Roberto Cavalli's Misuse of a Sacred Sufi Emblem Ignites an International Campaign by Offended Sufi Students Who will Protest in New York City

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May 28, 2014, 09:05 ET

NEW YORK, May 28, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Saturday, May 31, 2014, students of Sufism will protest outside:

The Roberto Cavalli store on 63rd Street and Madison Avenue, New York City at 12:00 PM.

The peaceful demonstration is a grievance to Cavalli's disrespectful use of a sacred Sufi symbol associated with a 1400 year School of Sufism heritage. According to the students, the emblem contains deep spiritual significance and iconography which is being tarnished by Cavalli's ads equating it to a "snake bite" and "a sign of seduction" and placing it on merchandise.

They want removal of all Just Cavalli products that uses their emblem, which is a registered trademark. Roberto Cavalli simply rotated the emblem and declared it to be a 'snake bite,' a connotational indication of original sin and the deadly sins.

After attempting to contact Cavalli and repeatedly being ignored, students have taken matters into their own hands and launched an impressive #TakeOffJustLogo campaign using social media to express their discontent. They have been voicing their discontent and rallying community support.

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Students are not calling for censorship, nor are they trying to curb freedom of speech. Rather they are attempting to protect the sanctity of their faith from being tarnished. Above all else, the #TakeOffJustLogo campaign is about claiming what is rightfully theirs. Roberto Cavalli is also guilty of offending faith groups in the past. In 2004 he managed to outrage thousands of Hindus by using images of their holy deities on various merchandise including underwear.

Sufi students around the world are planning protests at Roberto Cavalli stores. There will be demonstrations this Saturday in Beverly Hills and New York on 63rd Street and Madison Avenue at noon and in London on the 29th of May outside the Victoria and Albert Museum from 4:00 P.M to 8:00 P.M. New York's demonstrators also include people from Virginia, St. Louis, Chicago, Atlanta and Toronto, Canada. A successful demonstration was held in Dallas, Texas on May 23rd outside the Roberto Cavalli store. Demonstrations in Paris, Milan and Dusseldorf will follow.