Muslim holy days joining Christian and Jewish holidays in U.S.

Muslim students make up 10 percent of New York City public schools.

Reprinted from AsAm News

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA issued his annual message for Ramadan, reminding Americans to maintain respect for all Americans.

“As Muslim Americans celebrate the holy month, I am reminded that we are one American family. I stand firmly with Muslim American communities in rejection of the voices that seek to divide us or limit our religious freedoms or civil rights.”

Observance of Ramadan begins late Sunday, early Monday around the world.

Muslims observe the month by fasting during the day and spending time with prayer and the Quran.

According to Citizen, in the United States, Ramadan is centered around the mosque versus at the house in countries with larger Muslim populations.

“The Ramadan experience is more collective,” said Jibril Hough, spokesman for the Islamic Center of Charlotte, North Carolina. “We are a religious minority in America and … especially toward the end of Ramadan, we bring food to the masjid (mosque), it becomes more like a family reunion. A lot of times you see brothers and sisters that you haven’t seen all year.”

Ramadan is not considered a holiday, but is considered a holy month.

For the first time at the end of Ramadan, New York City schools, one of the largest districts in the country, will observe a holiday for Eid al-Fitr, a festival marking the end of the holy month. Summer school students will have the day off.

The district is only one of several American schools district that observes two Muslim holy days along with the traditional Christian and Jewish holidays. Eid al-Adha, also known as the Festival of Sacrifice, will be observed on Sept. 24.

The Muslim holidays were approved last year.

"This is a common-sense change," said Mayor de Blasio, "and one that recognizes our growing Muslim community and honors its contributions to our city."

The decision affects some 1 million students in New York City. While it's not known exactly how many of them are Muslim, City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said that almost 1 million of the more than 8 million people in the city's five boroughs practice Islam and a 2009 Columbia University study found that roughly 10 percent of New York City public school students are Muslim.

New York joins several other U.S. school districts observing or considering the Muslim holidays. Last week Philadelphia schools joined the growing number of school districts who have added the Muslim holy days to their calendars.

(Views From the Edge contributed to this report.)