An American Muslim woman has filed a discrimination complaint against the retail corporation Target after she received a Starbucks drink with “Isis” written on the cup.
On June 1, Aishah, who has asked only to be identified by her first name, was at the St Paul-Midway Target in Minnesota when she ordered a drink from the Starbucks inside.
According to the 19-year-old, she gave her name to the barista only to have her cup returned with “Isis” written on the side – an incident she said made her feel “humiliated.”
“The moment I saw it, I was overwhelmed with a lot of emotions,” Aishah told CNN. “I felt belittled and so humiliated. This is a word that shatters the Muslim reputation all over the world. I cannot believe that in this day and age, something like this can be considered acceptable. It isn’t okay.”
After receiving the drink, Aishah said she questioned the barista – who claimed that she hadn’t heard Aishah correctly when the teen had given her name.
According to Aishah, there was “absolutely no way” that the barista could have misheard her. “There is absolutely no way she could have heard it as Isis. Aishah is not an unknown name and I repeated it multiple times,” she said.
The 19-year-old then requested to speak with the barista’s supervisor, who also maintained that the name written on the cup was an accident. Aishah told CNN she was given a new drink and a $25 Starbucks gift card before she was escorted off the premises by a security officer.
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On Monday, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which is representing Aishah, filed a charge to the Minnesota Department of Human Rights.
CAIR is calling for the two Target Starbucks employees involved in the incident to be fired, as well as for other employees at the Target Starbucks location to receive additional training.
In a statement, a Target spokesperson said the company had investigated the incident and concluded it was “an unfortunate mistake.”
“We have investigated the matter and believe that it was not a deliberate act but an unfortunate mistake that could have been avoided with more clarification. We’re taking appropriate actions with the team member, including additional training, to ensure this does not occur again,” the company said.
