November 3, 2015 – Ft. Carson Post Exchange (PX) Forced to Remove Anti-Islamic T-Shirts From Retail Shelves

On Monday, November 2, 2015, a MRFF client contacted the operators of the Ft. Carson PX located near Colorado Springs, CO regarding the highly objectionable sale of a T-Shirt in the PX mall area depicting the Statue of Liberty wearing a hijab and holding the Koran/Quran on her left arm superimposed over a golden crescent and the statement “DON’T LET THIS HAPPEN AMERICA”.   The T-Shirt was removed within hours after the PX manager was contacted by the MRFF client.  Kevin Lilley of Army Times reported on this incident on November 4, 2015:

 The shirt, which went on sale Sunday, violated exchange rules regarding the sale of “religious or political material,” Army and Air Force Exchange Service [AAFES] spokesman Chris Ward said.  No plans for an investigation or for punishment of the vendor, Merica Apparel, are in the works, Ward said, only to “remove [the shirt] and let them know we’re not going to let that happen again. … Maybe it’s more of an educational opportunity for the vendor.”  Vendors in such locations are required to share details of their inventory with exchange officials before items go on sale, Ward said. Merica Apparel, a new vendor, was “apparently unaware of this requirement,” he said.

On behalf of its almost 43,000 armed forces active duty and veteran clients, which includes approximately 13.5% of all Muslim-Americans serving in the United States military, and its 224 clients stationed at Fort Carson, the MRFF is demanding that the Army Inspector General’s Office in Washington D.C. initiate an immediate and aggressive investigation of this sordid event and that all Fort Carson personnel who either directly or indirectly allowed this travesty to happen be appropriately and visibly punished.