According to a viral TikTok video, a Florida teacher was fired after allegedly disrupting Muslim students’ prayers and accusing them of practising “magic.”
The video, which was posted on Thursday and has received over 880,000 likes, shows three Franklin Academy Muslim students praying while one of them recites “Surah At-Tin” from the Quran.
A teacher can be heard in the background as they prostrate themselves on the floor.
“Hold on, this is my office,” the teacher said. “And y’all doin’ all this magic.”
The teacher is then heard blowing a whistle and trying to get the students’ attention before walking over to them as they prayed, almost stepping on one of their hands in the process.
“I believe in Jesus, so I’m interrupting the floor,” the teacher said.
Much like Christians, Muslims believe in Jesus as well.
“And why are they in my office?” the teacher asks, to which someone else responds, “they’re praying.”
The five daily Islamic prayers are very sacred to Muslims and should not be interrupted by others or those praying.
Muslims keep their heads bowed and prostrate several times during prayers, depending on the prayer and the time of day.
Franklin Academy said in a statement about the incident that they were made aware of “a very troubling TikTok video” on Thursday and that they “do not tolerate discriminatory behaviour in any form.”
“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,” the statement, posted to Facebook, read.
In another Facebook statement, the school said one of its teachers was being “mistakenly and falsely identified in the comments of many social media posts” as the teacher in question, and asked the community to help dispel the rumour.
