When you read the three letters "Isis," what is the first thing that comes to mind for you nowadays? Be honest.
Since the terrorist organization known by various names has been in the headlines a lot lately, it is extremely unfortunate that the most popular term to refer to this group has become the acronym "ISIS." Why, do you ask? Because Isis is the name of an Egyptian goddess, honored and worshipped today by a fair number of contemporary Pagans. One of the more well-known Pagan supply shops uses the name of the goddess for their business, and while Pagan business are sadly no strangers to vandalism and hate crimes, it's even worse when it's because our sacred things get conflated with terrorist organizations. As the Wild Hunt covered:
What do we do about things like this? Can we do anything? My sympathies and support go out to their business, and may they stand firm against the tides of blind bigotry. I've purchased some things from them in the past, and it would be awful for them to go under because of sloppy choice of words on the part of the mass media.
Since the terrorist organization known by various names has been in the headlines a lot lately, it is extremely unfortunate that the most popular term to refer to this group has become the acronym "ISIS." Why, do you ask? Because Isis is the name of an Egyptian goddess, honored and worshipped today by a fair number of contemporary Pagans. One of the more well-known Pagan supply shops uses the name of the goddess for their business, and while Pagan business are sadly no strangers to vandalism and hate crimes, it's even worse when it's because our sacred things get conflated with terrorist organizations. As the Wild Hunt covered:
Isis Bookstore Vandalized
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Over the past weekend, Isis Books and Gifts was vandalized for the fourth time in the past year. In this recent incident, a brick was thrown through the lower portion of the sign.
The book store owner, Karen Charboneau-Harrison, doesn’t know who did this. However, the reason itself is not a mystery. The vandalism happened one day after the Beirut and Paris terrorist attacks. She told a local reporter for CNN, “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.”
Although confusion between the store’s name and the terrorist group is causing problems, Charboneau-Harrison has no intention of changing the name. On Facebook, Isis Books posted, “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. Please help us to educate the media and your family and friends to call the terrorists by a more correct name – Daesh – not Islamic State, not ISIS, not ISIL.”
(from The Wild Hunt Blog)
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Over the past weekend, Isis Books and Gifts was vandalized for the fourth time in the past year. In this recent incident, a brick was thrown through the lower portion of the sign.
The book store owner, Karen Charboneau-Harrison, doesn’t know who did this. However, the reason itself is not a mystery. The vandalism happened one day after the Beirut and Paris terrorist attacks. She told a local reporter for CNN, “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.”
Although confusion between the store’s name and the terrorist group is causing problems, Charboneau-Harrison has no intention of changing the name. On Facebook, Isis Books posted, “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. Please help us to educate the media and your family and friends to call the terrorists by a more correct name – Daesh – not Islamic State, not ISIS, not ISIL.”
(from The Wild Hunt Blog)
What do we do about things like this? Can we do anything? My sympathies and support go out to their business, and may they stand firm against the tides of blind bigotry. I've purchased some things from them in the past, and it would be awful for them to go under because of sloppy choice of words on the part of the mass media.
