Abdullahi Ahmed, the Somali-born Muslim assistant superintendent for student, family and community partnerships at Portland Public Schools in Maine, raised Islamic ritual-purity concerns during a discussion of a proposed policy on animals in schools.
At the October 14 policy committee meeting, Ahmed said that Islamic traditions include compassion for animals, while some religious practices regard dog saliva as ritually impure. The discussion concerned the treatment of animals in schools, including classroom interactions. The Maine Anchor reported on his remarks and the proposed policy.
One commenter, Just Jen Rx (@JustJenRX), responded:
Service dogs are a protected class. He can leave America if he doesn’t like dogs.
The district has a separate service-animal policy.
Watch the video posted by Libs of TikTok on X