A teacher has been fired after she interrupted two praying Muslim students and said: “I believe in Jesus so I’m interrupting the floor.”
The school took action after a video of the incident was posted on TikTok and shared widely.
In the shared footage a group boys can be seen reciting an Islamic prayer in Arabic with soft music playing in the background.
Then a teacher can be heard entering and saying “Hold on, this in my office and y’all doing this magic? Hey, hey, hey."
The teacher then blows a whistle and says: “I believe in Jesus so I’m interrupting the floor.”
As she steps through the praying boys she can be seen treading on one of the boy's prayer mat and nudging his hand away with her trainer, reports Local10.
The teacher, who has not been identified, worked at the Franklin Academy a publicly funded school in Pembroke Pines, Florida.
In a statement released by the school, it was announced the teacher "is no longer a member of the Franklin Academy staff."
The video was posted onto popular social media platform TikTok on Wednesday and has already been seen 7.4million times.
Wilfredo Ruiz, of the Council on American and Islamic Relations, described it as a clear case of bullying and said: “To see a teacher expressing so much hate and bullying students when teachers are supposed to be the ones that protect the students and protect their good doings, such as this one."
He continued: “What we expect to happen in schools is for our students to have full support in their activities.
“Not only their academic activities but any activities that enrich their academic environment.”
The US Supreme Court has previously ruled that publically funded schools may not hold official prayers but student led prayer that doesn't interrupt their education is protected under the First Amendment.
The statement from Franklin Academy claimed the incident was revealed to the school's leadership team when the viral video was shared to them.
They say an investigation was launched and although will not discuss the matters in detail say the teacher in question had been fired.
The statement read: “Earlier today, a very troubling TikTok video was shared with our leadership team.
"The video appears to show a teacher interrupting students during a moment of prayer. Upon receipt of the video, organisational and school leadership began immediately investigating the situation.
“Franklin Academy does not tolerate discriminatory behaviour.
"As many know, we are an International Baccalaureate (IB) school system, and as part of the IB initiatives to which we are committed, Franklin aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural and racial understanding and respect.
"We not only look for our student body to develop these traits but for our faculty and staff to exemplify them as well.
“While we do not discuss personnel matters, we can share with you that the teacher in question is no longer a member of the Franklin Academy staff."
