ISLAMIC FLAGS

An 'Islamic flag' is a flag that complies with Islamic rules. Traditionally Islamic flags were solid colour. The most favoured colours were Black, White and Green. However, other plain colours can be adopted. A bicolour or tricolour flag can also be adopted as an Islamic Flag. An example of a traditional solid coloured Islamic flag would be the flag of Libya.

Contents

The Pan-Arab Flag and colours

Limitations on the use of Flags

Representation of flags

Glossary

References

The Pan-Arab Flag and colours

Traditionally, early Arab flags were of one colour only, usually black or white, and charged with a religious inscription. It is thought that Muhammad himself used such flags, and it is said that his followers fought under a white flag.
White was also traditionally the colour of the Umayyad Dynasty. The Abbasid Dynasty which succeeded them used a black flag. The Fatimid Dymasty of caliphs, meanwhile, had green as their traditional colour, while the Hashemites used red.
In 1911, at a meeting in Istanbul, it was decided that a modern flag to represent all Arabs should include all four of these colours. Three years later, the Young Arab Society decreed that a future independent Arab state should use a flag of these colours, and on May 30 1917 Sharif Hussein, leader of the Hejaz revolt replaced his plain red flag with one horizontally striped in black, green, and white with a red triangular area at the hoist. This was seen as the birth of the pan-Arab flag.
Since that time, many Arab nations, upon achieving independence or upon change of political regime, have used a combination of these colours in a design reflecting the Hejaz Revolt flag. These flags include the current flags of Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Egypt, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Palestinian National Authority, Iran, Algeria, and Sudan, and former flags of Iraq, Libya, and Afghanistan.
Other Arab or predominantly Muslim nations have kept single colour flags, often with some symbol or script. These flags include those of Libya, Turkey, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia. Pakistan's flag can also be considered alongside this group.

Where a symbol is used, most frequently it is the star and crescent. Script takes one of two forms, either the ''Shahadah'' or ''Allahu Akbar'' ("God is great"). Iraq and Iran use both the pan-Arab colours (in the case of Iran slightly modified in shade and excluding black) with the addition of ''Allahu Akbar''—in recognisable form on Iraq's flag, and stylised on Iran's. Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan use the Shahadah, a declaration of faith: ''lā ilāha illā-llāh, wa muħammadan rasūlu-llāh'' in Arabic, translation "There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His Prophet".

Limitations on the use of Flags

Flags containing ''Allahu Akbar'' or ''Shahaadah'' are highly respected to due to the association of core Islamic belief shared by all Muslims. Misuse of such flags can be perceived as an attack on Islam regardless of nationality, whereas attacking a Muslim country flag containing none of these phrases will not be seen as an attack on Islam itself, but merely an attack on the country. Misuse of such a flag is understood to include stepping on the flag, burning it, hanging it in a pub or club, and association of flag with non-Islamic subjects, while the same treatment of a non-Muslim country's flag might be considered perfectly normal.
Flags are used as a badge on army, naval and government officials uniforms as well as in government or emergency vehicles. Such usage is impermissible, however, with a flag bearing the ''Shahaadah'' or ''Allahu Akbar.'' This is in part because, in accordance to Islamic teaching, it is not recommended that one use the toilet in the presence of such phrases because they are extraction from Quran, the holy book which Muslims believe to be the word of Allah (God) and there is no doubt.
In Islamic countries Muslims are required treat non-Muslim citizens with respect and dignity. A non-Muslim in an Islamic country can not be expected to fly the flag of ''Shahaadah'' or ''Allahu Akbar'' as he/she may not believe in these phrases. Hence, there is no infringement of human rights. Therefore, non-''Shahaadah'' or non-''Allahu Akbar'' flags may be more practical given the limitation above.
There are many schools of thought in Islam and Wahabi is one of them. The use of ''Shahaadah'' or ''Allahu Akbar'' flags started with the Wahabi approximately 300 years ago.

Representation of flags

Unlike the practice in most Western nations, flags are usually depicted in Islamic countries with the staff to the right. This is analogous to the right-to-left form of Arabic script. This can make for confusion when flag images are shown without an accompanying flagstaff, as it may not be immediately obvious which way around the flag is being depicted.
In keeping with Islamic law, Muslim flags generally do not bear any representations of real creatures, though some Arab flags have eagles that are used as supporters on the Coats of Arms. These flags are not necessarily Islamic in their nature; rather they more likely to derive from the Pan-Arabist movement. It is rare to find plants depicted on flags of Muslim nations, even though this is permissible under Islamic guidelines. Some state and royal flags of Saudi Arabia do, however, depict palm trees.

Glossary

'Muslim flag': Flag that is adopted by Muslim Nations. It may comply with Islamic rules or it may not.
'Islamic Flag': Flag that completely complies with Islamic teachings. Example: flag of Libya

References

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★ Crescent Moon: Symbol of Islam? (islam.about.com)