Barista Writes ‘ISIS’, Discrimination or Misinterpretation?

An alleged racially-charged incident that occurred at a Starbucks inside a Target store in Minneapolis has sparked debate as to whether this was an incident of discrimination or of misinterpretation?

Aishah and her friend went for coffee on July 1 in St. Paul, Minn. The 19-year-old was wearing a hijab and a mask when she told the barista her name slowly multiple times for clarity. According to Aishah, the barista did not ask her to spell out her name, which is typically done when they are unable to comprehend a customer’s name.

She says she was humiliated and enraged when she received her order with the acronym of the infamous Islamic Terrorist group written on her cup. “I felt belittled and so humiliated,” she said. “I cannot believe that in this day and age, something like this can be considered acceptable.”

After she tried to speak to the barista, she then called for the store manager. “What is the issue?” asked the manager. “People get their names wrong all the time.”

According to a press briefing held by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Aishah’s concerns were immediately dismissed and she was given a new drink and a $25 Starbucks gift card before being escorted out by security.

In an email to CNN from a Target spokesperson they said, “We’re taking appropriate actions with the team members, including additional training, to ensure this does not occur again.” A full investigation was launched by Target into the issue which concluded “this was not a deliberate act but an unfortunate mistake.”

Apparently, throughout the investigation, they failed to contact Aishah for an interview. She has filed a discrimination lawsuit against Target.

Many on Twitter remain adamant that the incident was purely one of misinterpretation.

I’m betting that the person writing on the cup misheard the name of the woman ordering, whose name is “Aishah” which has the same sounding syllables

— Scott S (@scotts_3101) July 8, 2020

Someone did a hatchet job trying to spell the first name when they heard “Aishah”. I would start the name with an I too. I say Peggy and 8 out of 10 times my coffe cup says “Heidi”. I know it’s just my accent. People hear Heidi when I say Peggy.

— PB (@realpeggyb) July 8, 2020

The executive director of the Minnesota chapter of CAIR, Jaylani Hussein says, “The name is not a hard to pronounce name. It is a well-recognized name in the United States. Aishah does not equate to ISIS or even close to that.”

CAIR believes that the statement released by Target is an islamophobic apologist statement, which claimed the barista had never heard of ISIS. The organization expressed concern that the issue, one that has plagued America for years, is still not being recognized for what it is, islamaphobic.

“Additionally ISIS is a very well-known terrorist organization, we know for sure the word ISIS has been used in bullying incidents to target Muslims all over this country.”

Aisha during the press briefing said, “The word that was written on the drink is a word that shatters the Muslim reputation all around the world. When I first received the drink I was in shock that in this day in age something like this could be written. I was hoping that the manager who came would be able to see the islamophobic nature of the incident but instead she sided with the barista.”

Aisha still has received no formal apology from Target, Starbucks, the manager, or the barista.  Meanwhile, CAIR is suggesting that this is not the first such incident at a Starbucks.