The Council on American-Islamic Relations is taking aim at a Muskogee County survival store that has declared itself a “Muslim-free” business.
The national CAIR chapter has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice, but the federal agency has so far remained silent on the issue.
CAIR has called the sign and similar signs posted at other business across the nation “clearly illegal” and compares the signs to “whites only” signs that businesses posted to exclude African-Americans before the Civil Rights Movement.
The Save Yourself Survival and Tactical Gear store in Oktaha has a sign in its window stating it is a “Muslim free establishment.” The sign also states, “We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone.”
Businesses in New York, Kentucky, Florida, Arkansas and New Hampshire have also declared themselves “Muslim-free zones” and the Justice Department has yet to act, according to CAIR.
Adam Neal, who runs the Oktaha survival store and shooting range with his fiancee, Nicole Mayhorn, who owns the business, said he posted the sign after the July 16 shooting at two military installations in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Six people died in the attack, includiing four marines and shooter Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez.
“I’m going going to have have them (Muslims) on our range to practice and then go down to the recruiting station and kill more people,” Neal said. “It’s not about religion at all. It’s about safety.”
Neal said the response from his customers in Oktaha, a town of about 390 people about 10 miles south of Muskogee, has been overwhelmingly positive.
Adam Soltani, executive director of CAIR-Oklahoma, said the sign came to the group’s attention after an Oktaha resident asked the store to take down the sign and then complained to the American Civil Liberties Union.
“The store owner refused to budge to and take it down,” Soltani said. “We were deeply concerned and decided to contact the Department of Justice.”
Neal said CAIR has not contacted the store, and he has no plans to take the sign down.
“We are a business and we have the right to refuse service to anyone,” Neal said. “You can either shop with us or you don’t have to.”