Multiculturalism is indeed tricky, but I think we can work out a strategy–and what’s the worst that could happen?  People would realize they’re not the only religion in the world?

Many non-Muslim parents at the meeting suggested that the problem was Muslims trying to change American traditions. But that was never the idea according to Elizabeth Zahdan, a Muslim mother of three, who had asked that her children be separated from others at lunch during the Ramadan fast. “We should educate our children about all the holidays, equally,” she said. “And not to favor one holiday over another.”

That’s the way India deals with its religious plurality — not by denying it, but by officially embracing what can sometimes seem like every religious holiday known to humanity. Almost every other week, some national or state holiday shuts down at least part of the country: There are the big Hindu holy days (Diwali, Dussehra) and those in Islam’s calendar (Eid-ul-Fitr, Muharram); you get a day off for Buddha’s birthday and also for the biggest Christian holy days. If you’re Sikh or Jain or Parsi, there’s a holiday for you. And if the holy day you want to mark isn’t on the main list, there’s also a secondary list of so-called “restricted holidays” from which each person can choose a limited number every year. Throw in secular days like this week’s national holiday marking the birth of Mahatma Gandhi, and India has some 17 official holidays a year plus dozens of others that people can choose to observe. (The U.S. has 10.) The World Economic Forum says that India, an emerging economic powerhouse, actually has one of the world’s shortest average working years.