This article has been updated throughout as new information has been received.
California lawmakers are nearing a final vote on legislation that would designate two of Islam’s most sacred holy days as official state holidays, with the measure potentially reaching Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk within days.
Assembly Bill 2017 would recognize Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha as state holidays, allowing state workers to use holiday credits to take the days off, reports the New York Post. The bill has already cleared the California Assembly by a 64-1 vote in May and is now awaiting a full Senate vote. Lawmakers have until the end of the legislative session, expected Monday, to send the measure to Newsom.
It focuses on officially recognizing Islamic holy days, such as Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, for state government employees, allowing them to use accrued holiday or personal time to take time off. It does not force closure or grant extra paid days off across the board – yet.
Democrats and Republicans supported this.
The United States culture is changing for unassimilated foreigners whose religion covers every aspect of their lives, social, political, economic, and so on.
California Schools Can Celebrate Two of Islam’s Most Important Religious Holidays
Schools will be able to teach students the importance of the Islamic holy days, but it must allegedly be done objectively. Schools can also teach other religions objectively. All of that is allegedly not true in practice. It can’t be done objectively.
Christmas gets December 25 as a state holiday, but Christmas is also a secular holiday. Good Friday gets three hours of partial recognition (noon to 3 p.m.). Easter gets nothing. And no California statute has ever authorized public schools to hold exercises celebrating the meaning and importance of any Christian holiday.
They are going to give California schools permission to celebrate the end of Ramadan. Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting and one of the pillars of Islam. Eid al-Fitr is the joyous celebration that follows. It marks the month-long submission and worship to Allah. Eid al-Adha marks the culmination of the annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, which is another pillar of Islam.
The California Family Council was one of the few organizations to speak up:
No California statute authorizes public schools to hold exercises celebrating the meaning of Christmas, Easter, or Good Friday. Schools cannot teach the Resurrection or the Nativity. They cannot celebrate Yom Kippur or Passover. Yet, after AB 268 and now AB 2017, public school teachers will be authorized and curriculum-guided to celebrate the end of Ramadan and the Festival of Sacrifice. The asymmetry is written into the law.
These are not cultural festivals with religious overtones [Eid al-Fitr and Eidal-Adha]. They are explicitly theological observances rooted in Islamic doctrine, the five pillars of the faith, the Quran’s account of Ibrahim, and the obligation of hajj. AB 2017 would authorize California public schools to hold exercises “acknowledging and celebrating the meaning and importance” of both holidays and direct the State Board of Education to develop a curriculum guide for doing so.
If radical Islamists really want to take us over, this would be a good start.
I don’t see why we have to do this. We have people from all over the world. Are we going to recognize all their holidays and holy days? California just recognized Diwali, and New York is recognizing everything imaginable. Stick with who we have historically been, or we will become Balkanized.