Excerpt:
Hamburg concluded a "historic" accord with its Muslim and Alawite communities on Tuesday becoming the first German state to recognise certain Islamic holidays as days off.
The agreement signed by Hamburg Mayor Olaf Scholz and religious associations is seen as putting the northern port city's Muslims and Alawites, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, on a more equal footing with Christian residents.
Hamburg is also one of Germany's 16 federal states.