Colorado bookstore Isis Books & Gifts has been forced to change its sign following a series of attacks from vandals because it shared its name with the terrorist network.
The bookshop, which is named after the Egyptian goddess Isis, first reported the vandalism in November, posting on its Facebook page an image of its shattered signage - just one, it said, “of the many incidents of harassment” it has experienced.
“The name Isis is that of the Egyptian goddess of women, marriage, magick, healing and more. However, with our media and politicians constantly using the word to name those in the Middle East who are the source of such horror, some people seem to get confused,” said the bookshop, requesting its customers to refer to the terrorists as Daesh, rather than Isis.
Owner Karen Charboneau-Harrison told Fox31 Denver at the time: “I don’t know if somebody walking down the street just saw our name on the sign and kind of lost it for a moment and threw a rock through it, or if it was an ignorant person who actually thought this was a bookstore for terrorists, I don’t know.”
The bookshop said on Facebook that it had been contacted by many customers pledging their support, including a number of women with the name Isis, as well as “a small but vociferous number of messages telling us to just stop being stupid and change our name”.