Philadelphia schools add two Muslim holidays

The Philadelphia School District will add two Muslim holidays to its calendar, placing it among the first in the nation to do so.

The Philadelphia School District will add two Muslim holidays to its calendar, placing it among the first in the nation to do so.

In what would be an even rarer step, Mayor Kenney said Tuesday he also hopes to adopt the holidays for city workers. He has created a task force to determine how the change can be accomplished.

A spokesman from the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington said his group is not aware of any cities that have included the holidays, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, in their municipal calendars.

“Philadelphia’s history is based on being a place where religious freedom is part of its founding ethos,” Kenney said at a news conference in City Hall, where he was joined by Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. to announce the new holidays. “Our city was built on the idea that while we may be different in nationality and ethnicity, the city welcomes all to worship and practice the faiths of our culture or our choosing.” William Hite Jr added.