Members of the Islamic organization Why Islam distributed religious content at a public high school in Wylie, Texas on Monday, a district official confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Members of the organization distributed brochures titled “Understanding Shariah,” Qurans and hijabs, according to a viral video posted to X featuring the president of the school’s High School Republicans. A district official confirmed the individuals passed out candy as well.
The official provided the DCNF with the statement sent to the families of Wylie East High School students Tuesday morning, which notes that an “outside organization” passed out “religious content to students on campus.”
According to the official, “four women representing the organization Why Islam were present” at the school.
“We reviewed security footage—fewer than 50 students visited their table,” the official stated. “Most students appeared to take a piece of candy, approximately four students received Henna designs, and about a dozen tried on a scarf or hijab.”
The official clarified that the organization did not have permission to distribute any materials on campus.
“Outside organizations are not permitted to distribute materials to students without prior approval from campus and district administration,” the district official wrote. “Guests may speak only with official student clubs with prior approval and may address only students who have signed parent permission forms on file. In this case, the organization did not have permission to distribute materials, did not receive approval to speak with students outside of the club, and the club did not submit the required guest speaker request form.”
“These protocols exist to protect the learning environment and to give families confidence in what their children are exposed to during the school day,” the official wrote. “This situation is not about religion, politics, ideology, or any personal belief system. It is about a procedural breakdown. If proper protocols had been followed, this incident would not have occurred. We take that very seriously.”
“Mistakes were made, and we take full responsibility,” the official continued. “We are actively addressing the lapses and reviewing our internal procedures and staff oversight related to student clubs and guest approvals to ensure incidents like this do not happen again.”
Per its website, Why Islam describes its “foremost aim” as to “provide accurate information about Islam, the fastest growing religion in the world which is practiced by over 1.6 billion people across the globe.”
“In doing so, it hopes to dispel popular stereotypes and persistent misconceptions about Islam and Muslims,” the group adds on its website.
Why Islam did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
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