A New Jersey elementary school teacher is suing Olympic medalist Ibtihaj Muhammad for viral social media posts. The teacher, Tamar Herman, alleges that Muhammad’s post accused her of forcibly removing a student’s hijab. Hijabs are traditional headscarves worn by some Muslim women and girls.
Previously, Blavity reported a second-grade student at Seth Boyden Elementary School told her mother that Herman had pulled her hijab off her head, exposing her hair. The 7-year-old’s family complained to the school principal. The young student is Black, and Herman is Jewish and white.
The Philidelphia Inquirer reported that Herman informed school administrators that the situation was a misunderstanding. She claimed she thought the student was wearing a hood that went past her eyes. She didn’t realize it was her hijab. Herman said she made an attempt to lift the fabric. However, the student’s hair was uncovered underneath. The teacher stated she quickly apologized. She added that the student usually wore a tighter-fitting hijab that she could easily recognize as the traditional head covering.
Because of the incident, Herman is on administrative leave.
Herman alleges the spread of misinformation caused her to be a target of attack across social media. She said the hateful posts forced her to move out of her home and hire security to protect her.
Due to the allegations, Herman has begun a lawsuit against those who took part in spreading the accusations. One of the most notable people involved was Muhammad.
Herman filed the defamation lawsuit on Oct. 5. According to CNN, she accused Muhammad and other defendants of making “categorically false allegations of bigotry, child abuse, and gross pedagogical misconduct.”
Her actions were portrayed as antisemitic and Islamophobic.
CNN obtained court documents in which Herman alleges that her life and reputation were irreparably harmed by the “flood of interest and outrage” caused by Muhammad’s Instagram and Facebook posts.
In the post, Muhammad included the alleged details of the incident and discussed her children’s book, The Proudest Blue.
The October 2021 Facebook post reads, “I wrote this book with the intention that moments like this would never happen again. When will it stop? Yesterday, Tamar Herman, a teacher at Seth Boyden Elementary in Maplewood, NJ, forcibly removed the hijab of a second-grade student.”
Muhammad continued by describing what allegedly seemed to be a tug-of-war scenario between the student and Herman.
“The young student resisted by trying to hold onto her hijab, but the teacher pulled the hijab off, exposing her hair to the class,” she wrote. “Herman told the student that her hair was beautiful and she did not have to wear hijab to school anymore.”
“Imagine being a child and stripped of your clothing in front of your classmates,” she continued. “Imagine the humiliation and trauma this experience has caused her.”
“This is abuse. Schools should be a haven for all of our kids to feel safe, welcome and protected — no matter their faith,” she said. “We cannot move toward a post-racial America until we weed out the racism and bigotry that still exist in all layers of our society.”
“By protecting Muslim girls who wear hijab, we are protecting the rights of all of us to have a choice in the way we dress,” she added.
She ended the post by providing information for her followers to contact the school where Herman worked.
Other notable figures, such as New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, posted comments about the incident. Murphy tweeted that he was “deeply disturbed” by the accusations.
Deeply disturbed by these accusations. Our diversity is our greatest strength and every child should feel safe and welcome in school, regardless of their race, religion, or culture. We fully support @SOMSDK12’s investigation into the matter.https://t.co/CetCQz6GMB
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) October 8, 2021
The lawsuit lists Muhammad, CAIR New Jersey and CAIR New Jersey Executive Director Selaedin Maksut as those whose posts “ostracized” Herman.
According to CNN, Herman’s lawsuit comes just weeks after the Superior Court of New Jersey dismissed the student’s parents’ religious discrimination lawsuit against her and the South Orange Maplewood School District Board of Education.
The student’s mother stated that the young girl was traumatized by the incident and no longer wanted to wear her hijab.
Muhammad has not commented in regard to her being named in the lawsuit.
