Who is Abrar Omeish? Virginia school board member urges students to remember 'Jihad'
The sole Muslim member on the board of Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia, Abrar Omeish, sparked controversy after she mentioned the word 'Jihad' in her speech for graduating high school students. On June 7, 2021, Omeish addressed the outgoing batch of Justice High School and gave a poignant, stirring speech. However, during her speech, which was mostly in English, she mentioned, "The world sees the accolade, the diploma, the fruit of all your years yet be reminded of the detail of your struggle. She added that the students must remember their 'Jihad' as they were going to enter a world full of "racism, extreme versions of individualism and capitalism, [and] white supremacy."
According to DailyMail, Omeish was previously at the center of controversy for her anti-Israel tweet, where she reportedly criticized the country for "apartheid and colonization". "Hurts my heart to celebrate while Israel kills Palestinians & desecrates the Holy Land right now. 'Apartheid & colonization were wrong yesterday and will be today, here and there," she has tweeted on May 13. The remark earned immense backlash, prompting the Fairfax County Republican Committee to even demand her resignation. At that time, Omeish had clapped back at her 'haters', saying, "Just consider them your cheerleaders of another breed. When they try to bury you, remind them you are a seed."
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Congrats JUSTICE Class of 2021! @justicehswolves
— Abrar Omeish (@AbrarOmeish) June 7, 2021
These seniors started the 1st @FCPSEquity team.💪
Over half are first-gen college.
Over half learned English in @fcpsnews👏
It was a privilege to be their speaker today, at my dad’s alma mater.
These grads inspire me!🎓@jstyle620 pic.twitter.com/SEdUBvFrFI
Who is Abrar Omeish?
Abrar Omeish became a board member in November 2019, at the age of 24 years. At that time, she was one of the youngest elected officials in Virginia.
Omeish is the daughter of Esam Omeish, a surgeon who was born in Libya. Her father was a member of the Virginia Commission of Immigration. In 2007, he was ironically forced to resign over the usage of the word 'Jihad', when a video showed him condemning Israel's actions at the time and advocating 'the jihad way'.
His daughter Abrar had always been known for her progressive policies, as she had advocated for a Black History Month assembly, as well as the first-time recognition of Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in 2021. She also touted for the school's Equity Club to curb discriminatory beliefs and ideals.
In her June 7 speech, daughter Abrar Omeish reminded everyone that the school was her father's alma mater. While addressing the batch of outgoing students, she stated, "We struggle with human greed, racism, extreme versions of individualism and capitalism, white supremacy growing wealth gaps, disease, climate crisis extreme poverty amidst luxury and waste right next door, and the list goes on."
She further spoke about acceptance and worldview in her speech, saying, "The world may try to quiet you by deciding for you what's cool, what's weird, what is or isn't objective. It may try to convince you that what you hold dear is too different to be accepted. But who gets to decide?"
"You are walking into a world that will be uncomfortable when you seek to cause good trouble. And that may seek to intimidate you or make you think the truth is controversial.....Every part of your being may scream in rage at the ways others have wronged you,' but 'let compassion for your fellow human beings, not anger or rage — and believe me this is hard to do — fuel you."