Harun Nasrullah
The dress code of a Missouri-based gun range that forbids Muslim women from using the range unless they remove their hijabs is discriminatory, the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Kansas claimed in a federal suit.
In the lawsuit, filed on December 28, contends that Rania Barakat and her husband travelled to Frontier Justice in Lee’s Summit, Kansas City, on January 1, 2021. She was told she could not use the range until her hijab was removed.
A store manager informed them that, with the exception of baseball caps facing forward, all head coverings are banned. He added that shrapnel could cause the hijab and skin to burn.
The couple told the manager they had used several other shooting ranges with no problems caused by the hijab. They also said that people wear long sleeves and shirts that cover their necks to protect them from shrapnel, according to the lawsuit.
The manager said the gun range had different rules. The couple left the store after the manager became “aggressive and loud,” the suit alleged.
The lawsuit contends that it is Frontier Justice’s policy to turn away Muslims wearing hijabs. It cites several social media posts from other Muslims about being refused use of the shooting range. Frontier Justice Instagram posts also showed customers wearing baseball caps turned backwards, as well as hats and scarves.
Moussa Elbayoumy, Chair of CAIR-Kansas, said, “It is completely unacceptable for a business establishment to deny service to customers based on their religious beliefs — and that is exactly what Frontier Justice has done. The claim that a hijab somehow presents a safety issue is merely a bad excuse in an attempt to justify a pattern of discriminatory treatment of Muslim women.”
CAIR had asked the US Department of Justice in July to investigate civil rights practices at Frontier Justice.
The lawsuit seeks a declaration that Frontier Justice’s policy on the wearing of hijabs violates the 1964 Civil Rights Act and that the gun range may not discriminate against anyone because of their religion.
