New York’s decision to close public schools in observance of the two most important Muslims holidays “entrenches the culture of coexistence and acceptance of others,” encouraging U.S. Muslims to “integrate into their society,” Dar al-Iftaa said Friday.
Dar al-Iftaa, Egypt’s prestigious institution producing religious opinions, called on all American states to follow the example of New York, which was preceded by Massachusetts, Vermont and New Jersey.
The holidays are Eid al-Adha, which marks the end of the annual Hajj pilgrimage and the willingness of biblical patriarch Abraham—also venerated in the Quran—to sacrifice his son to God; and Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.
Former President Hosni Mubarak decreed Jan. 7 be a holiday for all Egyptian in 2002, after it had been given as an exclusive day off for Egypt’s Coptic minority. The day marks the Orthodox Christmas celebrated by Egyptian Christians.
