A Target store in a Minneapolis suburb cordoned off a hallway with six changing rooms, seemingly to convert at least part of the space into a Muslim prayer area.
The store is located in Apple Valley, Minnesota, which is just south of the Twin Cities. A concerned customer recently photographed the repurposed area and sent the photos to Alpha News, a conservative Minnesota publication.
The pictures show retractable belts sectioning off both sides of the hallway, as well as a sign on one of the doors that said 'RAMADAN MUBARAK,' which is a traditional Arabic greeting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The month of fasting took place from the evening of February 17 to sundown on March 18, meaning it ended about two and a half months ago. It is unclear why the sign was still up when the customer took the photos.
The sign also said, 'This room is being used for prayer. Please do not enter.' Whether the room was meant for customers or employees to pray is also unclear.
The Daily Mail reached out to Target about the many questions surrounding the sign, including how long it has been up, when it might be taken down and whether other stores have made similar accommodations for Muslim prayer.
According to the federal Civil Rights Act, businesses must provide 'reasonable accommodation' to employees' religious beliefs and practices, though there is no mandate to create spaces specifically dedicated to prayer or other religious needs.
Despite that lack of a legal mandate to create prayer spaces, it appears that the Apple Valley location is not the only Target store to have created an area dedicated to Muslim prayer.
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This hallway with six changing rooms at a Target store in a Minneapolis suburb was cordoned off, appearing to have been converted at least partially into a Muslim prayer area
A concerned shopper took photos of the repurposed area. It is unclear whether the space was meant for customers or employees
The customer took this photo of a sign on the door that included a common Arab greeting during the holy month of Ramadan, which ended about two and a half months ago
A 2023 post in the Target Reddit community showed photos of a prayer room and was titled: 'HR set up a prayer room for Muslim TMs (team members).'
One of the top comments in the thread said: 'We had a lot of those in Minnesota stores. It was very thoughtful and considerate and truly inclusive.'
Another user replied to that comment and wrote: 'Minnesota here, we have a prayer room too! Our HR recently decorated it, idk how many team members we have who actually take advantage of it (we're a very white store) but it's really nice!'
Someone else replied, 'It'd be nice if they did something like this for Christians,' but their comment was downvoted to the point that it was hidden.
Reddit's website automatically hides comments that receive enough downvotes as it assumes they are controversial.
The recent photos of Target's prayer room were taken less than two months after it was revealed that a Minneapolis-area school district is planning to add a prayer room and a foot-washing station for Muslim students to two of its high schools.
The renovations, which will be funded with taxpayer dollars, were included in updated plans for the district's Building a Better Future initiative, a roughly $375 million effort backed by voters in 2022 and 2023.
School officials told the Daily Mail in April that the Park Center Senior High School's plans call for a 'multipurpose space,' which was 'mislabeled in construction documents' as a prayer room.
The photos of the Target Muslim prayer room were taken soon after it was revealed that a Minneapolis-area school district included a prayer room in its high school renovation plans
School district officials said the prayer room was mislabeled but conceded that a foot-washing station was indeed part of the plans
District officials said the foot-washing plans 'were included in updated plans after hearing from user groups on student needs.'
Still, the plans sparked outrage as critics cited the US's founding principle of separation of church and state.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, a congressman from Minnesota, hit out at the plans in a post on X.
'Turns out when the woke left says they want religion out of schools, they're only talking about Christianity,' he wrote.
'Maybe if Osseo worried about Somali gang violence as much as they worry about pandering to America-hating leftists, their schools and streets would be safer for their students,' Emmer added. 'Just a thought.'