Fort Worth ISD said it will reassign a new principal after her hire sparked a sharp backlash from conservatives and far-right groups.
The district this week announced Shayma Alzubi as the new principal of Western Hills High School, including a photograph of Alzubi wearing a Muslim head scarf.
On Tuesday, Fort Worth ISD removed the post and said in a statement that Alzubi was reassigned pending an internal investigation. Previous statements Alzubi made on social media “may not align with the district’s social media policy and expectations for staff,” the district said.
Reached by phone Tuesday afternoon, Alzubi declined to comment. Fort Worth ISD declined to provide additional details and said it would not comment further.
Alzubi’s hire went viral Tuesday after the influential far-right group Libs of TikTok shared previous statements and photographs she posted in support of Black Lives Matter, Palestinians and Dreamers, the term given to immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children. The account urged followers to contact the district to voice opposition.
In one, Alzubi shared a post by Texas Reporter that said Sharia is not a threat to Texas but the moral code laid out in Muslim scriptures.
Fort Worth ISD said administrators ensure that “all issues of public policy or social affairs be explored objectively and in a manner free from political bias. Our district leaders, educators and staff will not inject personal political perspectives into classrooms.”
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The strife comes as Fort Worth ISD is under state control. Last year, the Texas Education Agency opted to take over the district after a campus received a failing rating for five consecutive years. Education Commissioner Mike Morath installed former Florida educator Peter Licata to lead the district, and appointed a board of managers to oversee the district’s affairs.
Texas State Board of Education member Brandon Hall, a conservative pastor who represents Fort Worth, urged the Texas Education Agency to investigate Alzubi. Hall said he spoke with Licata on Tuesday after reports of her posts surfaced online.
“It has nothing to do with her religion,” Hall said in a text message to The Dallas Morning News. “School leaders are held to a higher standard for their public statements.”
Hall said posts from Alzubi defending Sharia and supporting Palestinians disqualified her from school leadership.
Alzubi began her education career in 2013 as a science teacher in Fort Worth ISD, according to an announcement of her hire. She recently served as an assistant principal where she led collaborative learning focused on teacher development and student growth.
“For many students, parents and staff,” the announcement read, “the hiring also signals a continued investment in growing both teachers and student success from within the district.”
Some on social media criticized the hire and said it was proof that Muslims were taking over Texas. In Texas, about 2% of adults identify as Muslim, according to the PEW Research Religious Landscape Study. In Dallas-Fort Worth, that number is 1%.
Anti-Islamic rhetoric has mounted in recent months. A “Sharia Free” caucus formed in the Texas statehouse, and a similar caucus in Congress was founded by Texas congressional Republicans Chip Roy and Keith Self.
Last week, a Frisco City Council meeting to consider approving a new mosque, a Hindu temple and a Jain temple drew fiery opposition from dozens of speakers, including Frisco pastor Brandon Burden and Jake Lang, a Florida activist who was pardoned for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
Earlier this month, the Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations called on Texas politicians to stop the anti-Muslim rhetoric.
Mustafaa Carroll, the group’s executive director, said the CAIR has received hundreds of reports of harassment against Muslims in North Texas in recent months, including incidents of Muslims being harassed while praying in public spaces.
“We urge public officials and community leaders to reject bigotry and to instead foster a safety environment for all Texans,” Carroll said.
Related: North Texas Muslim civil rights group calls for end of anti-Muslim rhetoric after mosque shooting
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