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Florida’s Franklin Academy was urged to fire a teacher after a video of her interrupting a group of Muslim students’ prayer time went viral. The unidentified teacher accused the children of performing “magic” and attempted to disrespect their religion. Netizens have since taken to social media to slam the teacher.
The shocking footage was uploaded on TikTok. At the time of writing this article, it had amassed over 7.5 million views and 1.3 million likes. The caption read:
“I literally dont even believe what happened to me is real, I’m still shaken."
In the video which has now gone viral, three students can be seen reciting the Islamic prayer Surah At-Tin from the Quran. They were seen taking to the floor in prostration as the teacher was heard walking in the background. She entered what appeared to be a PE classroom and said:
“Hold on, this is my office and y’all doing this magic? I believe in Jesus, so I’m interrupting the floor.”
It was apparent that the teacher was unaware that Muslims believe in Jesus as well.
The Franklin Academy students appeared visibly calm despite the teacher interrupting their prayers by blowing a whistle. They went on to continue praying.
The teacher was then heard asking someone else:
“And why are they in my office? Who told them to come in here?”
For those unversed, reciting prayers five times a day is an integral part of Islamism. It is required to keep one’s head bowed down and to prostate a number of times without being disturbed.
Netizens react to Franklin Academy teacher disturbing Muslim students as they pray
Internet users were in disbelief after watching the video. Many felt sympathetic toward the students. Others relentlessly slammed the teacher and urged Franklin Academy to terminate her employment. Many were stunned to hear the faculty member accuse the students of performing “magic” while they were praying. A few comments under the TikTok video read:
Franklin Academy releases statement after amassing backlash online
After amassing immense traction online, the educational institution took to Facebook to address the occurrence. They announced that they “do not tolerate discriminatory behavior in any form.” They also stated that the teacher in question was “no longer a member of the Franklin Academy staff.”
They ended their statement by saying:
“We look forward to continuing our IB initiatives of creating a better and more peaceful world through intercultural & racial understand and mutual respect.”
They also attached a hashtag that read - “Building Better People Every Day.”
Another statement revealed that although the identity of the teacher was not revealed by credible sources, another staff member has been “mistakenly and falsely identified” which has led to them “receiving threats from strangers.”
Following the incident, the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Florida chapter released a statement expressing why it is important for the school administration to be aware of other religious practices.
