GROUP SUES MUSLIM FREE-ZONE GUN SHOP

Florida, 16 Shawal 1436/1 August 2015 (MINA) – A leading American Muslim advocacy group has filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday, July 29, against a gun shop that had proclaimed itself a Muslim-free zone.

“We just can’t let segregation rear its ugly head in Florida again,” Hassan Shibly, the chief executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, On Islam quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

The Florida gun shop occupied headlines after its owner, Andy Hallinan, announced that he would “not arm and train those who wish to do harm to my fellow patriots” at his Florida Gun Supply in Inverness.

He made the declaration that he had “a moral and legal responsibility” to take action days after a US Muslim man went on a shooting rampage at two Chattanooga, Tenn. military facilities by a gunman that left four Marines and one Navy sailor dead.

According to CAIR, the lawsuit was a trial to prohibit the gun shop from discriminating against Muslims as targeting people on the basis of religion.

Before the lawsuit, the civil rights group called Hallinan for a meeting with its chief executive director, Shibly.

Despite of initial approval, Hallinan rescinded the invitation to Shibly, saying he was warned against the group.

The group says in its complaint, which was filed U.S. District Court in Ft. Lauderdale, that it represents Muslims “who have a right to purchase guns, browse guns, take classes on gun safety, shoot guns at the range, and visit the gun range for entertainment purposes and not be discriminated against.”

“Unfortunately, he caved in to a lot of the anti-Muslim pressure and anti-Muslim base that he’s pandering to,” Shibly told USA TODAY.

“The main issue is that we don’t want segregation to rear its ugly head again in Florida. When he refused to reconsider his position, when he refused to reconsider to be educated, refused to engage this community, refused to respect American law, we had no choice but to bring forward this lawsuit,” he added. (T/P011/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)