Muslim woman claims racist Target barista wrote 'ISIS' on cup

ISIS was written on the side of the drink. Photo / CAIR.com

A Muslim woman has accused a major US retailer of discrimination after a barista allegedly wrote the word "ISIS" on her cup instead of her name.

The 19-year-old, who only wanted to be identified by her first name Aishah, filed a charge against the Target-managed Starbucks through the Minnesota branch of advocacy group Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN).

She said she ordered a drink from the barista who wrote something on the side of the cup and hid it from view.

When she received the beverage, the word "ISIS" was written on the side, the acronym for the notorious terrorist group the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

"When I first received the drink, I was in shock that in (this) day and age something like this could be written," the young woman told reporters.

When Aishah challenged the barista about the note on the side, she claimed she didn't hear her name properly.

Aishah said she felt humiliated. Photo / WCCO-TV (CBS)

The manager allegedly sided with the barista.

"I felt humiliated and I felt enraged," Aishah said.

CAIR-MN has called for the two employees responsible for the alleged discrimination to be fired and for all workers at the retail giant to be educated.

"This is not a simple mistake," the organisation's representative Jaylani Hussein said.

"No one puts the KKK (Ku Klux Klan) on the cup of somebody's drink."

Target said they would provide additional training with the employee but said the incident was not discriminatory.

"We have investigated the matter and believe that is was not a deliberate act but an unfortunate mistake that could have been avoided with more clarification," the company said in a statement.