"Anti-Islam" T-shirt pulled from Ft. Carson exchange

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http://gazette.com/vendor-at-fort-ca...rticle/1562554



An anti-Islam T-shirt for sale at a kiosk outside Fort Carson's post exchange was removed from shelves after its one day on display prompted complaints.

The shirt depicted the Statue of Liberty wearing a head-to-toe burqa such as those worn by some Muslim women and the words "Don't let this happen in America."


Army and Air Force Exchange Service spokesman Chris Ward said complaints led to a quick removal of the shirt and a counseling for the kiosk-operator whose contract forbids that kind of merchandise.


"We don't want anything offensive or unpatriotic," Ward said.


The exchange service also bans merchandise with political and religious messages, Ward said.



Ward said the shirt was first stocked at the kiosk outside the main post exchange on Sunday and was removed Monday after a shopper complained to local managers.


The T-shirt earned the ire of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation in New Mexico, which is run by Air Force Academy graduate Mikey Weinstein.


"The juxtaposition of that shocking image and text message on that T-shirt epitomizes the wretched plight of prejudice and bigotry which innocent Muslim Americans all too often suffer while so honorably serving in today's service branches," the foundation wrote in a statement.


The exchange service, headquartered in Dallas, is a government-run retailer at military installations worldwide.

Ward said store managers get their orders from Dallas rather than local commanders, and the leadership had nothing to do with the shirt's appearance or its removal.

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