Harun Nasrullah
Two brutal assaults on visibly Muslim schoolgirls in Texas and North Carolina have ignited renewed calls for urgent reform to address rising Islamophobia and violence in American schools. The attacks, which occurred just days apart, have drawn condemnation from civil rights organisations, faith leaders, and local officials who say both incidents highlight systemic failures to protect vulnerable students.
Texas: Afghan sisters targeted in group attack
On March 3, three Afghan girls wearing hijabs were violently attacked during lunchtime at Paul Revere Middle School in Houston, Texas. According to eyewitness accounts and family members, a group of at least 20 students surrounded the girls, physically assaulting them and using pencils as weapons. One victim was rendered unresponsive and rushed to Texas Children’s Hospital, where she remained for four days. She continues to wear a neck brace and suffers from significant emotional trauma.
The girls’ families believe the attack was motivated by ethnic and religious bias, and possibly a case of mistaken identity in ongoing middle school conflicts. A student witness confirmed the girls were singled out and beaten by a large group.
William White, Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Houston, demanded immediate action. “These students came to this country in search of safety and stability—what they endured instead is a complete failure of accountability and compassion,” he said, criticising the Houston Independent School District (HISD) for failing to safeguard the victims.
While the school district confirmed disciplinary action against seven aggressors and offered one student a school transfer, families allege the district initially rescinded that offer and forced the girls back into the same environment. CAIR-Houston has since demanded an independent investigation, trauma-informed support for the victims, and stronger anti-discrimination measures in schools.
Prominent Muslim scholar Dr Yasir Qadhi also weighed in, blaming the rise in far-right rhetoric in Texas. “Hate has consequences,” he posted on X. “All of the anti-Muslim bigotry being spread by the far-right in Texas is not only slanderous, it is dangerous.”
North Carolina: reconstructive surgery after assault in class
Four days later, on March 7, a 15-year-old hijab-wearing student at Ardrey Kell High School in Charlotte, North Carolina, was brutally attacked by a male classmate in her maths class. The student, who remains unnamed for privacy reasons, suffered severe facial fractures, a broken nose, a split brow, and a concussion requiring reconstructive surgery and the insertion of a metal plate in her face. Her vision has not fully returned.
According to the girl and her family, the male student had a history of racial and religious harassment, allegedly calling her a “bomber,” a “terrorist,” and saying she had no hair under her hijab. The altercation reportedly began after she defended another girl from the boy’s insults.
“He called me the N-word and told me to go back to my country,” she previously told The Charlotte Observer.
She alleges she was struck repeatedly in the face before trying to escape into the hallway, where the boy pushed her head into a locker and continued the assault. Her math teacher later apologised for not intervening. The girl’s parents have since moved her to another school.
Jibril Hough of the Islamic Center of Charlotte said the teen was “nearly beaten to death.”
“If he had hit her a few more times, she may have died,” he said at a press conference in March.
Despite the girl’s injuries and allegations, an FBI-affiliated investigation by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police concluded there was insufficient evidence to classify the attack as a hate crime. The boy’s family and local National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) officials claimed the girl was the aggressor and dismissed the racial and religious motivations behind the incident.
Hough criticised the investigation as flawed, saying authorities failed to interview the victim and key witnesses. He also condemned what he described as the NAACP’s attempt to reframe the attack as a racial divide between Black and Arab communities. “There is no Muslim-Black greater narrative at play here,” he said. “We cannot excuse his actions.”
The school, already facing scrutiny over past incidents of racism, has not directly addressed the girl’s specific allegations.
In recent years, Ardrey Kell High School has been involved in controversies ranging from a principal accused of enabling intolerance to threats made against Black students.
A systemic crisis
The back-to-back assaults have underscored broader concerns about the rise of hate-based violence in schools. According to the most recent FBI data, hate crimes on K-12 campuses have increased significantly in recent years, with Muslim students frequently among the targets.
In both cases, critics argue that schools and institutions failed to protect vulnerable students or respond with sufficient urgency. Advocates are calling for school boards to adopt stronger anti-bullying frameworks, cultural competency training for staff, and improved support systems for victims.
“This isn’t just about two isolated incidents,” said White of CAIR-Houston. “This is about how American schools are failing our children—especially those who are visibly different—when they need protection the most.”
Both CAIR and the Islamic Center of Charlotte are continuing to call for accountability, healing, and systemic change. As of this report, only one victim has been granted a school transfer, while others remain in environments where their safety is uncertain.
The students, their families, and community advocates say they will not stop speaking out until schools become places of safety and inclusion—not fear and trauma—for all children.
Photo showing one of the Afghan students who was hospitalised following the incident at Paul Revere Middle School in Houston, Texas. (Credit: CAIR-Houston / Instagram)
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