Wikipedia

Flag of Iraq

Theflag of Iraq(Arabic:علم العراق;Kurdish:ئاڵای عێراق;Syriac:ܐܵܬ݂ܵܐ ܕܥܝܼܪܲܩ;Turkish:Irak Bayrağı) is the national flag of Iraq, includes the three equal horizontalred,white,andblackstripes of theArab Liberation flag,with thetakbirwritten in green in theKufic scriptin the centre.

Republic of Iraq
الله اكبر
( "God is the greatest" )
UseStateandwar flag,national ensignSmall vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flagReverse side is congruent with obverse side
Proportion2:3
Adopted31 July 1963;61 years ago(1963-07-31)
(original version)
22 January 2008;16 years ago(2008-01-22)[1]
(current version)
DesignA horizontaltricolourof red, white, and black, charged with thetakbīrin greenKuficscript, centered on the white stripe.

This basic tricolour has been in use since its adoption on 31 July 1963, with several changes to the green symbols in the central white stripes; the most recent version adopted on 22 January 2008[1]bears thetakbīrrendered in dark green and removes the three green stars present since 1963.[2]The flag was initially meant to be temporary, but the issue was ultimately set aside indefinitely.[3]

Colour scheme

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Valid for Iraqi flags 1963–present[4]

Red White Green Black
RGB 205/17/37 255/255/255 1/123/61 0/0/0
Hexadecimal #cd1125 #ffffff #017b3d #000000
CMYK 0/92/82/20 0/0/0/0 99/0/50/52 0/0/0/100

History

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1921–1959

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23 August 1921 – 10 July 1924 (ratio: 1:2)
10 July 1924 – 1 January 1959 (ratio: 1:2)
Royal standard of the Kingdom of Iraq, 11 January 1930 – 14 July 1958 (ratio: 1:2)

The first flag of modernIraqwas inMandatory Iraq,and was adopted in 1921. It was ablack-white-greenhorizontal flag, with a red triangle extending from the mast side, inspired by theflag of the Arab Revolt.It was soon changed to a new version with a red trapezoid replacing the triangle and two seven-point white stars on denoting theTigrisRiver, and theEuphratesRiver. Both designs also reflected the newly installedHashemiteDynasty in Iraq (originally fromHejazin theArabian Peninsula), who had played a leading role in theArab Revolt.As such, it was similar to the flags of HashemiteJordan,and the short-livedKingdom of Hejaz.[5][6]The new flag continued to be used in theKingdom of Iraq.

1958

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Main article:Flag of the Arab Federation
Flag of the Arab Federation, of which Iraq was part, January 1, 1958 – December 31, 1958 (ratio: 1:2)

In 1958, in response to the merger ofEgyptandSyriain theUnited Arab Republic,the two Hashemite kingdoms ofIraqandJordanestablished theArab Federation,a confederation of the two states. The flag of the union was essentially that ofJordanbut without seven pointed star in the red chevron.[7]This flag is identical to theflag of Palestineadopted in 1964, and almost identical to the flag of theBa'ath Party.The union lasted less than six months, being terminated by theIraqi Revolution of 1958in July.

1959–1963

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January 1, 1959 – July 31, 1963 (ratio: 1:2)

Following theRevolution of 14 July 1958,led byAbd al-Karim Qasim,which abolished theHashemite monarchyinIraqand turned the country into arepublic,Iraqadopted a new flag (Law 102 of 1959) that consisted of ablack-white-greenvertical tricolour, with a red eight-pointed star with a yellow circle at its centre. The black, white, green, and red are thePan-Arab colors,representingpan-Arabism,with the yellowKurdish Sunin the middle to represent theIraqi Kurds,surrounded by the redStar of Ishtarto represent the indigenousAssyrians.[8][9][10]

1963–1991

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31 July 1963 – 13 January 1991 (ratio: 2:3)

AfterQassimwas overthrown by theBa'ath Partyin 1963, the new Ba'athist government adopted a modified version of theArab Liberation flagas the new flag ofIraqon 31 July 1963 (Law 28 of 1963). This horizontal tricolour of red, white, and black bands (a subset of the Pan-Arab colours, first used in theEgyptian Revolution of 1952) formed the basis of the flag of theUnited Arab Republic (UAR).Though theUARbroke up in 1961, hopes forArab unitypersisted. As such, whereas theUAR flaghad two green stars in the white band, signifying its two members (EgyptandSyria), the new Iraqi flag had three stars, symbolising the aspiration thatIraqwould join withEgyptandSyriain a new union. Sharing this goal,Syriaadopted the new Iraqi flag as its own later that same year. This remained theflag of Syriauntil 1971, when the green stars were replaced by theHawk of Quraishas theCoat of arms of Syria.

During the presidency ofSaddam Hussein,the Iraqi Flag Law No. 28 of 1963 was replaced by Flag Law No. 33 of 1986, which did not alter the flag but changed the meaning of the three stars from their original geographic meaning to representations of the three tenets of theBa'ath Partymotto:wahda, hurriyah, ishtirakiyah(unity, freedom and socialism).

1991–2004

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13 January 1991 – 15 August 2004 (ratio: 2:3)

On 13 January 1991, the flag was modified by Flag Law No. 6 of 1991. At the instigation of PresidentSaddam Hussein,thetakbīr(the phraseAllahu akbar,meaning "God is the greatest" inArabic) was added in green between the stars. The form of thetakbīrwas said to be Saddam's own handwriting.[11]Many[who?]interpreted the addition of the sacred Islamic text as an attempt to garner wartime support from previously outlawed religious Iraqi leaders, to stop the disrespect of the Iraqi flag inIraqi-occupied Kuwait,and tobolster the Iraqi government's Islamist credentialsin the period immediately preceding thePersian Gulf War.

As with other flags inscribed withArabic script,thehoistis to the right of the obverse (front) of the flag. Thehamzaover thealifofAllahin the main variant seems to be a spelling mistake, according to formal rules, but it is a common mistake which appears in many texts.[2]

2004–2008

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15 August 2004 – 22 January 2008 flag of Iraq with stylizedKuficscript (ratio: 2:3)

Owing to differing views ona flag proposed by the United States-appointed administration,and the prevailing opposition to an outright abandonment of the current Iraqi flag, a compromise measure was adopted by the U.S.-appointed Iraqi interim administration in 2004. The basic form of the existingflagwas retained;[12]however, thetakbīrwas rendered in traditional stylizedKuficscript, as opposed to the handwriting ofSaddam Hussein.

The modified flag was unveiled at the ceremony marking the technical "handover" of power from theCoalition Provisional Authorityoccupation forces to the U.S.-appointed administration on 28 July 2004.[13]

Despite this measure, the Kurdish population still opposed the flag, as it contained the three stars associated with theBa'athist regimeof Saddam Hussein, and thus, theatrocitiesthat were committed upon the Kurds by the Ba'athists.[14]This eventually led to the removal of the three stars in 2008, which also provoked some criticism among non-Kurdish Iraqis, who flew it in protest.[14]

2008–present

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22 January 2008[1]– present flag of Iraq (ratio: 2:3)

On 22 January 2008,[1]theCouncil of Representatives of Iraqapproved its new design for the national flag, confirmed by Law 9 of 2008 as the compromising temporary replacement for theBa'athistSaddam-era flag. In this current version, the three stars were removed, with the two words of thetakbīrbeing brought closer together, and corrected the previous spelling ofAllah(أللهtoالله). The removal of the three stars was demanded by the Kurdish population of Iraq, who associated the three stars with theAl-Anfal genocide.But their removal provoked criticism among non-Kurdish Iraqis, mainly Iraqi Arabs, who argued that the stars did not represent the Ba'athist regime, and the city ofFallujahrefused to fly the temporary flag that year unless instructed otherwise.[14]Theparliamentintended for the new design to last one year, after which a final decision on the flag would be made. However, the flag law was reviewed in parliament on 30 August 2009.[15]

In 2012, there was an effort to replace the flag with a new design.[16]

Symbolism

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The Iraqi flag consists offour colours:red, white, green and black, inspired by the poetic verse ofSafi al-Din al-Hilli:"Our actions are bright, our battlefields are dark, our lands are green, and our swords are red with the blood of our enemies".[17]

Specifications

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22:January 2008 – present flag of Iraq (ratio: 2:3)

The flag is in the form of arectangle,the width of which is two-thirds of its length, and it consists of three horizontal bands of equal dimensions, the top in red, the middle in white, and the bottom in black, and the green wordʾAllāhu ʾakbar"الله اكبر" inKufic scriptis in the middle of the middle white rectangle. The ratio of flag is 2:3.

Flag proposals and flag contest

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2004 flag proposal and controversy

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Proposed flag, 2004 (later abandoned) duringAmerican occupation.
A comparison of the flags of some of Iraq's neighbours, Iraq's older flags, and the proposed flag.

Following the military invasion of Iraq by theUnited Statesin 2003, the Iraqi government was overthrown, and the Ba'ath party was outlawed. Strong speculation followed that the U.S. government would press for a change in the Iraqi flag to remove its pan-Arab symbolism, and to make a definitive break with the period of Ba'athist rule. To a degree, this view was shared by some groups in Iraq. In addition to some displeasure among Iraqis who had suffered under Saddam Hussein to retaining national symbols used by his government, there was also strong aversion to the flag from Iraq's Kurdish minority, who resented its evocation of pan-Arabism. However, Iraqi opponents of changing the flag argued that since the flag had been used since 1963, long before Saddam Hussein's presidency, it was unfair to characterise it as a "Saddamist" flag. They also stressed that pan-Arabism has been a dominant popular principle among Iraqi's majority population for decades prior to Iraqi independence in 1932.

On 14 August 2004 the U.S.-appointedIraqi Governing Council(IGC) announced a new flag during Saddam's Iraq. The IGC stated that, from around 30 competing entries, it had chosen a design by the distinguished Iraqi artist-architectRifat Chadirji,who lived in London, and is a brother of a member of the IGC. Chadirji commented that the guidelines stipulated that Iraq should be portrayed as part of theWestern world,with historical elements included. His design was inspired by the flags ofCanadaandSwitzerland.[18]

The proposed flag had several meanings:[18]

Symbol Meaning
White background Purity
Two blue bands The blue bands represent theTigrisand theEuphratesrivers.
Yellow band Kurdish minority. Theflag of Kurdistanfeatures a yellow sun.
Blue crescent ThecrescentrepresentsIslam.
The shade of blue representsIraqi Turkmens.

The design marked a notable break with the three flags of modern Iraqi history (namely the Arab Revolt-inspired flag of the Kingdom, the flag introduced by Abd al-Karim Qasim, and the Arab Liberation inspired flag of 1963), all of which were based on the fourPan-Arab colours.Indeed, of these colours, only white was represented in the IGC design. Moreover, Islamic crescents are usually depicted in green or red in Arab heraldry. The proposed change provoked an intensely negative reaction across groups of Iraq's Arab majority, including those vehemently opposed to Saddam Hussein. Those opposed to the U.S. occupation, includingShi'aclericMuqtada al-Sadr,decried the design as an attempt by the U.S. government to strip Iraq of its identity, and its historically prominent role in theArab world.In particular, critics lamented the proposed abandonment of the Arab Liberation Flag, the omission of the traditional colours ofpan-Arabism,and the removal of thetakbīr.

Additionally, the new flag's predominantly blue-on-white appearance immediately antagonized many in Iraq because of the claim that it was similar to theflag of Israel.Israel was consideredhostile to Iraqsince its establishment in 1948.

The new flag was reported to have beenburned by insurgentsinFallujahon 27 April 2004, the day before its planned official adoption.[citation needed]

On 28 April 2004, IGC PresidentMasoud Barzaniformally presented a modified version of the flag in which the originally very light shade of blue as reported by the press on 26 April 2004 had been changed to a darker tone. It was unclear whether this was a change made because of the protests made against the original design or, as the Council claimed, a rectification of printing errors in the earlier news reports. Barzani also explained that the flag was a temporary design, to be used over the ensuing months until the adoption of a definitive flag.

In the face of the overwhelming public outcry, adoption of the blue crescent flag was abandoned entirely.

2008 flag proposal

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First proposal, 2008

Despite the compromise in 2004, opposition to the flag persisted from Kurdish groups. In January 2008, a new design was proposed, removing the three green stars, instead placing a green eight pointed star around a yellow circle in the middle of thetakbīr,which is written in the Kufic script and prized as a Mesopotamian Arabic style, having originated in Iraq.[19]

2008 flag contest

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Second proposal, 2008

In July 2008, the Iraqi parliament launched a contest to design a new Iraqi flag. The contest ran until September 2008, with 50 designs submitted. Six designs were chosen and sent to the parliament which was to choose a new flag before the end of 2008.[20]

Another proposed design was also similar to the 2004–2008 flag, but the script was changed to yellow to represent the Kurdish people in northern Iraq. The meaning of the three stars would be changed to symbolize peace, tolerance and justice.[21]

Subnational flags

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Semi-autonomous regions

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Flag Date Ratio Use Description
1992–present 2:3 Flag of Kurdistan,used in theKurdistan Region

Governorates

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See also:Governorates of Iraq
Flag Date Ratio Use Description
?–present 2:3 Flag ofAl Anbar Governorate[22]
?–present 2:3 Flag ofBabil Governorate
?–present 2:3 Flag ofBaghdad Governorate[23][24]
?–present 2:3 Flag ofBasra Governorate[25]
?–? 2:3 Former flag of Basra Governorate
?–present 2:3 Flag ofDiyala Governorate[26]
?–present 2:3 Flag ofHalabja Governorate[27][28]
?–present 2:3 Flag ofMuthanna Governorate
?–present 2:3 Flag ofNineveh Governorate[29] White flag charged with the emblem of the governorate. The emblem depicts the leaning minaret of theGreat Mosque of al-Nuri, Mosulsurrounded by olive branches.
?–present 2:3 Flag ofSaladin Governorate[30][31]
?–present 2:3 Flag ofKirkuk Governorate[32]
?–present 1:2 Flag ofSulaymaniyah Governorate[33]
?–present 2:3 Flag ofWasit Governorate


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Military flags

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Flag Date Ratio Use Description
Current
?–present 2:3 Flag of theIraqi Ground Forces
?–present 2:3 Flag of theIraqi Air Force
2003–present 2:3 Flag of theIraqi Navy
2007–present 2:3 Flag of theIraqi Counter Terrorism Service
?–present 2:3 Special Operations Iraq Flag
2:3 Flag ofShabak Militia
Former
?–2003 2:3 Ba'athist-era flag of theIraqi Navy
?–2003 2:3 Flag ofFedayeen Saddam
14 May 2004–31 December 2009 2:3 Flag of theMulti-National Force – Iraq
2:3
January 1, 2010–December 15, 2011 2:3 Flag of theUnited States Forces – Iraq

Political/Rebel flags

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Flag Date Ratio Use Description
Current
2:3 Flag of theKurdistan Democratic Party
2:3 Flag of theBabylon Movement
Flag of theAssyrian Democratic Movement
Flag ofNineveh Plain Protection Units
2:3 Flag of theIraqi Communist Party
2:3 Flag of theIraqi National Congress
2:3
2:3 Flag of theIslamic Dawa Party
2:3 Flag of thePatriotic Union of Kurdistan
2:3 Flag of theYazidi Movement for Reform and Progress
1:2 Flag of theKurdistan Islamic Movement
Link to file Flag ofHezbollah Movement in Iraq
Link to file 2:3 Flag of theIslamic Supreme Council of Iraq
2:3 Flag of thePopular Mobilization Forces
Flag ofKata'ib Hezbollah
2:3 Flag of theIraqi Turkmen Front
Flag of theKurdistan Justice Group
Flag of theIslamic State in Iraq and Syria
2:3 Flag ofArab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region
Flag ofIslamic Army of Iraq
Misattributed flags
2:3 Alleged flag of theIslamic Resistance in Iraq
Former
2:3 Flag of theKurdistan Brigades
Flag ofAl-Qaeda in Iraq
2:3 Flag of theSons of Iraq
Flag ofJama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad
Flag of theMahdi Army
Flag ofAnsar al-Islam
2:3 Flag ofWhite Flags
Flag of the Iraqi Islamic Resistance Army
Flag ofIslamic State of Iraq
Flag ofAnsar al-Sunnah
Flag ofAbu Bakr Al-Salafi Army
2:3 Flag ofHamas of Iraq
2:3 Flag ofPromised Day Brigade
Flag of the Anbar Tribal Councils

See also

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References

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  1. ^abcdFOTW
  2. ^ab"Evolution of the Iraqi Flag".Flags of the world.Retrieved2020-07-31.
  3. ^استياء في العراق تجاه العلم الوطني الجديد
  4. ^"country flag".Directorate of Coordination and Protocol Presidency of the Council of Ministers Republic of Iraq.Government of Iraq. Archived fromthe originalon 13 February 2022.Retrieved13 February2022.
  5. ^ben cahoon."Iraq".Worldstatesmen.org.Retrieved2020-05-29.
  6. ^"Vexilla Mundi".Vexilla Mundi.Retrieved2020-05-29.
  7. ^"مسابقة تصميم علم جمهورية العراق - iraqiflag".Archived fromthe originalon 2008-08-09.Retrieved2008-08-09.
  8. ^Peter Symes."The First Banknotes of the Central Bank of Iraq".Pjsymes.com.au.Retrieved8 January2018.
  9. ^Dawisha, Adeed (1 January 2003)."Requiem for Arab Nationalism".Middle East Quarterly.Retrieved9 January2018.
  10. ^Amatzia Baram, "Mesopotamian Identity in Ba'thi Iraq," Middle Eastern Studies, Oct. 1983, p. 427.
  11. ^Podeh, Elie; Pôde, Ēlî (2011-06-30).The Politics of National Celebrations in the Arab Middle East.Cambridge University Press. p. 144.ISBN9781107001084.
  12. ^"Republic of Iraq flag".World flags 101. Archived fromthe originalon 2022-04-11.Retrieved2008-02-10.
  13. ^"CNN.com - U.S. returns sovereignty to Iraq - Jul 28, 2004".Archived fromthe originalon August 3, 2004.
  14. ^abc"Discontent in Iraq over new national flag".Reuters.2008-01-26.Retrieved2022-11-07.
  15. ^"Council of Representatives of Iraq (parliament) schedule includes Iraqi law review on April 30, 2009. (in Arabic)".Council of Representatives of Iraq.2009-04-29.Retrieved2009-04-29.
  16. ^"Iraq aims to unite with new national anthem, flag".The Daily Star.24 September 2012.Retrieved9 January2018.
  17. ^"علم الدولة – protocol-PMO"(in Arabic). Archived fromthe originalon 2022-10-02.Retrieved2022-10-02.
  18. ^abBeck, Ernest; Lasky, Julie (29 April 2004)."In Iraq, Flag Design, Too, Comes Under Fire".The New York Times.Retrieved10 May2022.
  19. ^Garrels, Anne (2008-01-12)."Iraq to Restore Former Baath Party Followers".National Public Radio.Retrieved2008-01-24.
  20. ^"Iraqi new flag to be identified before year end".Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.2008-10-12.Retrieved2008-10-12.
  21. ^Charif, Chalaan (2008-01-15)."Iraq's new flag half satisfies everyone".Radio Netherlands.Archived fromthe originalon 2008-01-18.Retrieved2008-01-24.
  22. ^"Anbar governor Ali Farhan al-Dulaimi speaks to AFP at his office in".7 October 2021.
  23. ^"Baghdad Governorate (Iraq)".
  24. ^"محافظ بغداد يؤكد اتخاذ اجراءات مشددة على المولدات الاهلية لمنع رفع الاسعار".15 June 2021.
  25. ^"Gulf 25 inspection team concludes its tour of Basra, holds a press conference – اتحاد كأس الخليج العربي لكرة القدم".
  26. ^"Deputy governor of Diyala contracts COVID-19".Archived fromthe originalon 2023-10-15.Retrieved2022-08-26.
  27. ^"مشروع قانون موازنة العراق لعام 2018 يشير إلى حلبجة كمحافظة (Iraq's 2018 budget bill refers to Halabja as a governorate)".
  28. ^"زيارة رئيس المحكمة الى محافظة حلبجة".
  29. ^"Mosul, Iraq. 2nd July, 2019. New governor of Nineveh Mansour al-Mar'eed speaks to Xinhua in an interview at his office in Nineveh province, Iraq, July 2, 2019. The governor of Iraq's northern province of Nineveh called on the Chinese companies to take part in the reconstruction of its capital Mosul. TO GO WITH: Iraqi governor calls on Chinese companies to take part in reconstruction of Mosul. Credit: Khalil Dawood/Xinhua/Alamy Live News Stock Photo - Alamy".
  30. ^"Saladin (Salah ed-Din) Governorate (Iraq)".
  31. ^"Chaos prevails in Saladin as two governors lock horns over who runs the governorate".
  32. ^"Iraq fires Kirkuk governor in Kurdish referendum stand-off".Financial Times.14 September 2017.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-12-10.
  33. ^slemani.gov [@SlemaniGov] (14 June 2022)."رەوشی مافەكانی مرۆڤ تاووتوێ دەكرێت https://t.co/iT3fPt3Tui https://t.co/P9ZVqR5vDv https://t.co/xutgAlQztV https://t.co/7M8B9ip87O https://t.co/3JrqGjKZZU https://t.co/xL8fxXDw6I"[The human rights situation will be discussed.] (Tweet) (in Central Kurdish).Archivedfrom the original on 26 August 2022.Retrieved21 December2022– viaTwitter.
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