STRONGSVILLE, Ohio (WJW) — Arab-American community leaders spoke out to the FOX 8 I-Team about a local teacher placed on leave after a discussion on Islam.

A Strongsville High School teacher was placed on administrative leave for a statement that was allegedly written on a board inside a classroom Tuesday.

In a statement sent to FOX 8 News, the district confirmed that the teacher was placed on administrative leave amid the investigation.

District officials did not give us the exact statement the teacher is alleged to have written, but stated that it “should not have been written.”

Some community leaders and activists said they saw the pictures of what they were told the teacher wrote and they do not believe the teacher should be disciplined.

“According to my sources, a teacher reached out to a parent and tried to explain the context of what was written on the board and, from the explanation from the teacher that I could tell, it did not seem the teacher was ill-intentioned,” said Faten Odeh, interim executive director of the Cleveland chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. “He was trying to explain what was in a documentary on the conflict between Pakistan and India.”

Some said they felt the way the teacher presented the information was confusing.

“It appeared the teacher was trying to explain the distinction between Islam and a political ideology, emphasizing they are not the same,” said Ali A. Mustafa, Esq.

He added he did not feel the teacher should face any discipline and commended the school district for looking into the issue so quickly.

District officials do not know how long the investigation will take.