LONDON: A Muslim teenager in the US has criticized coffee giant Starbucks after a barista wrote the word “ISIS” on a drink she ordered.
ISIS, an acronym for Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, is a common shorthand name in the West for the terrorist group Daesh.
The 19-year-old, identified only as Aishah, was at a branch in St. Paul, Minnesota, when she ordered the drink, saying she had given her name to the server twice.
Aishah said at a press conference on Monday: “The word that was written on the drink is a word that shatters the Muslim reputation all around the world.”
She added that she had been wearing a hijab at the time, and that when she complained, she had been told the employee “had not heard her name correctly,” and was told she was overreacting.
When she asked to speak to the manager, Aishah said she was told: “What’s the issue? People get their names wrong all the time.”
She was given her drink for free and received a $25 gift card. She has since demanded that the barista and the branch manager lose their jobs.
Jaylani Hussein, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which is representing Aishah, said: “Unfortunately, with Islamophobia, the number one thing Muslims are … discriminatorily identified (as) is terrorists. Using this word for us would be the same as a black man today being (called) the N-word.”
Starbucks said the barista is an employee of US retailer Target, not them. A Target spokesman said the incident was the result of an “unfortunate mistake” and the employee will undergo a training program.
