Half-naked girls dance on Persian carpets smoking water pipes. Iranian pop singer Amitis sits on a throne, caressing her Persian cat. “I’m feeling hot,” she says with a Persian accent. The table in front of her is covered in Iranian cashmere and behind her hangs a big Faravahar, the symbol of Zoroastrianism.

This is the music video for “King” by Iranian-born singer Amitis and American musician and actor Snoop Dogg, which was posted on YouTube on June 1. Throughout his career, the controversial Snoop Dogg has often been criticized for promoting misogyny through his lyrics and video . But now, he and Amitis are courting a different sort of controversy, attracting angry criticism from the Zoroastrian community.

In mid-June, Zoroastrian associations spoke out against the inclusion of the Faravahar and other Zoroastrian symbols in the “King” video. A petition was launched on change.org, asking for the singers to “respect the sentiments of Zoroastrians and Parsis around the world,” issue an apology, and take down the video. “Your wrong use of religious and sacred symbols and iconography hurts the religious sentiments of Parsis and Zoroastrians the world over,” the petition states.

Amitis was born in the Iranian holy city of Mashhad. She was named after the princess who married Cyrus the Great. She currently lives in Atlanta, and has been active on the music scene there for the last few years. Two years ago, she participated in Googoosh Music Academy, a web-based TV music competition popular with Iranians, though she did not get far in the competition. But, since teaming up with Snoop Dogg, she is enjoying considerable attention.

“King” is Amitis’ first foray into singing in English. In addition to this video, she has posted three other videos in Persian to YouTube. Until now, none of her videos have had more than about 500 views. “King,” however, has already attracted more than 20,000.

Amitis had already enjoyed considerable success on Facebook, and has more than than 5,000 followers. When she posted the new music video on Facebook, many of her fans were surprised to see her name next to the well-known rapper’s. Alex Ferra, who has directed a number of Amitis videos, is also responsible for “King”. It was produced by an Iranian, Payam Shams.

But although Amitis may be enjoying the attention, she may have not been expecting the backlash from the Zorastrian community. “Faravahar symbolizes the values of Zoroastrianism,” Dr. Ali Akbar Jafari, a Zoroastrian priest, told IranWire. “All the details of this symbol have a special meaning. The face is of an elder person who is wise and serves as an example for others. The right hand of this wise elder points towards the sky, which is in praise of Ahura Mazda [Wise Lord]. The left hand holds a ring, which is a symbol of the pact between man and Ahura Mazda. The three layers of wings signify ‘Good Thoughts, Good Words and Good Deeds’,” the basic tenets of the Zoroastrian religion.

Jafari explains that Faravahar should be as revered and respected as the Christian cross, Allah, the Star of David and the symbols of other religions.

“All over the world, people respect religious symbols,” Kurosh, a Zoroastrian who signed the petition, told IranWire. “The Faravahar, which is a sacred symbol for us Zoroastrians, does not belong in this song. What is more, there is no connection between this symbol and what Ms. Amitis and Mr. Snoop Dogg are singing.”

“Faravahar is a symbol of ancient Persia, and since the Zoroastrians are guardians of the culture and the values of ancient Iran, they revere this symbol,” says Arash, who also signed the petition. “I believe that all Iranians should object to this symbol being used in the video. Besides the video features not only the Faravahar, but also Iranian cashmere and Achaemenid patterns.”

“When I saw the video, it raised a question for me,” says Armita, another signatory. “The video is in English. Why did they have to use symbols that are so Iranian? I don’t see the point.”

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