The offensive symbol that got Kanye West banned from Twitter was from an alien-worshipping cult

We’re not sure whether he knew this (and based on his recent behaviour we wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t), but the symbol that got Kanye West banned from Twitter was not quite what it seemed.

Most of us understandably took the image – a swastika inside a Star of David – to be another horrific display of antisemitism from the rapper, but it turns out it is actually the insignia for a UFO-worshiping religion.

Followers of the Rael Movement (who call themselves Raelians) believe that “extraterrestrials created all life on Earth”, according to their website.

“Thousands of years ago, scientists from another planet came to Earth and created all forms of life – including humans [...],” they claim. “Due to their highly advanced technology, they were mistaken for gods by our primitive ancestors and often referred to as ‘ELOHIM’, which in ancient Hebrew means, ‘Those who came from the sky’.”

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This use of the language is not the only example of Jewish appropriation by the Raelians: their symbol borrows the Star of David and gives it a new meaning – an act that many would find offensive in itself.

“The Star of David represents the infinity of SPACE,” the site states. “The extra-terrestrials who created humankind in laboratories have proven that the infinitely small and the infinitely large have the same structure [...] ‘As above, so below’.”

Meanwhile, their use of the swastika is to represent “the infinity of time”, apparently. The cult points out that the ancient symbol universally denoted peace until it was adopted by Adolf Hitler in the 1920s, and it still widely features in many parts of the world under its original meaning.

Raelians say that their insignia is the image their founder Claude Vorhilon saw on the front of a spaceship during his first UFO encounter in 1973.

The group claim their symbol has nothing to do with NazismThe Raelian Movement

The group’s missions include the creation of an embassy “to welcome an ET civilization to Earth”, the establishment of “a political system where all goods and services are provided for free by robots so human beings can use their lives to do what they like”, and the promotion of toplessness among women. Genuinely. Oh, they’re also big anti-vaxxers, as you’d expect.

The religion, which currently boasts of more than 130,000 members in over 120 countries, also honours a select group of people who are “not Raelian but who, like Raelians, dedicate their lives to changing the world by reducing violence, denouncing injustice, eliminating god-related taboos, and promoting Human Rights.” These include Madonna, Sinead O’Connor, Michael Jackson and Hugh Hefner.

Kanye may be disappointed to learn that he is not one of them…

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