Locked Out by Faith: When Religious Freedom Meets Discrimination

 

In October 2015, Raja’ee Fatihah, a practicing Muslim and U.S. Army National Guard member, walked into the Save Yourself Survival and Tactical Gun Range in Oktaha, Oklahoma, to use its public facilities for marksmanship training. He then completed the required liability forms and provided his identification. But once he identified himself as Muslim, the owners, already known for their controversial signage declaring the business a “Muslim-free establishment” armed themselves and interrogated Fatihah about his faith. They accused him, without evidence, of holding beliefs that condone violence and then denied him service, forcing him to leave. A lawsuit followed Fatihah v. Neal, arguing that the business violated Oklahoma’s anti-discrimination laws and Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits public businesses from refusing service based on religion, race, or national origin. This case raises significant constitutional issues

related to both the Free Exercise Clause and the Establishment Clause, including how the law protects religious minorities, maintains neutrality, and prevents discrimination in publicly accessible businesses.

At the heart of this case is the principle of neutrality. In Employment Division v. Smith (1990), the Court ruled that religious beliefs do not exempt individuals from neutral laws of general applicability. However, in Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. Hialeah (1993), the Court struck down facially neutral ordinances that were clearly designed to suppress a particular religious practice. This tension between facial neutrality and neutrality in effect is central to evaluating laws or actions that disproportionately burden specific religious groups.While Save Yourself is a private business, it is open to the public and therefore subject to anti-discrimination statutes designed to ensure equal access. The Civil Rights Act, like the Constitution, reflects the ideal that public accommodations cannot pick and choose customers based on religion. The gun range’s posted sign and discriminatory actions against Fatihah impose a direct and substantial burden on religious liberty not by the state, but by a public-facing business subject to the law.

Supporters of the gun range owners might argue they have the right to refuse service to anyone who poses a perceived threat, or that their actions are protected by their own religious or ideological beliefs. In that way, this case is similar to Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission (2018), where a business owner refused service based on religious objections to same-sex marriage. The Supreme Court sided narrowly with the baker, emphasizing the need for government neutrality toward religion. However, there are important distinctions. Fatihah’s faith alone was used as justification for denial of service, and there was no disruptive behavior or request for special accommodation. Denying access based solely on religion reflects the kind of targeted discrimination that civil rights laws were written to prevent. The opposing view grounded in precedent from Sherbert v. Verner (1963) and Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) holds that the government must show a compelling interest and use the least restrictive means when a law substantially burdens religious exercise. But these cases involved individuals seeking religious exemptions from general laws, not individuals or businesses seeking to deny others rights because of their religion.

In my view, the denial of service to Fatihah represents a clear failure to uphold both the spirit and letter of the law. The Civil Rights Act is there to prevent discrimination and ensure equal access to public accommodations. There is no constitutional justification for religious discrimination in commerce. Allowing businesses to selectively deny service to Muslims or adherents of any faith based on bias undermines the rule of law and encourages sectarian exclusion. Furthermore, this case blurs the line between belief and action. While belief is absolutely protected, actions taken in the public square especially by businesses regulated by civil rights law must comply with nondiscriminatory principles. The gun range owners’ conduct crossed that line. This incident also undermines the sincerity standard sometimes used in religious freedom cases. There is no evidence that Fatihah’s belief posed a threat, and no reasonable interpretation of Islam should lead to assumptions of violence a thorough analysis of the faith would actually lead to the opposite conclusion. These arguments perpetuate islamaphobic stereotypes, not legitimate constitutional claims. The Save Yourself gun range case matters because it tests the limits of religious liberty in a pluralistic society and challenges whether religious identity alone can be grounds for suspicion, exclusion, or denial of rights. If allowed to stand, the gun range’s actions would create a dangerous precedent where private businesses can weaponize religion to discriminate against religious minorities.

https://www.aclu.org/cases/fatihah-v-neal
https://www.acluok.org/en/press-releases/oklahoma-gun-range-removes-muslim-free-sign-commits-serving-customers-all-faiths
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oklahoma-us-army-reservist-muslim-free-gun-range-anti-islamic-discrimination/
https://religionnews.com/2019/04/24/civil-rights-advocates-drop-lawsuit-against-oklahomas-muslim-free-gun-range/
https://apnews.com/general-news-a7ac23a441944ff3bebcfdbdff7e206d