Islamic flag

An Islamic flag is the flag either representing an Islamic Caliphate, religious order, state, civil society, military force or other entity associated with Islam. Islamic flags have a distinct history due to the Islamic prescription on aniconism, making particular colours, inscriptions or symbols such as crescent-and-star popular choices. Since the time of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, flags with certain colours were associated with Islam according to the traditions. Since then, historical Caliphates, modern nation states, certain denominations as well as religious movements have adopted flags to symbolize their Islamic identity.

History

Early Islam

Before the advent of Islam, banners as tools for signaling had already been employed by the

• 
  Black standards are attributed to Muhammad and were used by the Abbasid Caliphate
• 
  The Umayyad Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate and Almohad Caliphate used white standards. White flags are also attributed to Muhammad.
• 
  Green flags were sometimes used by

  Shi'ites

  .
• 
  The

  Kharjites

  used red standards

Middle Ages

The

The crescent appears in flags attributed to Tunis from as early as the 14th century Book of Knowledge of All Kingdoms, long before Tunis fell under Ottoman rule in 1574. The Spanish Navy Museum in Madrid shows two Ottoman naval flags dated 1613; both are swallow-tailed, one green with a white crescent near the hoist, the other white with two red stripes near the edges of the flag and a red crescent near the hoist.^[18]

The

The Mamluks served the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques during their reign. During this time, they deployed what was believed to be the genuine relic of the Islamic prophet Muhammad's banner. The banner was later captured by the Ottomans, who called the flag the "noble banner" (Sancak-ı Şerif) and used it during their military campaign. The flag was made of black wool, according to the Ottoman historian Silahdar Findiklili Mehmed Agha, but there is no further information available.^[20]

• 
  The

  Ayyubid

  yellow standard
• 
  A flag of the Memeluke Sultanate
• 
  The

  Karamanid

  dynastic flag
• 
  The

  Isfendiyarid

  dynastic flag

Pre-modern era

Ottoman Empire

War flags came into use by the

Tanzimat of 1844, the flags of the Ottoman Empire were redesigned in the style of European armies of the day. The flag of the Ottoman Navy was made red as red was to be the flag of secular institutions and green of religious ones. As the reforms abolished all the various sub-sultanates, pashaliks, beyliks and emirates, a single new flag was designed to replace all the various flags used by these entities with one single national flag. The result was the red and white flag with the crescent moon and star, which is the precursor to the modern Turkish flag. A plain red flag was introduced as the civil ensign for all Ottoman subjects.

• 
  An early 19th-century example of a Zulfiqar flag
• 
  The flag of the Ottoman Empire (1844–1923)
• 
  The flag of Hayreddin Barbarossa

Mughal Empire

The

According to the Ain-i-Akbari, during Akbar's reign, whenever the emperor rode out, not less than five alams were carried along with the qur (a collection of flags and other insignia) wrapped up in scarlet cloth bags. They were unfurled on the days of festivity, and in battle.^[26] Edward Terry, chaplain to Sir Thomas Roe, who came during the reign of Jahangir, described in his Voyage to East-India (1655) that the royal standard, made of silk, with a crouching lion shadowing part of the body of the sun inscribed on it, was carried on an elephant whenever the emperor travelled.^[27][28]

• 
  Alam

  of the Mughal Empire
• 
  Flag of the Mughal Empire (1857)

Persian Empires

The Safavid dynasty (1501–1736) employed various alams and banners, especially during the reign of the first two kings, each with a different emblem. Ismail I, the first Safavid king, designed a green flag with a golden full moon. In 1524 Tahmasp I replaced the moon with an emblem of a sheep and sun; this flag was used until 1576. It was then that Ismail II adopted the first Lion and Sun device, embroidered in gold, which was to remain in use until the end of the Safavid era. During this period the Lion and Sun stood for two pillars of the society: the state and Islam.

The Afsharid dynasty (1736–1796) had two royal standards, one with red, white, and blue stripes and one with red, blue, white, and yellow stripes. Nader Shah's personal flag was a yellow pennant with a red border and a lion and sun emblem in the centre. All three of these flags were triangular in shape.^[29][30] Nader Shah consciously avoided the using the colour green, as green was associated with Shia Islam and the Safavid dynasty.^[31]

• 
  Flag of Safavid dynasty after Ismail II (1576–1732)
• 
  An Imperial Standard of the Afsharid dynasty

Modern history

Flags of the Mahdiyya

Muhammad Ahmad declared himself al-Mahdī al-Muntaẓar (the Expected Rightly-guided One, successor to the prophet Mohammed) in 1881 and lead an Islamic revolution against the Ottoman-Egyptian rule of Sudan until his death in 1885.^[32] During the Mahdist War, the followers of al-Mahdi (Anṣār or ‘helpers’) adapted a traditional form of flag used in prayer by followers of Sufi religious orders, for military purposes.^[33] Sufi flags typically feature the Muslim shahada – “There is no God but Allah; Muḥammad is Allah’s Messenger” – and the name of the sect's founder, an individual usually regarded as a saint.^[33] The traditional form of Sufi flag was adapted by adding a quotation from the Koran – “Yā allah yā ḥayy yā qayūm yā ḍhi’l-jalāl wa’l-ikrām” (O Allah! O Ever-living, O Everlasting, O Lord of Majesty and Generosity) – and the highly charged claim - “Muḥammad al-Mahdī khalifat rasūl Allah” (Muḥammad al-Mahdī is the successor of Allah's messenger). The flags were specifically colour coded to direct soldiers of the three main divisions of the Mahdist army – the Black, Green and Red Banners (rāyāt).

Star and crescent

By the mid 20th century, the star and crescent was used by a number successor states of the Ottoman Empire, including Algeria, Azerbaijan, Mauritania, Tunisia, Turkey, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and Libya. Because of its supposed "Turkic" associations, the symbol also came to be used in Central Asia, as in the flags of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The star-and-crescent in the Flag of Pakistan is stated as symbolizing "progress and light" (while the green colour is stated as representing Islam). The star-and-crescent in these flags was not originally intended as religious symbolism, but an association of the symbol with Islam seems to have developed beginning in the 1950s or 1960s.^[34] By the 1970s, this symbol was embraced by both Arab nationalism or Islamism, such as the proposed Arab Islamic Republic (1974) and the American Nation of Islam (1973).^[35]

The Pan-Arab flag and colours

The

• 
  The flag of the Arab Revolt (1916)^[36]
• 
  The flag of the Arab Islamic Republic (1974)

Contemporary flags

Islamic states

Main article:

List of countries with the Islamic symbols displayed on their flag

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Islamic flag" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (February 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

in 1997.

• 
  The flag of Saudi Arabia (1932, based on a 1921 variant), the shahada and a sword on a green field
• 
  The flag of Iran (1980), a highly stylized emblem representing the word Allah
• 
  The

  Pakistani flag has a dark green to symbolize the Muslim-majority population

  , and it is also one of the many Muslim flags with a star-and-crescent.
• 
  The flag of Iraq containing colors of the Arab Liberation flag, with takbīr ʾAllāhu ʾakbar^u (ٱللَّٰهُ أَكْبَرُ), meaning "Allah (The God) is greater"^[38][39] in Kufic script written in the center.
• 
  The flag of Mauritania (2017, variants since 1959), star-and-crescent on green
• 
  The flag of Yemen (1990), in spite of the constitutional definition of Yemen as an Islamic state, does not include religious symbolism.
• 
  The flag of Afghanistan, displaying the phrase: "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger" in Arabic

Denominational flags

Although a flag representing Islam as a whole does not exist, some Islamic denominational branches and

African-American religious movement Nation of Islam deploys an official flag known as "The Flag of Islam" which symbolizes universal peace and harmony.^[43]

In Shia Muslim traditions, flags are a significant part of the rituals for the Mourning of Muharram. Mourners take round the flags or banners in the ritual known as Alam Gardani as a performance for the mourning ceremonies. Mourners also use flags to signal the beginning and the end of the mourning. All flags have guardians and they are passed down through generations.^[44]

• 
  The

  Ismā'īlī

  flag (1986)
• 
  The Nation of Islam flag (1973)
• 
  The Khatmiyya tariqa flag

See also

• Religion in national symbols
• Black Standard
• Christian Flag
• Jihadist flag

References

Footnotes

1. ^ Hathaway 2003, p. 95.
2. ^ Flag. Britannica. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
3. ^ Hinds 1996, p. 133.
4. ^ Nicolle 1993, p. 6.
5. ^ Hinds 1996, p. 108.
6. ^ The Islamic Imagery Project The Combating Terrorism Center Retrieved 27 May 2023
7. ^ Nour, “L’Histoire du croissant,” p. 66/295. See also Ibn Khaldun, Muqaddimah, pp. 214–15.
8. ^ ^{a b} Wellhausen 1927, p. 533.
9. ^ Hathaway 2003, pp. 95–96.
10. ISBN 9781420508024
    .
11. ^
    OCLC 495469456
    .
12. ^ Muhammad b. Yazid b. Maja (d. 887), Sunan, ed. Muhammad Fu˘ad ˜Abd al-Baqi, 2 vols. (Cairo: Halabi, 1372/1952), vol. 2: 1366–67; ˜Ala al-Din ˜Ali b. Husam al-Din al-Muttaqi (1477–1567), Kanz al-˜ummål, 8 parts (Hyderabad: Da˘irat al-Ma˜arif, 1312/1894–95), part 3: 203; part 4: 38, 39, 45, 53
13. ISBN 978-0-582-40525-7
    .
14. ISBN 978-1-134-09650-3
    .
15. ^ ^{a b} Hathaway 2003, pp. 96–97.
16. ^ Grabar 2005, p. 252.
17. ^ Hathaway 2003, p. 98.
18. ^ Nozomi Karyasu & António Martins, 8 October 2006 on Flags of the World.
19. ^ The Muslim Empires of the Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals, By Stephen F. Dale, 2009
20. ^ Hathaway 2003, pp. 97–8.
21. ^ e.g. Jaques Nicolas Bellin, Tableau des Pavillons de le nations que aborent à la mer (1756).
22. ^ "Ottoman Empire: Flags and coats of arms shown in the Topkapi Museum (Istanbul)". www.crwflags.com.
23. ^ "Zoomify image: A panorama in 12 folds showing the procession of the Emperor Bahadur Shah to celebrate the feast of the 'Id. f. 59v-A". Bl.uk. 30 November 2003. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
24. moss green
    and some flags were scarlet. Against a green field it displayed a rising sun, partially eclipsed by a body of a couching lion facing the hoist
25. ^ ^{a b} Singh, K.V. (1991). Our National Flag. New Delhi: Publication Division, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India. p. 14.
26. ^ Blochmann, H. (tr.) (1927, reprint 1993). The Ain-I Akbari by Abu'l-Fazl Allami, Vol. I, Calcutta: The Asiatic Society, p.52
27. ^ Foster, William (ed.) (1921) Early Travels in India, 1583–1619, London: Oxford University Press, p. 306
28. ^ Terry, Edward (1777) [1655]. A Voyage to East-India. London: J. Wilkie. p. 347.
29. ^ "Flags of the World: Persia (Iran) from XVI to XVIIIth century". Retrieved 11 November 2010.
30. ^ "The Lion and Sun Motif of Iran: A brief Analysis". Retrieved 12 November 2010.
31. ^ "Encyclopædia Iranica: FLAGS i. Of Persia". Retrieved 12 November 2010.
32. ^ Mahdi Flag. National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
33. ^ ^{a b} Flags of the Mahdiyya. Making African Connections. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
34. Hijra
    (migration) of our Prophet Mohammed from his home in order to spread Islam and teach the principles of right and virtue. The Star represents our smiling hope, the beauty of aim and object and the light of our belief in God, in our country, its dignity and honour which illuminate our way and puts an end to darkness."
35. ^ Edward E. Curtis, Black Muslim religion in the Nation of Islam, 1960–1975 (2006), p. 157.
36. ^ Pan-Arab Colours, crwflags.com; Mahdi Abdul-Hadi, The Great Arab Revolt Archived 2014-05-05 at the Wayback Machine, passia.org
37. ^
    ISBN 978-1552978139
    . Retrieved 12 September 2012.
38. ^ "Islamic world". www.nationsonline.org. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
39. ^ Engber, Daniel (12 September 2006). "Why do Muslims say, "God is great?"". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
40. ^ Ismaili flag & New Ismaili Constitution of 1986. Ismaili. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
41. ^ "A Brief History of Ahmadiyya Movement In Islam". Alislam.org. 28 December 1939. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
42. ^ "Question: Why do Muslims use black flags if the color black is associated with death and mourning?". Askislam.org. 22 October 1984. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
     • "Audio Answer". Askislam.org. Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2015. Black absorbs total light, [it] does not emit an iota of light, so from looking heavenly-wards black indicates that we absorb entire light from heaven, and white reflects total light without being dishonest about it, so a Messenger has two aspects. One of receiving things from Allah, in that respect he's nabi [prophet], whatever he receives he completely, totally absorbs, and when he speaks to the others he reflects the entire light without being dishonest or stingy about it, so that reflection makes it white. So reception that is a complete reception without leaving anything out and reflection that is a complete reflection without leaving anything out, they are witnessed only in two colours: black and white. So both have been employed in Islam as flags.
43. ^ Brief history on origin of the Nation of Islam. Nation of Islam. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
44. ^ Muharram mourning traditions in different lands – 31. Parstoday. Retrieved February 16, 2019.

Bibliography

• ISBN 978-0-86078921-5
  ., originally published in Ismaili Contributions to Islamic Culture (1977), Imperial Iranian Academy of Philosophy, pp. 207–224
• Hathaway, Jane (2003). A Tale of Two Factions: Myth, Memory, and Identity in Ottoman Egypt and Yemen. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press.
  ISBN 978-0-7914-5883-9
  .
• Hinds, Martin (1996). Studies in Early Islamic History. Darwin Press.
  ISBN 978-0-87850-109-0
  .
• ISBN 978-1-85532-279-0.^{[permanent dead link}
  ]
• Hrbek, I. (1997). "The disintegration of political unity in the Maghrib". In Joseph Ki-Zerbo; Djibril T. Niane (eds.). General History of Africa. Vol. IV: Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century. UNESCO, James Curry Ltd., and University of California Press.
• Sparavigna, A.C. (2016). The Sun, the Moon and the Mughal Emperors. SSRN Electronic Journal.
• Wellhausen, Julius (1927). The Arab Kingdom and its Fall. Translated by Margaret Graham Weir. Beirut: Khayats.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Islamic flags.

• Islamic flags at Flags of the World
• Historic flags of Islam (Flags of the World website)
• The Flag of Quraish (Flags of the World website
• "Crescent Moon: Is It a Symbol of Islam?" on Islam.about.com Archived 2007-03-18 at the Wayback Machine