Fairfax Schools Guide Tells Teachers Not to Link 9/11 to Islam or “Center the Extremists”

Fairfax County Public Schools, Virginia’s largest district and a short drive from the Pentagon, distributed a six-page, 1,740-word instructional document titled “25th Anniversary and Commemoration of 9/11” that tells teachers not to “associate the 9/11 attacks with Islam or Muslims” and not to “center the extremists or the acts of the extremists.” The guide, obtained by Fox News Digital, also instructs educators to create “safe spaces for Muslim and Middle Eastern students,” to “prioritize student safety and wellness,” and to “design instruction around your students’ needs and experiences.” It says a commemorative lesson should not become “an examination of Islam,” because that could send the “harmful message” that “Islam, or all Muslims, are responsible for these terrorist attacks.” Teachers are told the commemoration should focus on “those whose lives were lost and those who sacrificed to help others — not those who attacked the United States.”

A content count of the memo found about half of it devoted to protecting Muslim and Middle Eastern students from “anti-Muslim racism,” “Islamophobic rhetoric,” and “anti-Middle Eastern” comments. About 15 percent spelled out specific 9/11 instruction. The remainder addressed managing “emotional responses.” The document contains 30 references to Islam, Muslim families, Muslim students, and related bias terms. It mentions military families three times and first responders once, in a line that “many families of military personnel and first responders experienced loss and hardship.” Teachers are told that speaking against anti-Muslim bias is part of their “sacred role,” that they must “disrupt” Islamophobic rhetoric from students or colleagues, and that they should “intentionally include Muslim Americans among the heroes, helpers, and victims” and “intentionally disrupt the implicit associations between ‘Muslim,’ ‘outsider’ and ‘terrorist.’” The guide recognizes that al-Qaeda carried out the attacks but says that group’s ideology should not be linked to “Islam or to Muslims as a religious community.” It does not name Osama bin Laden or Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

The district sits a few miles from the Pentagon, where 184 people were killed on Sept. 11, 2001. In a statement to Fox, FCPS said the community has a “deeply personal connection” to that day because of that proximity and the military-connected families it serves. “On the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, we remember the nearly 3,000 people who were killed, including 184 at the Pentagon,” the statement said. “We remember the victims, their families, the survivors, and everyone whose lives were forever changed. We honor the first responders whose courage and sacrifice continue to inspire us.” It added that the division “remains committed to an inclusive environment” where “all students feel welcomed.” Superintendent Michelle Reid said high-school Virginia and U.S. History courses follow state standard VUS.17, which requires students to analyze the attacks in the broader context of terrorism and democracy, and that the anniversary guide is for commemorative use outside those courses. An anonymous FCPS teacher told the Fairfax Times she still teaches that it was an Islamic terrorist attack and spends about one class period on it.

Retired Vice Adm. Lou Crenshaw, who was inside the Pentagon when American Airlines Flight 77 struck the building, told Fox the guide was a “vanilla” approach that fails to convey “a sense of urgency or the evilness of what actually happened.” House Intelligence Chairman Rick Crawford said on Just the News that declining to use the words Islam or Muslim in relation to the attacks, “in the shadow of the Pentagon,” was “an absolute travesty.” Fairfax parent Stephanie Lundquist Arora told a local station the guidance added “insult to injury.” The district has not withdrawn the document.