The West New York School District has denied an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request filed by FCDF to obtain the district records about two Muslim students at Memorial High School who were allowed to proselytize in multiple classrooms during the school day. FCDF also sought records about a banner Memorial High’s principal hung during Ramadan that called upon ALLAH to “shower” blessings on students.
The Muslim students’ proselytization was part of the North Hudson Islamic Educational Center’s “Dawah Committee,” whose goal is to convert non-Muslim public school students to Islam. In multiple online posts, the Dawah Committee praised the students’ efforts to Islamize their classmates and prayed that Allah would “bless them manifold” for their “dawah educational exercise.” Dawah is the Islamic term to convert non-Muslims through nonviolent means (as opposed to jihad).
Today, the District denied the OPRA request, refusing to make emails and documents about the Islamization of Memorial High School public. The District claims that the requests “were overly broad” and “unclear.” FCDF’s requests were, in fact, highly specific.
In May, FCDF sent a “cease and desist” letter to the District, demanding that officials remove the Allah poster and halt all activities that would violate the First Amendment. The District denied wrongdoing but took down the post two days later.
“These records relate to a strategic campaign by Islamic clerics to infiltrate the District and convert hundreds of students and staff to Islam. The District’s School Board is legally responsible to uphold the First Amendment’s mandate against religious indoctrination in public schools. It is shocking that the District would withhold vital information that concerns the safety and wellbeing of impressionable schoolchildren.”
Daniel Piedra, FCDF’s Executive Director“We are determined to hold the West New York School District accountable to the students, parents, and communities they are legally obligated to serve. Once we obtain this information, we will work closely with students, parents and advocates to ensure the Constitution, not Sharia law, is the final authority in the District.”
Daniel Piedra, FCDF’s Executive Director
