California Poised To Recognize Two Islamic Holidays Statewide

A bill designating Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha as official California state holidays is nearing final passage, with the state Senate expected to vote before the legislative session ends this week.

Assembly Bill 2017, authored by Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) and co-authored by Sen. Aisha Wahab, would add the two Islamic holy days to California’s list of state holidays, allowing workers to use existing paid leave to take the days off. Public schools and community colleges could also choose to close for the observances under agreements with employee unions, and the measure creates a mandatory excused-absence category for students who miss school to observe Eid.

The bill cleared the Assembly by a 64-1 vote late in May and has since moved through Senate committee review. Haney, who introduced the legislation in March during Ramadan, has said the measure addresses a gap in state law affecting California’s roughly 500,000 Muslim residents.

“California is home to one of the largest and most vibrant Muslim communities in the country,” Haney said in a press release announcing the bill. “AB 2017 is about making sure Muslim Californians are seen, valued, and treated with the same dignity as every other community in our state.”

The legislation has drawn opposition over a provision authorizing the State Board of Education to develop optional curriculum for classroom activities marking the holidays. Greg Burt, vice president of the California Family Council, has argued the provision crosses a line from teaching about religion into promoting it, telling Fox News Digital the bill amounts to schools “encouraging the celebration of a religious holiday.” The council, which says it represents thousands of constituents and more than 2,000 churches statewide, has also questioned where te state would draw the line on recognizing additional religious holidays.

Eid al-Fitr, translated as the “Festival of Breaking the Fast,” falls at the end of Ramadan, the month in which observant Muslims abstain from food and drink between dawn and sunset. Eid al-Adha, the “Festival of Sacrifice,” commemorates the Quranic account of the prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son at God’s command.

If signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha would join Diwali and Lunar New Year among community-specific holidays California has formally recognized in recent years. Because both holidays follow the Islamic lunar calendar, their dates shift each year on the Western calendar.