The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today announced the filing of a federal civil rights lawsuit on behalf of four high school student members of the Muslim Students Association (MSA).
The lawsuit alleges that Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) and Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when they discriminatorily suspended the students for their participation in a viral video trend promoting their upcoming event.
READ CAIR’S LAWSUIT.
“The Constitution is clear, the government must treat like groups alike,” says CAIR LDF attorney Catherine Keck. “The MSA behaved innocently and no differently than other student groups on campus, yet Fairfax County singled them out, robbed them of academic and professional opportunities, and encouraged the community to target and harass them. The school’s actions are abhorrent to any person of conscience, and these students deserve justice.”
“The reason FCPS and TJHSST punished these students and not other students in similar videos is because they believe that Muslims and Arabs pose a threat where others do not,” said Ahmad Kaki, CAIR LDF Staff Attorney. “FCPS and TJHSST capitulated to anti-Palestinian and anti-Muslim hysteria without even giving the students a chance to defend themselves, and, by doing so, violated the Constitution and federal law.”
“These four Muslim students and their families worked hard to attend Thomas Jefferson, where they have thrived,” said John M. Fossum, CAIR LDF Staff Attorney. “But when online trolls began harassing them and kicking up racist and Islamophobic hysteria, the school didn’t think twice about ruining these students’ reputations to save themselves some trouble. We call for justice knowing any parent would do the same.”
“We decided to file this lawsuit because, if we did not say something, nothing will change,” said the parents of the students in an anonymous statement. “We are here because the next Muslim child who walks into school proud of their faith and their heritage should not have to be afraid of what that might cost them. Our children deserved better than what they got, and we hope the court sees it the same way.”
BACKGROUNDER:
SEE: CAIR Demands Virginia High School Reverse Removal from Classroom of Virginia Muslim Students Based on ‘Racist Tropes and Stereotypes’
Video: CAIR Demands Virginia School Reinstate Muslim Students Targeted Over Skit
The Muslim Students Association at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (MSA) is a student-run organization that has a reputation on campus for its inclusivity, diversity, and community engagement. As part of its mission to foster a sense of community belonging, MSA regularly hosts events open to students of all faiths.
Seeking to increase attendance and community engagement, MSA members discovered a comedic viral video trend used by student groups and businesses across the country to engage with the community and attract new members and clients. In the trend, an organization would create a “street interview” skit. In the skit, a member would ask a participant if they would come to the organization’s event. When the participant says “no,” they are grabbed and taken away by other organization members. The “interviewer” then moves on to other individuals who enthusiastically share that they will attend the event and are not forcibly removed from the scene.
Seeing that this trend had not only gained traction nationally, but within other student groups in Fairfax County Public Schools, MSA decided to recreate the skit and post it to their organization’s social media page. The students filmed the skit at school, in the presence of staff and posted it without incident. Within days, however, racist and Islamophobic media personalities found and posted the video online. These individuals reposted the video, accusing the students of “glorifying Hamas” and “reenacting October 7.” The posts prompted a wave of Islamophobic hate and threats against the students.
Instead of protecting its students, TJHSST administrators immediately placed the students in school suspension, publicly condemned the video skit as “antisemitic,” and launched an “investigation” into the actions of MSA, which ultimately ended in disciplinary action against the students. Despite the students’ attempts to explain the viral and innocent nature of the post, including by sharing several videos of other FCPS and TJHSST student groups posting identical or similar videos, the school concluded its investigation and punished them. FCPS did not investigate or punish any other groups for their actions.
The MSA students who were punished experienced extraordinary harm. In addition to the suspension—which remains on their permanent records—the students were victims of deep-fakes, accusations of terrorism, and threats. The school system repeatedly legitimized those allegations and refused to support or protect its students. Thomas Jefferson Vice Principal Mukai even attempted to persuade police that the deepfakes were real. Additionally, after this incident, one student was rejected from each of the colleges they applied to. Another was disqualified from a prestigious internship program. And another student was prohibited from wearing a sweatshirt displaying a Palestine map, despite having worn it for months without issue.
The school district’s decision to investigate and punish only MSA members and to legitimize and amplify the voices of the hate groups targeting its students violates the students’ rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Public schools may not discriminate against similarly situated students, and they certainly cannot do so based on perceived viewpoint.
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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MEDIA CONTACTS: Ahmad Kaki, Staff Attorney CAIR LDF, akaki@cair.com, 202-640-4935; Gadeir Abbas, Senior Litigation Attorney, CAIR LDF, gabbas@cair.com, 720-251-0425; John M. Fossum, Staff Attorney, CAIR LDF, jfossum@cair.com, 202-850-9301; Catherine Keck, Staff Attorney, CAIR LDF, ckeck@cair.com, 202-539-8279; Edward Ahmed Mitchell, CAIR National Deputy Director, e-Mitchell@cair.com, 404-285-9530; Ibrahim Hooper, CAIR National Communications Director, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; Ismail Allison, CAIR National Communications Manager, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com