A video showing how a Franklin Academy Charter School teacher interrupted and insulted Muslim students praying had gone viral. Now people are debating whether it was right for her to get fired or not!
Sacred Prayer
On December 8, a TikTok video showing three students at Franklin Academy Charter School in Pembroke Pines praying was posted.
At first, nothing was amiss.
Interrupting the Students
However, suddenly, the door can be heard opening. Then, in the video, you can see a teacher who charges inside the room!
Till now, the teacher has yet to be identified.
Doing Magic?
The teacher started accusing the Muslim students of “doing magic.”
She yelled, “Hold on, this is my office, and y’all are doing this magic.”
Insulting Actions
As if that wasn’t enough, the teacher blew a whistle to get the kids’ attention.
She then walked directly through the kids who were praying on the floor and stepped on one of the students’ hands!
It’s My Right!
The teacher then started talking about her own religious beliefs and how she “owned” the office they were praying in.
She said, “I believe in Jesus, so I’m interrupting the floor. And why are they in my office? Who told them to come in here?”
Continuing On
Despite all the interruptions, the students tried their hardest to ignore the teacher and push through with their prayer.
Another adult in the background could be heard talking to the teacher in question, saying, “They’re praying.”
Muslim Beliefs
In the Muslim culture, people are expected to pray five times a day. They are to schedule these prayers at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and evening.
According to the Newmarket Islamic Centre, “The performance of prayer five times a day is considered vital to attain success in this life and the hereafter. Following the testimony of faith, the performance of the prayers at their correct times and complete in bowings, prostrations, and humility, will guarantee forgiveness from God and everlasting paradise.”
It Should Not Be Disrupted
Islamweb also mentioned how important it is to finish a prayer without disruptions. They said, “When a person starts an obligatory prayer, it is prohibited to interrupt it unless there is a necessity such as guarding someone from damage or harm, protecting wealth from being lost, and so on.”
Through this, it’s clear why the students continued praying even with the teacher’s insults and degrading actions.
A Troubling Post
Following this, the school faced heavy backlash. However, they stated they’d already been aware of the “very troubling TikTok video.”
Consequences
Because of this, the teacher was fired by the school.
Franklin Academy Charter School said, “While we do not discuss personnel matters, we can share that the teacher in question is no longer a member of the Franklin Academy staff.”
Thoughts on the Incident
The school also issued a follow-up statement on Facebook, attempting to dispel any rumors after one of its teachers was falsely accused of being in the said video. They said, “It is important to remind everyone that this teacher has been mistakenly and falsely identified in the comments of many social media posts.”
In turn, the Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations commended the school for how they responded and acted, given the situation. They released a statement saying, “It is of utmost importance that school administrators and staff know basic faith practices to serve students practicing their faith, in this case, Muslims. We will protect our children. We welcome the prompt response from the school administration.”
The Community’s Thoughts
The issue had spread nationwide, and NBC6 even covered the topic.
One of the parents they interviewed said, “I don’t believe her conduct was correct. She handled it very poorly. She should have been in a better professional manner.”
Another parent said, “I think they did the respectable thing because they should not impose unto religion and they should not have to judge or do anything in that nature, so I feel like it was the respectable thing that the school did letting the teacher go.”
Is That Her Office?
A few came to the teacher’s defense, saying the kids shouldn’t have been in her office at all. However, the community rallied, showing how entitled that statement was; in reality, there was a considerable chance that the teacher was talking about a shared teacher’s lounge and not her actual office space.
A woman wrote, “Have you ever seen a private office for a teacher? Sure, college professors have an office, but not K-12 teachers. What they have is a shared teacher’s lounge. So the issue isn’t that they had invaded her private office without permission—the problem is that they follow a different religion than she does. That actually is being a bigot.”
Another said, “While staff-led prayer is not permitted in public school, the ability for students to practice their faith should not be infringed so long as it does not interrupt other students. This teacher failed not only these students but also the true teachings of her own faith.”
She’s Got It All Wrong
People also called the teacher out for spouting hurtful words without truly understanding what she was saying.
One said, “If she weren’t so ignorant, she would have known that Jesus is held in high regard as a prophet within Islam. They also worship the same magic man in the sky as she does.” One woman said, “Christians and Jews are not required to pray at certain times of the day. That being said, if a Christian or Jewish student approached the school’s administration and requested the use of the ‘quiet room,’ as they are called here, they would be allowed to use it. Prayer in schools, despite the misrepresentation from some, is not illegal. Individual teachers, students, or athletes are free to pray anytime they want so long as they are, one, not disrupting others, and two, so long as they are not forcing others to participate.”
What do you think of this incident? Do you think the teacher deserved to get fired?
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This post first appeared as A Teacher Disrupted Muslim Students During Prayer and Accused Them of “Doing Magic.” “I Believe in Jesus, so I’m Interrupting the Floor,” She Told Them. on Quote Ambition.
