New York City public school kids getting new Muslim, Lunar New Year holidays

February 4, 2014   Mayor de Blasio said Monday that he’d move forward with closing schools for Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, two Muslim holy days, and for Lunar New Year. But he was hesitant regarding Hindu festival Diwali. Appearing on WNYC’s “Brian Lehrer Show” on Monday, the mayor said he hadn’t taken a position…

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Mayor Says New York City Will Settle Suits on Stop-and-Frisk Tactics

January 30, 2014   The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) today welcomed an agreement proposed by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio for the city to reach a settlement in its legal battle over the controversial NYPD “stop-and-frisk” policy. That policy involved stopping, questioning and frisking people in primarily…

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NYC schools could close to observe Muslim holidays

October 17, 2013   The city’s two mayoral candidates both support adding Eid celebrations to list of days schools are closed. After a new mayor takes office in New York City next year, schoolchildren could very well have an additional two days off in observance of Muslim holidays. Both mayoral candidates, Democrat Bill de Blasio…

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Religious, civil rights groups demand investigation of NYPD spying

October 25, 2013   A coalition of 125 religious, civil rights, and community-based organizations sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice Thursday (Oct. 24) urging a civil rights investigation into a New York City Police Department program that spies on Muslims. Groups from several faith traditions signed the letter including the Presbyterian Church…

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Anti-mosque group linked to Va. Beach councilman

October 17, 2013   A few weeks before last month’s vote on the city’s first mosque, Councilman Bill DeSteph received a 25-page PowerPoint presentation. It came from the leader of the local chapter of ACT for America, a group concerned about radical Islamists in the United States, and alleged the proposed mosque had ties to…

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