have many religious days and observances that never appear on a public/secular calendar or observed in public schools…Why aren’t they in an uproar about not observing Saint so-in-so day in our public schools?
To sum it up clearly:
regarding faith: http://theworkingpatriot.blogspot.com/2006/03/declaration-of-christ-redemption.html
regarding gay marriage: Genesis 2:24 sums it up for me.
Mike DiBartolo
TWP
It shouldn’t be a problem. Look at it this way, the same people that hug, burned, mutilated and did unmentionables to black people claimed Christianity, and Lashawn you claim Christianity. Don’t say you can separate the thugs that claim Jesus, from the people that follow him, but you can’t separate the people who follow Prophet Muhammad from the thugs that claim him. Besides, religious holidays are always welcome.
As my fellow Dearbornite said earlier there is a large Muslim population in Dearborn, Michigan. The Dearborn Public Schools did not hold school during the Eid’s in early January. The reason was more pragmatic than respect for the holiday. Many Muslim families do not send their children on the Islamic Holy Days so the school population falls below the minimum and the district loses funding. Hence it is easier for the district to give the day off rather than lose the funding.
As to the larger issue, America gives religious freedom not simple toleration so it is proper then for the Muslims to request that their holidays be respected and treated equally. This is a conflict for many Americans who believe that this is a Christian Country. Honestly we must admit that America is a secular Country with a strong Christian influence. My problem with the whole issue is that Islam its self does not hold to religious freedom and holds minorities in dihimmitude. This should not cause us to limit their freedom but rather be wary of the tendencies of Islam to become radical. America does need to be cautious in allowing Islam to dictate its principles outside of Muslim communities.
#111 Rick Morris declares: “Perhaps a tolerance of moderate Islam would encourage Christians to begin taking their intellectual responsibilities seriously again.”
Turkey has developed a form of “moderate Islam” at the point of a gun. The US has a fair number of moderate Muslims who prefer the developed world to swatting sand fleas.
However, to be a moderate Muslim is to deny the pillars of Islam. So, what is at stake is weaning the Muslim away from basic tenets of his religious belief system. Discard Sharia law. Forget the infidel stuff. Hang out with a few Christians and a couple of Jews. Have a beer.
Mr. Morris encourages Christians to take “their intellectual responsibilities seriously again”. I say, to heck with Christians and Jews. Let the atheists and agnostics look into the belly of the beast, radical Islam, and teach the world to sing in perfect harmony.
Arnold Toynbee, the celebrated historian of the world’s civilizations noted: “Civilizations die from suicide, not by murder.”
Too many on the sidelines of religion do not understand the very basic concept that a war for survival can be waged by only side fighting out of religious fervor. The atheists and agnostics may throw stones at the Christians and Jews, but, like Nick Berg learned, being a pacifist or a critical bystander never swayed a fanatic Muslim.
For the sake of everyone, I hope that the fairytale of Darwinian evolution is hard at work on creating a “religion of peace” out of the Islamic cauldron. The first step will be the inclusion in Islam of a form of “The Golden Rule.” Islam is the only major religion in the history of the world that does not incorporate it as a basic belief. You can look it up. That’s my take on intellectual responsibilty.
Here’s an idea — we only recognize a holiday to the point of making it a day off if at least 10% of the students in the school are from families that observe that holiday.
That should end most of the nonsense.
If 10% or more of the students are from a special ethnic group or religion that does observe a holiday, great. Go for it.
If not — stop already. Take the day off if you must, but don’t impose it on the whole school.
For those who still believe Islam wants dialog:
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=18349
>>Too many on the sidelines of religion do not understand the very basic concept that a war for survival can be waged by only side fighting out of religious fervor. The atheists and agnostics may throw stones at the Christians and Jews, but, like Nick Berg learned, being a pacifist or a critical bystander never swayed a fanatic Muslim.>>
This really is the crux, isn’t it. I nearly got into a serious disagreement with my DIL several weeks ago about the “immersion” course in California 7th grade social studies deemed perfectly ok by the 9th federal circuit court. Her position was that if teaching about Christianity was ok, then teaching about Islam was ok too. I told her that teaching about Christianity in the same was was _not_ ok, but could send her cases to demonstrate it. I let the whole thing drop because I realized that the crucial issue was that I believe that Islam is the core of the problem, and she does not. I believe that Muslims – most of them – are enemies, she does not. I think this is the critical issue with most Liberals, and until we get their recognition of the basic problem, life is going to be tense.
Oh yeah…I really _do_ think teaching about Islam in school is a good idea, but I strongly suspect that the way I’d have it taught wouldn’t be very politically correct, and therefore would be unacceptable!
I don’t think giving Muslims their holidays off is asking too much.
It’s not like they’re asking for the month of Ramadan off.
They’re only askinf for specific days, namely the Eids.
I think that some, (though not all) people are forgetting that Christianity hasn’t always been so tollerant.
Also, to say that Muslims have contributed nothing to our culture shows a lack of education.
Arabic numerals, the concept of zero, the preservation of Greek and Roman literature, numerous advances in science, just to name a few.
Furthermore, it’s not like every Muslim is an extremist.
There are quite a few moderate Muslims in this country, who aren’t compromising their faith by assimilating into Western culture.
Jihad is not a pillar of Islam, and it’s hotly debated throughout Muslim literature.
Lots of Muslims condemn terrorism on moral grounds, but I don’t think it matters how many instances I site, they’ll never be believed by those who want to take the easy road of just declaring them all terrorists.
Am I saying that there aren’t terrorist Muslims, of course not.
But if all Muslims can be called terrorists because of what some do, then I suppose I can call all Christians evil people because of what some do.
Lastly, Let’s not forget that part of the Christian end-times senario is a shift to a theocratic government, where the Christians are in power, and everyone who isn’t Christian has been cast into hell to burn for the rest of eternity for simply not being Christian, never mind how decent the people are.
Sounds pretty violent to me.
But how many Muslims condemn the behavior of the jihadists in PUBLIC!?
LaShawn I think has hit on the most valid of reasons why ‘government’ schools should be abolished. The religious observences are not the issue here. The issue is church-state. If the leftists really want a seperation then I recommend that forthwith the schools be serperated from any governmental function and be taken private. The facilities should be put up for auction and the supporting local revenues prorated to the winning bidders. The parents are treated as shareholders in direct proportion to the children attending thereto. The parents can then decide who, what and how religious holidays are to be observed.
But I bet the leftists will oppose this idea because it diminishes government power over people.
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