Mohammed Zubi Wiki – Mohammed Zubi Biography
The student, Mohammed Zubi, 17, a senior at Ridgefield Memorial High School, asked a teacher last week if he could have more time to complete an assignment, his family said. That’s when the instructor allegedly joked: “We don’t negotiate with terrorists,” said Selaedin Maksut, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, in New Jersey, speaking on behalf of the family.
“It perpetuates stereotypes against Arabs and Muslims and that, for the last 20 years, this is what organizations like CAIR and others have been trying to combat,” Maksut said Tuesday. “You’d think 20 years later, these would be disappearing. But here they are, being used by a teacher in a classroom, so it’s very alarming to see.” A New Jersey high school teacher accused of taunting a Muslim student in class and calling him a terrorist has been suspended, authorities and the teen’s family said.
Teacher Suspended after allegedly telling Muslim student
In the 1980s, Ronald Reagan became the first American to use the phrase “There will be no negotiations with terrorists of any kind.” Since then, he has been co-opted by several of his successors and made his way into numerous television shows and movies. In late October, he too was used by a New Jersey teacher, who has now been suspended pending an investigation. Mohammed Zubi, a student at Ridgefield Memorial High School, claims that his math teacher used the phrase when he asked if he could complete his homework at home.
Separately, in February 2020, a New York school forced a student to watch his friends eat while fasting during Ramadan. The same month, a woman was denied entry to a Sydney pub unless she removed her hijab. In late 2019, a Portland woman ripped the hijab off an exchange student’s head and rubbed it against her genitals.
Zubi was so scarred by the incident that he has since refused to go back to school. His accusations have been backed up by some of his classmates, who confirmed that they heard that the teacher was racially attacking him. So far, the school has declined to comment on the matter, but has posted a statement on its Ridgefield School District website.
Speaking to ABC7, Zubi related the incident that has led him to isolate himself from his companions. He claims that he asked his teacher if he could complete his homework, and in response, the teacher joked, “We don’t negotiate with terrorists.” “I look around in shock, there are people laughing, and there are other people in shock, and I turn around and ask my friend, ‘Did he really just say that?’ and she said yes, “Zubi said.
A witness, Vuk Tomasese, confirmed that incident, saying: “The teacher approached him and said ‘we do not negotiate with terrorists’, knowing that Muhammad is Arab and Muslim.” Since the incident on October 19, Zubi has not returned to school and says, “I don’t feel like going back, I’m very uncomfortable. I don’t want to see anyone, and I’ve been in my room all day.” – I don’t want to see my friends, especially after what that teacher told me. “The teacher responsible for the comment has not been identified by the school district, although some on social media have named him, and with calls to resign.
Even more shocking is the fact that Zubi and his family are well known at school. The 17-year-old is the captain of the school’s soccer team and his brother Anas graduated from school. Zubi’s mother also previously worked at the school, but none of them seemed to have experienced such hatred firsthand. “Seeing my little brother, a minority, 17 years old, hearing a comment like that, you know, it broke my heart,” Anas said. He has also started a petition on Change.org for the teacher to be fired, which at the time of the report has garnered 390 signatures with a target of 500.
In response, the school district said it “cannot legally comment on staff or student matters, the public should know that the district immediately suspended the staff member while it conducts a full investigation.” He added that “The District intends to pursue any and all legal remedies against the staff member, as any discriminatory conduct has no place in our District.”
On October 25, Zubi returned to school and said that he wanted a “public apology.” CNN reported that the police were involved, but they have since referred the case to the “original agency” because they “found no crime associated with the incident.” The local chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations also stepped in and offered diversity training for staff. Executive Director Selaedin Maksut told CNN: “Education about Islam and Muslims for educators is necessary because even 20 years after 9/11 these unpleasant stereotypes continue to appear in our classrooms, and that is unacceptable.”
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