(RNS) — Days after naming a Muslim woman as principal of a North Texas high school, conservative backlash prompted the district to reassign her and open an investigation.

Interfaith religious leaders, district parents and educators are now calling for Shayma Alzubi’s reinstatement, saying the Fort Worth Independent School District capitulated to a hateful online smear campaign against her faith.

The district announced Friday (May 22) that Alzubi had been promoted to principal of Western Hills High School, posting a picture of her wearing a hijab in a social media post that has since been deleted. 

Alzubi’s appointment went viral after the far-right group Libs of TikTok and other right-wing social media bloggers resurfaced posts and images showing her support for Black Lives Matter, Palestinians and immigrants. The accounts called on people to show their opposition by contacting the district. 

At a press conference Thursday, advocates said Alzubi’s social media posts were misrepresented by a coordinated anti-Muslim campaign. 

“Instead of drawing a firm line against harassment and intimidation, the district embraced it,” Sabrina Ball, a Fort Worth ISD parent, said at the news conference. “Some of the rhetoric directed at her was openly anti-Muslim — not policy disagreement, not ordinary criticism — openly hateful, dangerous rhetoric.” 

The school district said in a statement on Tuesday that Alzubi’s social media posts “may not align with the district’s social media policy and expectations for staff.” 

“Our district leaders, educators and staff will not inject personal political perspectives into classrooms,” the district said, citing state law. “Fort Worth ISD serves a wide array of families and students that are civically engaged and maintain a variety of perspectives.”

A spokesperson did not respond to further questions from RNS. 

In a statement Thursday, Alzubi said she has faced death threats that have made her feel unsafe in her home. 

“I’m disheartened that the online noise is being emphasized over my experience and qualifications that earned me the position,” she said in a statement circulated by the Texas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and Faith Power Alliance. 

Alzubi, a master’s graduate of Texas Christian University, has worked at the district for over a decade as a teacher and an assistant principal. 

In 2019, the Fort Worth ISD board voted to terminate the contract of a teacher who ranted on Twitter about the district being “loaded with illegal students from Mexico.” Last year, Dallas ISD placed a longtime educator on leave for his personal Facebook posts critical of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Among the posts circulated by right-wing users was a Jan. 23 repost from Alzubi’s account explaining the Islamic legal system known as Shariah, comparing it to other religious and moral frameworks, including those based on the Bible. 

“Sharia law isn’t coming for Texas. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever,” the repost from a Facebook account called Texas Reporter stated. “For most Muslims living in the U.S., ‘Sharia’ looks like: praying, fasting during Ramadan, donating to charity, avoiding alcohol/pork, trying to live an ethical life …,” the post continued. 

Other screenshots from Alzubi’s account showed a black image reading “BLACK LIVES MATTER,” a post stating “I am #WithDreamers I SUPPORT DACA” and an image with a Palestinian flag. 

Online, discriminatory content targeting Muslims across social media platforms has escalated “at an alarming pace,” according to an analysis by the Center for the Study of Organized Hate, a nonprofit think tank based in Washington, D.C.

Mustafaa Carroll, interim executive director of the Texas chapter of CAIR, said the district’s actions are yet another example of increasing anti-Muslim bigotry in Texas.

Carroll said his office has received hundreds of reports of harassment against Muslims in North Texas in recent months. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and other Republican politicians in the state have escalated anti-Muslim rhetoric. 

In March, the Texas Legislature created an anti-Shariah caucus whose stated aim is to protect Texas from what it views as the influence of Islamic legal principles in American society. Earlier this month, Abbott threatened to cut $530,000 in state grants to the city of Grand Prairie after the Muslim community planned a “DFW Epic Eid” event intended to enforce modest dress for a private rental period at Epic Waters indoor water park. After Abbott’s ultimatum, city officials canceled the event. 

Abbott also labeled CAIR a terrorist organization last year, a move that is being litigated in court after the civil rights group sued. 

Abbott commented on Alzubi’s investigation, saying on a Fox News appearance Wednesday that “a misalignment with Texas values as well as Texas law are unacceptable and people like this cannot be principal.” He then listed a number of recent actions from his office targeting Muslim groups that aim to stop what he called “the Islamification of Texas.” 

“Right now, what we’re seeing in Texas needs to be coined as something different: just being Muslim, JBM, that’s the only crime that we are committing,” Muhammad Abdullah, an imam at Masjid Al-Islam in North Texas, said at the press conference. “I’ve never seen more clearer evidence to that statement than what happened to our sister Shayma.”

Standing near other faith leaders and advocates at the Islamic Unity Center, the Rev. Kristin Klade, Lutheran pastor of Kyrie Pub Church in Fort Worth, said her faith compels her to stand with the Muslim community against discrimination. 

Klade, who is also secretary of the advocacy group Families Organized and Responding to Takeover, called on the district to lead with “transparency and fairness” toward Alzubi.

The Fort Worth ISD is temporarily controlled by a state-appointed board of managers, which took over leadership in March, citing concerns about poor academics across the district. In a post Tuesday on X, State Board of Education member Julie Pickren called for an investigation into Alzubi. Pickren did not respond to a request for comment. 

It is unclear whether the board or superintendent made the ultimate decision to reassign and investigate Alzubi.