Teacher tells 9th grade Muslim girl: ‘I bet you’re grieving’ for ‘uncle’ Osama

NOVANEWS

A ninth grade algebra teacher was suspended from a Texas school district after making offensive comments to a Muslim student in front of the entire class.

“The teacher told the student that ‘I bet you’re grieving,’” the mother of a student in the same class told ABC13. “And she basically looked at him and said what are you talking about? And he said I heard about your uncle’s death and she said wow, because she understood that he was referring about Osama bin Laden being killed and was racially profiling her.”

She added that the teacher “just kind of smirked and giggled and walked away” after the Muslim student ended up crying over the comments.

The student’s mother did not want to reveal her identity because she feared retaliation against her daughter and the Muslim girl who was harassed.

A spokesperson for the Clear Creek school district also declined to name the student or the teacher involved, but did confirm what was said. The school district has suspended the teacher pending an investigation of the incident.

“The student did the right thing and immediately notified an adult regarding the teachers’ comments,” school district spokeswoman Elaina Polsen said. “The principal at Clear Brook High School notified the child’s parents and has been in communication with the family.”

Aziz Siddiqi, president of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston, said he believed the offensive remarks were an isolated incident.

“It’s just one individual,” he said. “A lot of people suffer because of the actions of one individual. This little girl suffered. The teacher is going to suffer. I think every society has some people who are a little off. He may be one of those.”