Restaurant Owner Who Posted 'Muslims Get Out' Sign Invited To Mosque
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Islamic leaders say they plan to reach out Tuesday to the Lonsdale business owner who put up a sign outside his restaurant that said "Muslims Get Out."
Dan Ruedinger, the owner of the Treats Family Restaurant, said Monday that he put up the controversial sign because he was upset over the stabbings Saturday night at a St. Cloud mall.
Ten people were injured by 22-year-old Dahir Adan, a Somali Minnesotan who allegedly spoke about Allah during his rampage and asked at least one victim if they were Muslim.
Adan was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer. The FBI is investigating the stabbings as a potential act of terrorism, although Adan's motive is yet unknown.
"We are not targeting the Muslims in general, just the extremists," Dan Reudinger said on Monday. "That's all I can say. It's my right and I'm going to stand up, and I wish more people would do it."
Jaylani Hussein, the executive director of the Council of American-Islamic Relations in Minnesota (CAIR-MN), plans to invite Ruedinger to a mosque in Faribault on Tuesday.
CAIR-MN hopes a meeting with local Muslims will change the business owner's view of the state's Islamic community.
"Our experience has shown that interaction with ordinary American Muslims and enhanced knowledge of Islam are key factors in the reduction of Islamophobic attitudes," Hussein said, in a press release.
Ruedinger���s sign drew protesters on Monday. They said that while the business owner had the right to say what he wanted, his message reflected badly on the Lonsdale community.
"People are going to see that and they're going to think Lonsdale as a whole, as a community, is as crass as that sign," protester Payten Estepp said.
