{"id":13988,"date":"2026-05-29T05:53:24","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T00:23:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/muslim-principal-in-texas-reassigned-investigated-after-right-wing-backlash\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T05:53:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T00:23:24","slug":"muslim-principal-in-texas-reassigned-investigated-after-right-wing-backlash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/muslim-principal-in-texas-reassigned-investigated-after-right-wing-backlash\/","title":{"rendered":"Muslim principal in Texas reassigned, investigated after right-wing backlash"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div itemprop=\"articleBody\">\n<p><iframe title=\"Everlit Audio Player\" src=\"https:\/\/everlit.audio\/embeds\/artl_eQjyeHdnplP?ui_title_intro=Listen+now%3A&amp;client=wp&amp;client_version=3.1.5\" width=\"100%\" height=\"136px\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>(RNS) \u2014 Days after naming a Muslim<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u00a0<\/span>woman as principal of a North Texas high school, conservative backlash prompted the district to reassign her and open an investigation.<\/p>\n<p>Interfaith religious leaders, district parents and educators are now calling for Shayma Alzubi\u2019s reinstatement, saying the Fort Worth Independent School District capitulated to a hateful online smear campaign against her faith.<\/p>\n<p>The district announced Friday (May 22) that Alzubi had been promoted to principal of Western Hills High School, posting a picture of her wearing a hijab in a social media post that has since been deleted.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Alzubi\u2019s appointment went viral after the far-right group Libs of TikTok and other right-wing social media bloggers resurfaced posts and images showing her support for Black Lives Matter, Palestinians and immigrants. The accounts called on people to show their opposition by contacting the district.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>At a press conference Thursday, advocates said Alzubi\u2019s social media posts were misrepresented by a coordinated anti-Muslim campaign.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInstead of drawing a firm line against harassment and intimidation, the district embraced it,\u201d Sabrina Ball, a Fort Worth ISD parent, said at the news conference. \u201cSome of the rhetoric directed at her was openly anti-Muslim \u2014 not policy disagreement, not ordinary criticism \u2014 openly hateful, dangerous rhetoric.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The school district said in a statement on Tuesday that Alzubi\u2019s social media posts \u201cmay not align with the district\u2019s social media policy and expectations for staff.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur district leaders, educators and staff will not inject personal political perspectives into classrooms,\u201d the district said, citing state law. \u201cFort Worth ISD serves a wide array of families and students that are civically engaged and maintain a variety of perspectives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A spokesperson did not respond to further questions from RNS.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In a statement Thursday, Alzubi said she has faced death threats that have made her feel unsafe in her home.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m disheartened that the online noise is being emphasized over my experience and qualifications that earned me the position,\u201d she said in a statement circulated by the Texas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and Faith Power Alliance.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Alzubi, a master\u2019s graduate of Texas Christian University, has worked at the district for over a decade as a teacher and an assistant principal.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In 2019, the Fort Worth ISD board <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/amp\/news\/texas-teacher-fired-fort-worth-school-board-terminates-georgia-clark-twitter-rant-to-trump-about-illegal-immigrants\/\">voted to terminate the contract<\/a> of a teacher who ranted on Twitter about the district being \u201c<span>loaded with illegal students from Mexico<\/span>.\u201d Last year, Dallas ISD <a href=\"https:\/\/www.keranews.org\/education\/2025-09-24\/dallas-teacher-suspended-charlie-kirk-social-media?_amp=true\">placed a longtime educator on leave<\/a> for his personal Facebook posts critical of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<hr\/>\n<p>Among the posts circulated by right-wing users was a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Carlos__Turcios\/status\/2059112198106956237\/photo\/4\">Jan. 23 repost<\/a> from Alzubi\u2019s account explaining the Islamic legal system known as Shariah, comparing it to other religious and moral frameworks, including those based on the Bible.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSharia law isn\u2019t coming for Texas. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever,\u201d the repost from a Facebook account called Texas Reporter stated. \u201cFor most Muslims living in the U.S., \u2018Sharia\u2019 looks like: praying, fasting during Ramadan, donating to charity, avoiding alcohol\/pork, trying to live an ethical life \u2026,\u201d the post continued.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Other screenshots from Alzubi\u2019s account showed a black image reading \u201cBLACK LIVES MATTER,\u201d a post stating \u201cI am #WithDreamers I SUPPORT DACA\u201d and an image with a Palestinian flag.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span>Online, discriminatory content targeting Muslims across social media platforms has escalated \u201cat an alarming pace,\u201d <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.csohate.org\/2026\/03\/09\/us-israel-iran-war-islamophobia\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-mrf-link=\"https:\/\/www.csohate.org\/2026\/03\/09\/us-israel-iran-war-islamophobia\/\">according to an analysis<\/a><span>\u00a0by the Center for the Study of Organized Hate, a nonprofit think tank based in Washington, D.C.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Mustafaa Carroll, interim executive director of the Texas chapter of CAIR, said the district\u2019s actions are yet another example of increasing anti-Muslim bigotry in Texas.<\/p>\n<p>Carroll said his office has received hundreds of reports of harassment against Muslims in North Texas in recent months. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and other Republican politicians in the state have escalated anti-Muslim rhetoric.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In March, the Texas Legislature created an anti-Shariah caucus whose stated aim is to protect Texas from what it views as the influence of Islamic legal principles in American society. Earlier this month, Abbott threatened to cut $530,000 in state grants to the city of Grand Prairie after the Muslim community planned a \u201cDFW Epic Eid\u201d event intended to enforce modest dress for a private rental period at Epic Waters indoor water park. After Abbott\u2019s ultimatum, city officials canceled the event.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Abbott also labeled CAIR a terrorist organization last year, a move that is being litigated in court after the civil rights group sued.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<p>Abbott commented on Alzubi\u2019s investigation, saying on a Fox News appearance Wednesday that \u201ca misalignment with Texas values as well as Texas law are unacceptable and people like this cannot be principal.\u201d He then listed a number of recent actions from his office targeting Muslim groups that aim to stop what he called \u201cthe Islamification of Texas.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cRight now, what we\u2019re seeing in Texas needs to be coined as something different: just being Muslim, JBM, that\u2019s the only crime that we are committing,\u201d Muhammad Abdullah, an imam at Masjid Al-Islam in North Texas, said at the press conference. \u201cI\u2019ve never seen more clearer evidence to that statement than what happened to our sister Shayma.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<hr\/>\n<p>Standing near other faith leaders and advocates at the Islamic Unity Center, the Rev. Kristin Klade, Lutheran pastor of Kyrie Pub Church in Fort Worth, said her faith compels her to stand with the Muslim community against discrimination.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Klade, who is also secretary of the advocacy group Families Organized and Responding to Takeover, called on the district to lead with \u201ctransparency and fairness\u201d toward Alzubi.<\/p>\n<p>The Fort Worth ISD is temporarily controlled by a state-appointed board of managers, which took over leadership in March, <a href=\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/2026\/03\/24\/some-of-fort-worths-top-leaders-named-to-isd-board-of-managers\/\">citing<\/a> concerns about poor academics across the district. In a post Tuesday on X, State Board of Education member Julie Pickren called for an investigation into Alzubi. Pickren did not respond to a request for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is unclear whether the board or superintendent made the ultimate decision to reassign and investigate Alzubi.<\/p>\n<p><!-- CONTENT END 1 -->\n        <\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/2026\/05\/28\/muslim-principle-in-texas-under-investigation-after-right-wing\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(RNS) \u2014 Days after naming a Muslim\u00a0woman as principal of a North Texas high school, conservative backlash prompted the district to reassign her and open an investigation. Interfaith religious leaders, district parents and educators are now calling for Shayma Alzubi\u2019s reinstatement, saying the Fort Worth Independent School District capitulated to a hateful online smear campaign [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13989,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13988"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13988\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}