There are two main holidays in Islam: Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha. Eid Al-Fitr is celebrated at the end of Ramadan (a month of fasting), and Muslims usually give zakat (charity) on the occasion. Eid Al-Adha is celebrated at the end of Hajj (annual pilgrimage to Mecca), and Muslims usually sacrifice an animal and distribute its meat amongst family, friends and the poor.

Many, but not all, Muslim celebrate additional holidays. Ashura is a sombre day commemorated especially by Shias and many Sunnis. Many Muslims celebrate Lailat al Miraj, and Laylat al-Qadr.

All Islamic holidays follow the lunar calendar, and thus move each year relative to the solar calendar. The Islamic calendar has 12 months and 354 or 355 days.

Ashura is commemorated by Muslims on the ninth and tenth days of Muharram on the Islamic Calendar. Ashura is an Arabic word meaning "tenth", and according to Islamic schools of thought it is a day of optional fasting. Jews in the city of Madina fasted only one day, on Yom Kippur, the 10th of Tishrei because they believe that Prophet Moses fasted on this day; so the Prophet Muhammad would fast too, to express the continuity of Islam and brotherhood with the earlier Prophet. According to Islamic tradition, Prophet Muhammad fasted along with the neighboring Jewish communities on this occasion, and according to narrations, Prophet Muhammad fasted on the 10th of Muharram and said that if he lived to the next year he would also fast the 9th Muharram. According to Ibn Abbas, Prophet Muhammad said: "If I survive till next year, I will definitely observe fast on the 9th of Muharram (as well)." [Quoted in Sahih Muslim ]

Michelle Fields is a political journalist. Upon graduating from Pepperdine University in 2011, she gained attention after having a heated confrontation with actor Matt Damon over teacher tenure reform. After the Damon altercation, Fields was hired as a reporter by Tucker Carlson at The Daily Caller.

Fields was born in Los Angeles and grew up in the San Fernando Valley. She is Honduran American and is the daughter of television and film writer Greg Fields. She credits her older brother, who encouraged her to read Robert Nozick, for helping her realize she is "pro-liberty."

She studied political science at Pepperdine University and served as the president of the Pepperdine chapter of Students For Liberty.

Fields covered the Occupy Movement in both New York City and Washington, DC. Her sometimes critical coverage of Occupy DC garnered harassment from protesters when a demonstration turned violent.

Fields is known for filming and editing her videos in citizen journalism style. She credits the internet for launching her career and believes that the popularity of her videos is due to her citizen journalism style of reporting. In an interview with C-SPAN in 2011 she said that the use of the internet has empowered people so much that now "one voice can be just as powerful as the New York Times."

Bill de Blasio is a New York City elected official, holding the citywide office of New York City Public Advocate, which serves as an ombudsman between the electorate and the city government. De Blasio previously served as a New York City Council member representing the 39th District in Brooklyn (Borough Park, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Gowanus, Kensington, Park Slope, and Windsor Terrace).

As Public Advocate, de Blasio is first in line to succeed the New York City Mayor.

De Blasio was then elected to the New York City Council in 2001, and was subsequently re-elected in 2003 and 2005 to represent District 39, which includes the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Borough Park, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Gowanus, Kensington, Park Slope, and Windsor Terrace. In the Council, de Blasio chaired the Committee on General Welfare, and is a member of the Education, Environmental Protection, Finance, and Technology in Government Committees.

In 1999, De Blasio was elected a member of Community School Board 15.