Muslim teen sues Anaheim school district over teacher's 'terrorist' remark

Orange County Superior Court Judge Kimberly A. Knill recently turned down the district's bid to have the lawsuit dismissed on legal grounds, keeping the case alive. Yousef Abdullah filed the suit in January. The Anaheim Union High School District declined the Orange County Register's request to comment on the litigation, and The Independent has also reached out to the district.

The clash started in February 2025, when Abdullah — then 14 — approached his Cypress High School English teacher about being rejected from the AP English program. According to the complaint, the teacher told him in front of other students: “I don’t negotiate with terrorists, that is people under the age of 18.” The suit argues the remark humiliated him and discriminated against him because of his Muslim and Palestinian heritage.

When Abdullah reported it to his school counselor, the complaint says he was questioned about his family and told the line was a joke from a movie — with the counselor allegedly repeating it several times. An assistant principal then allegedly downplayed it, telling him “it’s a phrase, it was not made towards you.” District Human Resources Director Amie Maya later wrote to the family in March 2025 that an investigation found a derogatory comment that violated the school board's policy against abusive language toward students, and said it would be handled through the district's “confidential personnel process.”

Attorney Samer Habbas says that process produced nothing. No employees lost their jobs over the incident, he told the OC Register, and he argued the response would have been different for another protected group. “When you’re calling a Palestinian child of Muslim descent a terrorist … it is completely inappropriate, it dehumanizes a kid,” Habbas said. He pointed to a January 2025 case in Pennsylvania, where a middle school teacher resigned after making virtually the same remark to a student who asked to change seats.

The lawsuit also claims teachers discussed Abdullah's special needs status in front of classmates, exposing his ADHD diagnosis; the suit says peers then called him “SpEd.” Habbas said Abdullah, now 16, has transferred to another Orange County high school and avoids anything that marks him as Arab or Muslim — including growing facial hair or being seen in public with his parents — and now wants to go by “Joseph.” “Our goal is to hold the district for their failure to protect this kid,” Habbas said. “No kid should be called (a terrorist) by their school.”