A teacher in Florida has been fired after a viral TikTok video allegedly showed her disrupting Muslim students during prayer.
via People:
Franklin Academy Charter School, which has five locations in southern Florida, announced in a statement on Thursday that school leadership was aware of the “very troubling TikTok video” and that they “do not tolerate discriminatory behavior 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,” school officials added in the statement.
In the video, which has been viewed more than 7.3 million times since it was posted on Thursday, three students can be seen taking part in worship, one of five sacred prayers a day for those who live by the Islamic faith.
Noise from a bustling hallway can be heard as a door opens and the faceless teacher enters what appears to be her office. “Hold on, this my office and y’all doing all this magic,” she can be heard yelling at the group.
She then continues to shout and blow a whistle at the students before her legs can be seen walking through them, nearly stepping on one student’s hand.
“I believe in Jesus, so I’m interrupting the floor,” she says before asking someone off-camera: “And why are they in my office? Who told them to come in here?”
A rep for the school did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on whether the students had permission to pray in that office or if the school has available space for worship.
The student who posted the video wrote in the caption: “I literally don’t even believe what happened to me is real. I’m still shook.”
Franklin Academy Charter School would not identify the teacher, and in another post, they noted that another staff member has been “MISTAKENLY and FALSELY identified” and is “receiving threats from strangers,” asking their followers to dispel those rumors.
The Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Florida), applauded the school’s response in a statement on Friday.
“It is of utmost importance that school administrators and staff know basic faith practices to serve students practicing their faith, in this case, Muslims,” the statement read. “We will protect our children. We welcome the prompt response from the school administration.”
The statement also noted a study released by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding in August, showing that nearly half of Muslim families have a school-aged child who “faced religious-based bullying” in 2022.
Watch the TikTok below.
@gawpu i literally dont even believe what happened to me is real im still shook. #muslim #praying #tate #prayer #andrewtate #andrewmuslim #kanye #islam ? snowfall – Øneheart & Reidenshi
