A Muslim Woman Sued Starbucks After The Barista Wrote ‘ISIS’ On Her Coffee Cup. This Is Not Okay

A Muslim Woman Sued Starbucks After The Barista Wrote ‘ISIS’ On Her Coffee Cup. This Is Not Okay

Starbucks is infamous for a lot of things like its snobbish coffee names (and snobbier customer base), its overpriced mediocre coffee and for hiring staff that never gets their customer’s name right, like ever.

It’s funny when the barista writes a name that sounds nothing like yours but goes on to reveal their prejudice and indulge in something that is outright racist and attacks your religion. That’s what happened to a Muslim student in St. Paul, Minnesota who was handed over a cup with ‘ISIS’ written on it. That was clearly not a mistake but an actual case of Islamophobia. How can people be so insensitive and ring in the whole Muslim community with something as heinous as ISIS? This is not okay.

The 19-year-old woman named Aishah, went to the Starbucks store at Target wearing a hijab and had a face mask on, given the Covid situation. However, she said she clearly told her name to the barista many times and she couldn’t have got it wrong because of the mask. “When she asked for my name, I slowly repeated it multiple times. There is absolutely no way she could have heard it as the terrorist group ISIS. Aishah is not an unknown name and I repeated it multiple times,” she said.

Also Read: A Girl From Manipur Was Beaten Up With Sticks And Called Corona. We May Beat The Virus, But Never The Racism

She asked for the supervisor who told her that “mistakes sometimes happen with customers’ names.” She was given a fresh cup of coffee and a $25 gift card (seriously?). She has filed discrimination charges against the retailer after the humiliating incident. “The moment I saw it, I was overwhelmed with a lot of emotions. 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,” she said.

What’s more is that after being sued, Starbucks and Target are also brushing off the act as ‘an unfortunate mistake’. And this incident comes right when people are fighting against racism left, right and centre.

In an apology statement, which doesn’t really sound much like an apology, to be honest, Target said “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,” the statement continued. “We’re taking appropriate actions with the team member, including additional training, to ensure this does not occur again.” It also said that the representatives at the store “immediately apologised to her when she made our store leaders aware of the situation.”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has asked Target to sack the café’s supervisor and the 16-year-old barista. What’s really disappointing about this whole incident is that even the biggest retailers like Starbucks and Target are turning a blind eye to the racism rather than taking the responsibility for their staff’s action. If they are this oblivious to such a sensitive issue, what can we expect from the teenage barista whose racist act is conveniently covered up as a mistake? And this while the whole world is up in arms against discrimination. What a terrible thing to do.

Also Read: Nusrat Jahan Issued A Fatwa For Wearing A Saree. Can We Just Let These Women Wear What They Want?

Anjali Agarwal

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