A Target employee wrote Muslim woman's name as Isis on her Starbucks order

FarooqShad

Senator (1k+ posts)
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  • A 19-year-old Muslim woman's name was written as "Isis" on her order from a Starbucks in a Minnesota Target on July 1.
  • Aishah, who wears a hijab, filed a complaint with the local chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
  • In a press conference, the group said it was disappointed with the response from Target, which said the incident was an innocent mistake.
An activist group is calling for a Target employee to be fired after a customer's name was written as "Isis" on a Starbucks drink.

Aishah, a 19-year-old Muslim woman who wears a hijab, received the offensive name on her order at a St. Paul, Minnesota, store on July 1, the state's chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said Monday.

Mohamed Ibrahim, the group's deputy director, said at a press conference that the incident was yet another "reminder that Islamophobia is alive and present in our communities."

Aishah, who has requested her last name be withheld to protect her privacy and avoid harassment, received a new drink and a $25 gift card, the group said.

"The moment I saw it, I was overwhelmed with a lot of emotions," Aishah said, adding that she told the barista her name multiple times. "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 OK."

CAIR's executive director, Jaylani Hussein, said Aishah is "not a hard to pronounce name. It is a well-recognized name in the US and does not equate to Isis or anything close." Across the country, he said, the terrorist group's name has been used to harass people of the Islamic faith.

In response to the incident, Target released the following statement:

At Target, we want everyone who shops with us to feel welcomed, valued and respected and we strictly prohibit discrimination and harassment in any form. We are very sorry for this guest's experience at our store and immediately apologized to her when she made our store leaders aware of the situation. We have investigated the matter and believe that it was not a deliberate act but an unfortunate mistake that could have been avoided with a simple clarification. We're taking appropriate actions with the team member, including additional training, to ensure this does not occur again.
But CAIR said the corporation's response was underwhelming.

"We believe the statement is an Islamophobia-apologist statement in claiming that the barista involved in this incident has never heard of ISIS," Hussein said, adding that the group would like an outside investigator to be brought in. The group has also filed a complaint with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights.

As for the training promised by Target, which is not unlike that undertaken by Starbucks corporate stores in 2018 following a similar incident, Hussein said that past trainings have clearly not been effective.

"This is not a simple mistake," he said.

Aishah said she was disappointed in the Target manager's response in siding with the barista.


"I fear this will continue to happen to other Muslims because Starbucks and Target do not value Muslims," she said.