The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed a federal court’s decision to allow a lawsuit challenging Maryland’s Montgomery County Public School’s censorship of pro-Palestine speech to move forward.
In a decision, the court allowed First Amendment claims on behalf of each teacher to go forward.
SEE: Suit alleges Montgomery Co. schools violated teachers’ 1st Amendment rights (Washington Post)
“These teachers exercised their First Amendment rights to speak out on one the great atrocities of our time—Israel’s genocide in Gaza,” said CAIR Staff Attorney Ahmad Kaki. “Despite doing so in a manner that caused no disruption in the classroom, MCPS punished each of these teachers.”
In June, CAIR announced the filing of another lawsuit against the Montgomery County Board of Education in Rockville, Maryland, challenging Sligo Middle School’s rule prohibiting teachers from displaying the Palestinian flag but allowing the display of other flags, including that if Israel.
Earlier this year, CAIR released its 2025 Civil Rights Report “Unconstitutional Crackdowns,” which reveals that Islamophobia continues to be at an all-time high across the country. CAIR said viewpoint discrimination against those speaking out against genocide and apartheid was a key factor in many cases.
BACKGROUNDER:
CAIR filed the lawsuit in February 2024 on behalf of three teachers—Anike Robinson, Angela Wolf, and Hajur El-Haggan—who were each disciplined by MCPS for either criticizing Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza or for expressing solidarity with Palestine.
Two teachers were punished for their social media posts that were critical of Israel. One teacher was punished for putting “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” an aspirational call to freedom, in her internal email signature not used with students and parents. The teachers were initially suspended then transferred for their pro-Palestine expression.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR Staff Attorney Ahmad Kaki, akaki@cair.com, (202) 640-4935; CAIR Maryland Director Zainab Chaudry, zchaudry@cair.com, 410-971-6062; CAIR Maryland Outreach Coordinator Kimberly Syuardi, ksyuardi@cair.com, 202-850-9293; CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com