Letter To The Editor: In Support Of School Board's Abrar Omeish

The following letter to the editor was submitted by Michael Sherburne, a fellow Robinson Secondary School classmate of Fairfax County School Board member Abrar Omeish. The views expressed are the author's own. If you wish to submit a letter to the editor on a local topic, please email Emily.Leayman@patch.com.

I have known Abrar ever since high school at James W. Robinson, Jr. Secondary School. We both graduated in 2013 and have kept in touch ever since then. She has always been known to be the most caring student in our class and looking after for others. Some of our earlier conversations have been about our scouting experiences and how Abrar earned her Gold Award. She has always been actively involved volunteering for our community. When she was studying at Yale in both Political Science and Modern Middle Eastern studies, I could quickly tell she knew a lot about the present state of affairs in global politics and well read. She cares deeply about our national security and honestly a great citizen for our country trying to get us in a safer place, however the state of our nation has only seemed to want to bring her down… Abrar is extremely passionate, intelligent, and I ensure is looking out for all of us. She does not have ulterior motives as some would like to believe. She cares for everyone of all backgrounds and religions. Most importantly, I am happy to call her a friend.

When she ran and won At-Large School Board Member, I was excited about what she can do to bring her passion and care about our next generation for our school system. She was a dedicated student and a scholar and knows the difficulties in our education system. However, it was disconcerting to see fellow citizens in the FCPS community and beyond attacking her for just being who she is. If the ones intent on attacking her only gave her just a few minutes of their time to talk to her, they would see she is just like anyone here.

All of us come from different walks of life, all of us care about each other, and it is understandable people are frustrated by the immense difficulties occurring in their lives and want an easy solution (at least to blame). Unfortunately, this usually comes out as scapegoating a fellow citizen who deeply cares about making sure every one of our students has a fair shake in life and wants our next generation to understand the nuances and complexities of our modern world.

What is more disturbing is the fact people are attacking based upon her religious belief. In today’s polarized world, there are unfortunately many who believe Muslims in the United States have ulterior motives. This is simply not the case. If anything, our fellow Muslims are both loving and peaceful. They just want to feel included as any other citizen in the United States and they contribute a lot to the success of our country.

I am disappointed hearing about death threats and hate speech going towards Abrar and the Muslim community in general. Being a friend, it hurts every time I read an article when I see a good person get bogged down by others who have other motives just because she is “different” to them. I am ashamed in 2021 this hate continues, especially within a diverse community at FCPS. If only people can sit down and share a meal together, that would open minds.

Through my 13 years of knowing Abrar, I have not once seen her waiver away from her commitment to keeping America as a world leader. She should not have to keep publicly defending her commitment as well just because she is a Muslim. It is not all black and white as most people want to believe, we have to see what is within the gray if long term solutions are going to occur.

We have seen a degradation in public discourse over the past few decades and it is disappointing to see many people unwilling to listen to each other. The few who are trying to spark outrage and cause divide without ever having a cordial discussion and an open mind, are not helping anyone. If you still doubt this op-ed, I encourage you to just sit down with Abrar over a lunch and have a discussion. Keep an open mind about the state of affairs in the world, not every issue is cut and dry.