REVEALED: Seattle-area teacher urged school to donate to fund run by Islamic cleric who says sex slaves are ‘permissible,’ Oct 7 massacre ‘never happened’

A Freedom of Information Act request filed by Parents Defending Education revealed that Sobia Sheikh, a math teacher at Mariner High School in Everett, Washington’s Mukilteo School District suggested the cleric’s charity when asked by the school counselor where to donate for emergency relief for Palestinians.

According to the FOIA release, on October 30, 2023, shortly after Hamas raped, tortured, and murdered over 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped another 250, a counselor in the district asked Sheikh where she could donate to Palestinians needing emergency relief.

Sheikh recommended a fundraiser by “WaqForever,” a "Shariya compliant" charity registered in the UK based in Cardiff and operated by Ali Hammuda.

Hammuda has previously stated in a YouTube speech that the Oct 7 atrocities in Israel “never happened… there was no massacre of 260 people, there was no mass rape that took place at all, there was not the beheading of a single child, let alone 40 of them. There is zero evidence.”

After it was discovered that a UK Labor Party member had met with Hammuda and the cleric’s comments were revealed, the video was taken down from the platform by YouTube for violating the platform’s policy on hate speech.

According to the Daily Express, Hammuda accused the media of "concocting stories… that a huge massacre took place." An undercover reporter recorded him telling teenage Muslim boys in 2014 that it is 'permissible' under Islam to have sex slaves.

Sheikh’s social media accounts are filled with antisemitic tropes comparing Jews to Nazis and blatant falsehoods such as “Israelis killed their own people” on Oct. 7.

The teacher, who was a board member of the National Education Association, one of the largest teachers’ unions in the US, also posted memes alleging that Israelis steal Palestinian organs and comparing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler.

She was also on the NEA Task Force on Safe, Just, and Equitable Schools and was endorsed in her campaign for the board by the Washington Education Association’s BAT Caucus (Bad Ass Teachers) which describes itself as “giving voice to every educator who refuses to be blamed for the failure of society to erase poverty and inequality through education.” She previously interviewed with a local NPR affiliate bemoaning teacher shortages in Washington.

According to her LinkedIn profile, she graduated from the University of Washington and is their M.Ed Alumni Representative on the Professional Educator Advisory Board. She also claims to work for a local branch of the Sylvan Learning Center.

The Mukilteo School District addressed the controversy in a statement to The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI saying, "Any opinions shared by staff on their personal social media are their own and do not represent the district. We understand this conflict raises strong feelings and that Americans have the right to voice their opinions.”

When asked why the district had not addressed Sheikh using school resources to fundraise for terrorists, the school replied, "The district has addressed the issue with all parties and is not willing to further discuss personnel issues through the media."