Video Shows Teacher Disrupt Muslim Students' Prayer: 'I Believe in Jesus'

A video that reportedly went viral shows a teacher at a Florida school disrupting Muslim students who were praying at school as she walked over their prayer mats and said, "I believe in Jesus so I'm interrupting the floor."

The incident which happened at Franklin Academy, a charter school in Pembroke Pines in Broward County northwest of Miami, gained the attention of the school which in response decided to fire the teacher for her actions, local news station Local10 News reported.

It is unknown when the incident happened, but the video was posted to TikTok on Wednesday, where it gained over 3 million views, and it was shared by some Twitter users on Thursday.

In the brief clip, two students are seen and heard reciting verses from the Qur'an during their prayers right before the teacher, who hasn't been identified, entered the room. She was then heard saying "hold on, this [is] in my office and y'all doing this magic?"

She then started blowing a whistle and could be heard later saying, "I believe in Jesus so I'm interrupting the floor."

The teacher at that moment walked over to their prayer mats and appeared to have pushed a student's hand with her shoes while he was performing "sajdah", the part in the Islamic prayer in which a person briefly kneels and their forehead touches the ground.

Student-led prayers are protected under the First Amendment and that allows students to pray when they are not taking part in school activities or interrupting instructional time.

Franklin Academy said in a statement that it began investigating the incident right after it became aware of the "very troubling TikTok video" that was shared with the school's leadership team.

"While we do not discuss personnel matters, we can share with you that the teacher in question is no longer a member of the Franklin Academy staff. We thank our parents for partnering with us and trusting us with their child(ren) and their education. Through the continued communication that we foster as a team, our schools can only become stronger," the charter school said in a statement to Local10 News.

The school continued by saying: "Franklin Academy does not tolerate discriminatory behavior. As many know, we are an International Baccalaureate (IB) school system, and as part of the IB initiatives to which we are committed, Franklin aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural and racial understanding and respect. We not only look for our student body to develop these traits but for our faculty and staff to exemplify them as well."

Wilfredo Ruiz, the communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Florida, condemned the incident and described the video as "repulsive."

"To see a teacher expressing so much hate and bullying students when teachers are supposed to be the ones that protect the students and protect their good doings, such as this one," Ruiz told Local 10 News.

In a statement posted by CAIR Florida on Friday, the organization expressed its contentment about Franklin Academy's decision to fire the teacher, who, they said, "allegedly engaged in hate speech targeting Muslim students performing prayer at school."

Newsweek reached out to the Florida Department of Education for comment.