Events will be held to reclaim the ancient symbol of the swastika as a religious symbol this week.

The 6th annual Swastika Rehabilitation Day is on July 11 and events will take place in cities around the world, according to the ProSwastika Alliance.

The organisation seeks to rehabilitate the swastika by restoring its original, positive meaning. Organisers say for billions of people worldwide, including Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and many Native Americans, the swastika is a revered, ancient symbol that has been used continuously for millennia.

Raelian Guide, Thomas Kaenzig, who is president of the ProSwastika Alliance said, "We'll be flying banners featuring swastikas in several cities around the United States, including New York, and for the first time this year, Chicago,"

"Due to educational and informative efforts by our alliance and others, the swastika's ancient, worldwide meaning of peace and harmony is slowly replacing its unsavory association with the Nazi thugs who tarnished it."

"We see it being more and more accepted in the West. In fact, a 2015 Super Bowl Jeep ad included a swastika in a scene that was shot in Shanghai."

But a lot of educational work still lies ahead, according to Kaenzig.

"The CVS chain laid off a Raelian earlier this year for wearing earrings that depict our Raelian symbol, which contains a swastika," he said.

"The swastika is found in cultures around the world from the very earliest times," Kaenzig explained. "In the United States, you can see it in a New Orleans synagogue, and in lots of pre-Nazi-era monuments and historical sites.

That's because, until the 20th century, the swastika had nothing to do with Hitler, who used it for evil purposes," Kaenzig said.