A New Jersey assistant teacher was suspended for allegedly calling a Muslim student a 'terrorist' after he asked for more time...
A New Jersey assistant teacher was suspended for allegedly calling a Muslim student a 'terrorist' after he asked for more time on a math assignment.
The unidentified staff member allegedly told 17-year-old student Mohammed Zubi he does not 'negotiate with terrorists' after the student asked for more time on an assignment on October 20.
Zubi, who attends Ridgefield Memorial High School in Ridgefield, New Jersey, and is the captain of the soccer team, told CNN he was at 'a loss for words.'
'He responded by saying: "We don't negotiate with terrorists." I looked around in shock' Zubi told ABC 7. 'There's people laughing, and there's other people in shock, and I turn around and ask my friend: "Did he really just say that?" and she said yes.'
Zubi told CNN that the teaching assistant came up to him a few minutes later and told him he didn't mean it.
'In my head, I'm just like, what other way could have meant that?' he told CNN.
The soccer captain said he felt 'really uncomfortable' following the incident on October 20 and did not return to school until Monday.
Mohammed Zubi, 17, was allegedly called a 'terrorist' by a teaching assistant at Ridgefield Memorial High School on October 20
'I don't feel like going back, I'm really uncomfortable,' he told ABC 7 on October 23. 'I don't want to see anyone, and I've been in my room all day. [I] don't want to see my friends, especially after what that teacher said to me.'
Zubi is now asking for a 'public apology' to him and his family.
Fellow student Nicholas Velez, who was in class with Zubi at the time, said the teacher got 'close to him [Zubi] and said "We don't negotiate with terrorists," knowing that Mohammed is Arabic and Muslim,' he told ABC 7.
Ridgefield Memorial High School has since suspended the teacher and the school district has launched an investigation. It refused to confirm the worker's identity when contacted by DailyMail.com.
Zubi had asked for more time on a math assignment when the unidentified teacher 'got close' to him and said: 'We don't negotiate with terrorists.' Zubi, who is captain of the school's soccer team, reportedly didn't return to school until Monday after he felt 'really uncomfortable' and was 'in shock'
The School District has since released a statement on Sunday saying it has 'absolutely no tolerance for any sort of discrimination against any student or staff member' and that it 'cannot legally comment on personnel or student matters.'
'The District strives to create an inclusive environment where students' and staff members' race, religion, national origin, and sexual orientation are embraced,' the statement read.
The Ridgefield School District has since issued a statement - which pop-up on the school's website. The school has since suspended the teacher and the district plans to 'pursue any and all legal remedies against the staff member'
The School District has since released a statement on Sunday saying it has 'absolutely no tolerance for any sort of discrimination against any student or staff member' and that it 'cannot legally comment on personnel or student matters'
The school district also reported they plan to 'pursue any and all legal remedies against the staff member' as 'discriminatory conduct has absolutely no place in our District.'
Ridgefield Police Chief Thomas Gallagher told CNN on Monday that the case was 'referred back to the original agency' as they did not find any crime associated.
The current status of the investigation is unclear.
Fellow student Nicholas Velez said the teacher knew Zubi was Arabic and Muslim
In response to the incident, the New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has offered the school district diversity training for its teachers and staff.
'This type of insensitive language by an authority figure is unacceptable because it perpetuates stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims,' CAIR Executive Director Selaedin Maksut said in a statement on Friday.
'Education around Islam and Muslims for educators is necessary because even 20 years after 9/11 these ugly stereotypes continue to show up in our classroom, and that's unacceptable.'
It is unknown if Ridgefield Memorial High School has accepted the offer.
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