A Kurdish Peshmerga fighter steps on the body of an Islamic State member at Buyuk Yeniga village
A Kurdish Peshmerga fighter steps on the body of an Islamic State (IS) member, who was killed on Thursday during clashes with the Peshmerga, at Buyuk Yeniga village September 4, 2014. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah

Canada has an ISIS salon, and the owner does not want to hide it.

Lori Pawson owns ISIS Salon and Day Spa in Regina. The salon, however, does not have any connection with the militant group in the Middle East. It was earlier reported that several Canadians were involved in extremist activities in countries like Syria and Iraq. The name of Pawson's salon, though widely talked about in the world, has no relation with the Islamic State. Pawson, on the other hand, is facing a tough time explaining that her company has nothing to do with the Middle Eastern extremist group.

Pawson told CBC News that there were several emails and phone calls with enquiries about the company's connection with the militant group. It apparently took her months to come up with the unique name for the company which is titled after an Egyptian deity. "I don't regret the name Isis because I believe that the Isis goddess stands for and represents something beautiful," Pawson said. "She stands for the goddess of all goddesses, the caregiver of all. We named our salon that so that we could give that to our clients -- that we care for them and that they will be treated like a god or a goddess when they come in."

Calgary Imam Syed Soharwardy earlier warned that militant groups such as the Islamic State were in the process of recruiting foreign members. Pawson, however, does not seem to be perturbed by the connection between Canada and the Islamic State. The name of her company, according to her, embodies exactly what she wants to promote. "The reason we chose ISIS is because it stood for the goddess of all goddesses and caregiver to all," she said, "We wanted everyone who came to our salon to be treated like a god or goddess."

Pawson did not imagine that the name of her company would associate with such a controversial entity in world politics. She heard about the acronym of the Islamic State only months ago. She and her husband, nevertheless, were not sure how strong the militant group would get. Pawson clarified that she had to answer a lot of questions regarding the name. However, the business has not been affected by any means, she said.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au