Razvi, a Muslim Who Endorsed Bloomberg, Wants Islamic Holidays in Public School

Moe Razvi, a Muslim who endorsed Michael Bloomberg, said incorporating two Muslim holidays into the public school calendar is “imperative to the Muslim community.”

Yesterday, Bloomberg signaled his opposition to the plan, which the City Council overwhelmingly voted to support.

“Every time I have to tell them, 'It’s a holiday but you have to go to schools'; it’s heartbreaking to go through that,” Razvi, who runs a Brooklyn nonprofit, said in an interview this morning. He said getting the holidays recognized by the school system is “imperative to the Muslim community.”

Razvi declined to comment specifically about Bloomberg, since control of the school system is in flux at the moment. Razvi did say Bloomberg “has been a very good friend” to the immigrant community in supporting their other legislative initiatives.

When asked if there was any symbolic value in having the holidays incorporated into the school calendar, Razvi said, “Big time, man. Come on, kids, they need that acceptance feeling. We’re not the quote-unquote outsiders.”