Uh oh, looks like another fashion company is under fire for religious insensitivity. Roberto Cavalli has created an uproar amongst many Sufi Muslims around the world for using a two-pronged logo extremely similar to a Sufi sacred emblem in the company’s racy fragrance ads. The logo is used for the Just Cavalli men’s cologne and women’s perfume. In the video promos, you can see the logo stamped on the bodies of scantily clad models. “The tattoo is the bite, the snake bite. It draws us together. And it’s basically the sign of seduction,” says model Georgia May Jagger in the video below.
For those who practice Sufism, the symbol spells the word “Allah,” meaning God, twice and the disciple “Ali” four times. The sacred religious symbol dates back 150 years. The uncannily similar logos have been under question since the perfume’s launch early last year. The differences between the logos is a 90 degree rotation and a snakeskin pattern on Cavalli’s, which were sufficient enough to be dismissed by European court through a lawsuit that was placed last fall by a Sufism school that owns the trademark for the religious symbol.
Despite the shutdown, the debate is far from over. About 500,000 Sufi students have already protested outside Cavalli stores in New York City, Vancouver, and Orange County – growing their community with the Twitter hashtag #TakeOffJustLogo. A similar protest will come to Toronto on July 26th at 2 p.m at the Bloor St. Holt Renfrew.