Abrar Omeish, a school board member in the Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) system, used the anniversary of 9/11 to seek to highlight anti-Muslim discrimination. As Luke Rosiak with The Daily Wire reported, Omeish sought for the school board to pass a resolution titled "Commemorating Twenty Years of Social and Political Impact of the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks."
Rosiak reported quite the eyebrow raising detail about her father:
Omeish lives with her father Esam, who was a director of the Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Falls Church, Virginia, and hired as its imam Anwar al-Awlaki, who former President Barack Obama later ordered to be killed by drone strike. The mosque was attended by two of the 9/11 hijackers as well as the shooter in the 2009 attack on Fort Hood, Texas.
Local parent and Vice President for Strategy & Investigations Asra Q. Nomani, who is Muslim, weighed in on the connection:
??????? @AbrarOmeish sells the bad ideas of truth-deniers regarding Islamic extremism. She tells teachers: use “exact” terms like “white supremacist” but don’t DARE tell the truth of Islamic extremism. So many 9/11 hijackers prayed at her family mosque, it’s called “the 9/11 mosque.” https://t.co/thx4OXhH8F
— Asra Q. Nomani (@AsraNomani) September 12, 2021
The resolution was not adopted.
As Rosiak reported previously about the resolution:
But some school board members, who are all Democrats and who have frequently worked with Omeish in promoting what they call “equity,” had their own words for Omeish.
Ricardy Anderson, a previous chair of the board, said an “alternative” resolution that Omeish was angry they did not adopt was only shown to them shortly before the meeting. “Your failure to communicate with this board does not give you the right to chastise us in this session,” she said. Parents clapped.
Omeish’s remarks derailed the school board into a lengthy debate, distracting from the intended message of the 9/11 resolution and delaying discussions related to returning to school after nearly a year of coronavirus closure.
Member Karen Keys-Gamarra said in what seemed to be a pointed reference to Omeish: “I want to make sure that this recognition of this solemn moment is not lost in this conversation… I know that there are many cultural issues or concerns, but when I think of 9/11 what stands out most in my mind is people who didn’t just think of themselves.”
Omeish shared the resolution on Twitter.
We remember nearly 3,000 lives lost during the tragedy, including three from Fairfax County.
— Abrar Omeish (@AbrarOmeish) September 11, 2021
We stand with the families of Khang Nguyen, Michael Selves, & Sandra Teague through this painful memory.
Let us honor them, acknowledge their difficulty, and serve in their legacy.
The week of 9/11, hate crimes against American families exponentially increased.
— Abrar Omeish (@AbrarOmeish) September 11, 2021
Over the 20 years, nearly 5,000 Americans *reported* anti-Arab or anti-Muslim hate crimes. Sikhs, Hindus, & racial minorities mistaken as Arab or Muslim were targeted.
This continues today.
The targeting & xenophobia of post-9/11 domestic policy match the othering of post-9/11 foreign policy, whose wars were used to justify harm & directly cost us lives of over 7,000 U.S. military personnel & nearly 400,000 civilians/journalists/aid workers. https://t.co/3YYkvKJ14x
— Abrar Omeish (@AbrarOmeish) September 11, 2021
That's over 10% of our kids in Fairfax.
— Abrar Omeish (@AbrarOmeish) September 11, 2021
Over 1/2 of Muslim students experience bullying, 2x the national average.
Half of American Muslim parents say their kids face religious-based bullying in school.
*1/3 of the incidents involve a school official.*
Further, mental health services for 9/11 victims' families, first responders, military veterans, hate victims, & refugees are essential to address how these events continue to shape our communities.
— Abrar Omeish (@AbrarOmeish) September 11, 2021
The current realities around Afghanistan are one recent example of such needs.
As Townhall reported in May, Omeish made an anti-Israeli posted over social media.
Eid Mubarak! Congrats on 30 days of worship!
— Abrar Omeish (@AbrarOmeish) May 13, 2021
Hurts my heart to celebrate while Israel kills Palestinians & desecrates the Holy Land right now. Apartheid & colonization were wrong yesterday and will be today, here and there. ??????
May justice + truth prevail.#EidWithPalestine pic.twitter.com/JmQjJzAaS4
In response to the post, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington (JRCC) rescinded an award for Omeish. Their statement in part read:
Ms. Omeish fails to understand that as a public official, she cannot distinguish her personal statements from her official ones. It is irresponsible of her to use her public platform to publicly advance controversial political views that target and marginalize Jewish students and their families and divide our community. Her actions constituted a dereliction of her duty and they compromise the entire Board. She should be held accountable.
We take no pleasure in being forced to cancel the honor we had planned to present to Ms. Omeish. However, her actions run completely contrary to our mission of building interfaith respect, cooperation, allyship and friendship. Moreover, they undermine the very values upon which the FCPS Faith Equity campaign is based: the obligation to ensure that all FCPS students, regardless of their identities and affiliations, benefit from a nurturing learning environment where they feel respected and safe from harassment and hatred.
During conversations between JCRC representatives and Ms. Omeish after the Tweet was posted, the JCRC conveyed the hurt experienced by the Jewish community and offered Ms. Omeish an opportunity to meaningfully amend her remarks. Unfortunately, she has continued to stoke the flames of division and acrimony: She has not taken down her tweet, she has not taken affirmative steps to try to stem the vitriolic, hateful rhetoric on social media triggered by her remarks, and she seems uninterested in being a voice for authentic empathy, grace, and healing.
Omeish also tweeted a "9/11 Anniversary Response Guide For Educators."
Be equipped this weekend.
— Abrar Omeish (@AbrarOmeish) September 11, 2021
Parents: https://t.co/1DNcYT42Hk
Educators: https://t.co/atF8fM4i0b
9/11 is a challenging moment that can bring us towards healing our nation together. Let us honor our heroes by committing to fix & rebuild.
Alt resolution: https://t.co/RsE0U6r5ee
The page, with original emphasis, began by noting:
This year marks the twentieth anniversary of September 11th. The world mourned the loss of life and destruction of that day. It was also a pivotal moment in the history of Muslims in the U.S. and across the world. As educators, you have the responsibility of meeting the needs of all your students as they experience this anniversary. Council for American Islamic Relations (CAIR), an Islamic civil rights organization, usually receives a spike in complaints from students and families on anniversaries of 9/11. Some complaints involve peer-to-peer bullying, while others involve anti-Muslim content in lesson plans. In light of this, Muslim American students need your support so that they can experience a safe and welcoming classroom during this time. Students who are not of the Muslim faith also need support to learn how to interact with their Muslim peers.
It instructs:
- Do not call on Muslim students to comment on the attacks
- Do not create educational activities that stimulate the roles of perpetrators, targets, or bystanders.
- Avoid the following language:
- “Islamic terrorists,” “jihadists,” or “radical Islamic terrorists.”
- This language validates the claims of the 9/11 attackers by associating their acts of mass murder with Islam and Muslims.
- “Terrorism” for everything.
- There is much disagreement about what terrorism means and it’s often used in a biased manner
- Instead, use exact terms: white supremacist, surveillance, acts of mass violence
- Use “the endless wars”.
- ?? The term “endless wars” captures the Iraq, Afghanistan, and other ongoing physical wars, as well as the never-ending harm, inflicted upon innocent Black and brown people.
- It reinforces the fact that the wars abroad and at home have no clear target, and only harm Black and Brown communities.
- For more information about language, check out ReThink Media’s guide.
- Avoid microaggressions:
- “When the attacks happened, did your mosque or community make a statement?”
- “Aren’t you mad at the terrorists for what they did?”
- “Do you all have to go for jihad? ”
- Do wear cultural items from Muslim countries as a show of support (e.g., scarf)
Similar language was used in a since deleted video that Townhall reported on which was shared to the Virginia Department of Education YouTube account, although the department later tried to distance themselves from the video, titled "Culturally Responsive and Inclusive 9/11 Commemoration."
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