Customers shopping at a suburban Twin Cities Target store recently found fitting rooms blocked off from public use, with at least one room converted into a designated prayer space marked with a “Ramadan Mubarak” sign.
A shopper who visited the Apple Valley Target on Pilot Knob Road on May 28 told Alpha News that retractable barriers blocked access to the fitting room hallway while signage instructed customers not to enter one room being used for prayer.
One fitting room door displayed a sign reading: “RAMADAN MUBARAK” and “This room is being used for prayer. Please do not enter.”
According to the shopper, the fitting room area remained blocked off when they returned roughly 30 minutes later.
Photographs provided to Alpha News show the barrier stretched across the hallway and a close-up of the door with a sign featuring Arabic script and lantern imagery commonly associated with Ramadan observances.
Questions surrounding the prayer room
Alpha News reached out to Target to ask whether the fitting room prayer space was intended for employees, customers or a specific event, and whether the setup was unique to the Apple Valley store or part of broader company guidance.
Alpha News also asked whether this type of accommodation is permitted under corporate policy, why Ramadan-themed signage was still being used more than two months after Ramadan concluded, whether similar prayer accommodations exist for other religions, and how long fitting rooms were unavailable to customers that evening.
Target did not respond to inquiries.
Religious accommodations in the news
The incident comes as institutions across the state continue expanding Islamic accommodations, including in public schools.
In April 2026, Alpha News obtained and reported on construction plans related to renovations at two high schools in the Osseo Area Schools district.
Plans for Park Center Senior High labeled one space as a “prayer room,” while blueprints for Osseo Senior High included designated “footwash” stations.
🚨NEW: Osseo Schools has confirmed to @AlphaNews that its remodel project at Park Center Senior High includes a prayer room and that foot-washing stations are being added to Osseo Senior High School.
The district, located in the northwest suburbs of Minneapolis, says the… pic.twitter.com/3IAwbMFNCl
— Liz Collin (@lizcollin) April 20, 2026
The plans drew attention from Republican lawmakers, including Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Tom Emmer, who argued the accommodations reflected a double standard in how religion is treated in public institutions.
Cruz called the prayer room proposal “utterly absurd” and wrote on social media: “This has no place in any public school. Sharia law should NEVER be adopted in America.”
Emmer also criticized the plans, writing: “Turns out, when the woke left says they want religion out of schools, they’re only talking about Christianity.”
He later added: “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. Just a thought.”
Jenna Gloeb
Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.
