#ibtihad muhammad

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by Dion J. Pierre

Herman’s legal counsel soon realized during its investigation of the case that something else was at play. On the night Muhammad posted her video, the student’s mother, Cassandra Wyatt — who also knew Muhammad personally — told everyone she could on social media that her perception of the classroom incident changed upon her learning that Herman was Jewish.

Given the rhetoric of the mother — as well as that of the father, Joseph Wyatt, who once allegedly said, “The Jews, the Semitics, they run Hollywood — Muhammad should have declined to promote a severely biased narrative to her thousands of followers, according to Herman’s lawyers. They added that the Olympian has refused to retract any of the claims she made.

“The malicious defamation campaign against Ms. Herman was a calculated, antisemitic effort to harm a respected member of the community, motivated by her Jewish identity,” The Lawfare Project’s chief operating officer, Benjamin Cyber, said in a press release. “Ms. Muhammad must be held accountable for the significant trauma she has inflicted. The Lawfare Project commends Bochner PLLC for their exceptional legal work and collaboration with us to pursue justice for Ms. Herman.”

With last month’s ruling, the case can now proceed to discovery.

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For all of CAIR’s public claims to stand against antisemitism, as we have noted, the fact that it has not said a word about the Wyatts’ demonstrable antisemitism speaks volumes about CAIR’s true views on Jews.

Despite the story’s shaky foundation and the ongoing damage to Herman’s career and reputation, Herman “is litigating a personal and political grievance,” Muhammad’s lawyers write.

But in a written statement filed with last Tuesday’s brief, Herman says that “Muhammad simply did not care at all whether the facts alleged in the post were true or false — she desired to make the post to create publicity for herself, and her clothing and book businesses, all of which would generate income for her and social media clout for her cause.”

The resulting harm and upheaval was “cruel [and] needless.”

Muhammad says she learned about the incident from her mother, who heard about it from Cassandra Wyatt.

“Until the filing of this lawsuit, I knew nothing about any of the Wyatt family’s views towards Jews or any other religious group,” Muhammad says.

She knows now. But it hasn’t changed anything. The word of antisemitic parents and a second-grader is more credible to Muhammad than a teacher with a 30-year record, with no history of anything remotely close to bigotry.

“Indeed, if anything, Muhammad has become more confident in her conclusions,” her attorney writes [Emphasis original].

In addition to its shocking nature, Muhammad’s post particularly stung Herman, who considered her a friend. Muhammad attended the same elementary school where Herman teaches. They go to the same gym, work out with the same trainer, and even exchanged phone numbers after Herman asked about Muhammad returning to the school to speak to students.