IW
News Brief: NYC Muslim Holidays, Corporate Speech Police
by David J. Rusin
• Apr 13, 2015 at 11:43 am
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New York City adds Muslim holidays to school calendar
Fulfilling a campaign
promise, Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced that New York City public
schools will close
for two Muslim holidays. The next academic year will start a day
earlier to make room for Eid al-Adha, the festival of sacrifice, on
September 24; Eid al-Fitr, marking Ramadan's end, now falls during the
summer but will eventually drift into spring. Several school systems
observe Islamic feasts, and activists had long targeted
New York due to its size, symbolism, and demographics (about 10
percent of students are Muslim). Framing the move as "a matter of
fairness," de Blasio urged
critics to "look at the Constitution of the United States."
A 2014 essay
by Muslim lawyer Farhan Memon does just that. Though public schools may
close on holy days, a secular purpose like high absenteeism is needed.
"New York's large Jewish population and its historic involvement in
the teaching professions" support closures on Jewish holidays, Memon
writes, but such a reason "does not exist" for Muslims because
the number of Muslim teachers is "much lower" and students
could simply be granted excused absences. "The primary effect of
having Eid as a school holiday is to advance the Muslim religion, which
clearly contradicts the intent of the Establishment Clause."
Scheduling is also problematic. For example, Eid al-Fitr begins with a
new moon, but Muslims differ on whether it must be sighted by eye. In
setting a date beforehand, public schools are "endorsing one
religious practice over another." No, the constitutionality is not
so obvious after all. However, that has not slowed the push to create
"a pecking order of religions where some receive benefits because of
growing political clout."
Left: Islamist Linda
Sarsour, in the pink hijab, applauds as Bill de Blasio outlines his
policy. Right: "Say it with Nutella," a promotion declares.
Just don't say the wrong thing.
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Casual corporate censorship: The big picture
Political correctness continues to stake out new ground, but its
enforcers can have trouble agreeing on what may and may not be said.
Consider two episodes from the world of business. When a French marketing
campaign for Nutella offered an opportunity to design and share
images of jars with personalized labels, fans quickly discovered the
roster of forbidden words. Among other oddities, "Muslim" and
"Jewish" were banned while "Christian" was permitted.
British retailer Marks & Spencer took an alternate path, preventing
"Christ" from being included in messages
accompanying flowers — even as "jihad,"
"terrorist," and "Allah" got the go-ahead. Threats of
a boycott prompted the store to apologize
and give Jesus a belated seal of approval.
Ferrero, the company behind Nutella, and Marks & Spencer voiced
worries that certain words could be used to offend, but is it more
offensive to let a word be written or to prohibit it altogether? And
precisely which terms are on the ever-shifting verboten list? At its
worst, such confusion results in the fear of saying anything at all.
Limited to the realm of bouquets and hazelnut spreads, this is an
annoyance. But if that same fear impedes honest discussion of faith in an
age of global conflicts animated by religion — and one religion in
particular — we risk catastrophe.
* * *
For more coverage of nonviolent Islamism in the Western world, see
Islamist Watch's extensive archive of news items
and other resources on the IW
website.
Related
Topics: Censorship, Children, Entertainment / Media,
Free Speech, Government, Head Coverings / Dress,
Holidays, Interfaith, Legal, Multiculturalism,
Schools (Non-Islamic),
Workplace
| David J. Rusin This
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