Islamic Rules Could Get Dogs Banned From Classrooms In Maine’s Largest School District

The policy committee for Portland Public Schools in Maine is considering an “opt-in” policy for students interacting with dogs in classrooms, while also entertaining the possibility of barring non-service canines because of Islamic doctrine categorizing the animals as “impure,” video of a mid-October meeting revealed. The discussion, first reported by The New England Signal, apparently arose because of a teacher’s proposal to “foster puppies in her classroom.” As outlined by Committee Chair Maya Lena, the program would involve “keeping a puppy in an enclosed playpen during the school day, with students periodically invited to read or play with it.” This led Dr. Abdullahi Ahmed, assistant superintendent for student, family, and community partnerships, to raise concerns and propose a policy requiring students to opt in in order to interact with pups in the classroom. The contact with dogs could run afoul of Islamic rules, explained Ahmed, a naturalized citizen from Somalia. “The Muslim community members do not oppose or hold hostility against animals,” Ahmed said. He then added, “So with that being said, there are some ritual kind of a purity or in that Islamic traditions. … So for example, the dog saliva is considered impure. And also some people had some experiences with dogs, which were negative actually in the past.” Ahmed said he discussed the proposed policy with the “community elders or imams,” who objected to “hav[ing] a dog as a class pet.” He later clarified that “any liquid from the dog is where the … ritual purity question comes from.” 🚨WATCH: A Portland Public Schools administrator says dogs shouldn't be class pets, citing Islamic teaching that dog saliva is impure. pic.twitter.com/ERQObRa0KU— The New England Signal (@TheNESignal) October 19, 2026 One participant questioned whether the opt-in policy itself might be exclusionary. “I’m picturing the cute puppies in the pen in the room and, you know, the kids that are not allowed to go and touch the puppies,” Portland Public Schools Executive Director of Operations Dr. Sarah Warren said. “I don’t know, I can’t quite wrap my mind around how that doesn’t end up feeling exclusive.” That concern for “inclusion” — along with the potential impracticability of ensuring “an animal will not be housed in a classroom with a student whose parent objects” — raises the raises the question of whether the school will ultimately ban non-service dogs entirely. Warren noted that aside from a service animal policy, the school system “does not have a policy that more generally addresses the issue of animals in schools,” and the conversation throughout the meeting indicated dogs had previously been allowed in Portland Public Schools without concrete guidelines for their admittance or interaction with children. In addition to Islamic beliefs prohibiting interactions with dogs, the committee members also mentioned a pet policy might be necessary because of students with allergies or fear of dogs. PPS did not respond to The Federalist’s questions seeking additional information on the reasoning behind the new policy or its request for data on how many PPS students are Muslim (and might thus seek this type of accommodation). According to 2020 U.S. Religious Census data, Muslims make up roughly 2 percent of the population in the Portland metro area, up from just 0.2 percent in 2010. A 2014 report noted that “settlement programs began placing Somalis in Portland in 2001 through the Lutheran Community Services program.” Notably, a Portland bank launched a special “interest-free” mortgage loan “catered to [the] Muslim community” in 2023. The 42,000-student school district reportedly does not track students’ religious affiliation, but surveys of PPS students say 10 percent of students chose to eat halal food offered by the school district, with more than 25 percent of high schoolers reportedly participating or preferring to. Portland claimed to be the first school district in the United States to offer the Islam-mandated diet in April 2025. In 2017 a teacher at a PPS high school claimed nearly a third of its students were Muslim and said the district was “nearly 50 percent language minority.” Whatever the exact makeup of the PPS student body, information on the district’s board of education is readily available. A Council on American-Islamic Relations “2026 Directory of Elected Muslim Officials” notes that three of nine school board members — Usira Ali, Ali Ali, and Fatuma Noor — are Muslim. CAIR also lists a Pious Ali as a city councilman. Usira Ali mentions her family moving to the United States from Somalia in 2012, and Ali Ali’s Facebook page describes him as Ethiopian-American. Both are members of the policy committee. Ahmed and some of the Muslim board members are not without additional controversy. Ali Ali has posted a ream of anti-ICE content online, including an “ICE watch hotline” for coordinating efforts to undermine enforcement of immigration law. He also railed against President Donald Trump and Nick Shirley and twice reposted an image purportedly showing armed Black Panther members protesting ICE. He also reposted an image and tagged Ahmed, who appears to be pictured holding a megaphone that says “Resist Trump” while speaking to students protesting deportations. Ahmed was present at at least one other anti-ICE demonstration and wrote an op-ed insinuating ICE officers are among the “most dangerous participants in unjust systems.” He also criticized Trump for “mocking our community,” referring to Somalis. Noor is the community resource coordinator for the Somali-founded nonprofit Generational Noor, which aims to create “a path for the Immigrant and BIPOC community to learn about substance use disorder and mental health and get the culturally competent support and care they need and deserve.” The group receives funding from the left-wing Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition. Generational Noor has also posted anti-ICE content on social media. In December 2025 the group hosted an event at Agora Palace Event Center to rally support for the Somali community. Formerly St. Patrick’s Church, the event center’s tallest spire is still reported to make it the second-tallest building in the state. Generational Noor was embroiled in a controversy earlier this year when money that was ostensibly raised for the survivors and relatives of the victims of the deadliest mass shooting in Maine’s history reportedly went to nonprofits instead. As NewsNation reported, “Survivors and families of victims from Maine’s deadliest mass shooting say they were promised 100% of donations would go to them, but discovered a year later that nearly $2 million was instead distributed to 29 nonprofits, including organizations serving immigrant communities and one facing fraud allegations.” Generational Noor was reportedly one of the recipients. Fatuma Noor has also faced scrutiny related to her Medicaid-funded “home care” business, ACME. In a remarkable turn of events, Fatuma Noor (took $65k Lewiston shooting money via “Generational Noor”) also runs a Medicaid agency out of her subsidized apartment.She was hit w/ a massive “corrective plan” this year, meaning she wasn’t following 12+ rules to get Medicaid… https://t.co/HLh48P66Ym pic.twitter.com/cVnnU7HLyi— Steve Robinson (@SteveRob) December 24, 2025 Even as Maine has experienced an influx of immigrants, religious adherence has fallen steeply, and the state ranks among the least religious in the country. But, as demonstrated by the Portland Public Schools’ now-fraught question of dogs-in-classrooms policy, those immigrants bring their own religious adherence that Maine residents must reckon with. A decision on how the district handles dogs in school will come at a future meeting. Joshua Monnington is an assistant editor at The Federalist. He was previously an editor at Regnery Publishing and is a graduate of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Abdullahi AhmedAli AlianimalschurchesDeportationsFatuma NoorGenerational NoorhalalICEIslamLutheran Community ServicesMaineMuslimsNew EnglandPortland MainePortland Publics SchoolsShariaSomaliaUsira Ali