Melilla Designates Eid el-Kebir an Official Public Holiday

World Bulletin reports that Melilla, a Spanish enclave in Northern Morocco, has approved Eid el-Kebir an official public holiday. This is the first time a non-Catholic feast will officially be designated a public holiday since the Reconquista of 1492.

Melilla has about 40,000 Muslims, slightly more than half the population. To date the city had nine Catholic religious holidays, but no Muslim, according to El Pais. Melilla will officially celebrate the Eid on November 17, 2010.

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