22 January 2008; 17 years ago (2008-01-22) (current design) 31 July 1963; 61 years ago (1963-07-31) (original three-star design)
Design
A horizontaltricolour of red, white, and black, charged with thetakbīr in greenKufic script, centered on the white stripe.
Script variant, used commonly by the Iraqi Government directly following the official flag modification
Vertical
Since the1958 Iraqi coup d'état, the various republican governments ofIraq have used a number of different flags, all featuring thepan-Arab colors of green, black, white, and red. The current official and internationally recognizedflag of Iraq (علم العراق) was adopted in 2008 as a temporary compromise, and consists of the three equal horizontal red, white, and black stripes of theArab Liberation Flag, that was first used byGamal Abdel Nasser during theEgyptian Revolution, with thetakbīr written in green in theKufic script that was originally added bySaddam Hussein following theGulf War.
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 thetakbīr rendered in dark green and removes the three green stars present since 1963.[2] The flag was initially meant to be temporary but has remained the official flag long past originally intended.[3]
TheAbbasid Revolution against theUmayyad Caliphate adopted black for itsrāyaʾ for which their partisans were called themusawwids.[5] Their rivals chose other colours in reaction; among these, forces loyal toMarwan II adopted red.[6] The choice of black as the colour of the Abbasid Revolution was already motivated by the "black standards out of Khorasan" tradition associated with theMahdi. The contrast of white vs. black as the Fatimid vs. Abbasid dynastic colour over time developed in white as the colour of Shia Islam and black as the colour of Sunni Islam.[7] After the revolution, Islamic apocalyptic circles admitted that the Abbasid banners would be black but asserted that the Mahdi's standard would be black and larger.[8] Anti-Abbasid circles cursed "the black banners from the East", "first and last".[9]
Starting in 1534, the territory that is now Iraq was administered by the Ottoman Empire. In 1844, the Ottoman Empire had adopted anational flag as part of theTanzimat reforms, this flag was used in Iraq until the Arab Revolt, and inspired the flags of the modernIraqi Turkmen.
The first flag of modernIraq was inMandatory Iraq, and was adopted in 1921. It was ablack-white-green horizontal 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 redtrapezoid replacing the triangle containing two, seven-point white stars denoting theTigris River and theEuphrates River. Both designs also reflected the newly installedHashemite Dynasty in Iraq (originally from theHejaz in 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.[10][11] The new flag continued to be used in theKingdom of Iraq.
23 August 1921 – 10 July 1924 (ratio: 1:2), reused as Flag of the Arab Federation, of which Iraq was part, January 1, 1958 – December 31, 1958
In 1958, in response to the merger ofEgypt andSyria in theUnited Arab Republic, the two Hashemite kingdoms ofIraq andJordan established theArab Federation, a confederation of the two states. The flag of the union was essentially that ofJordan but without seven pointed star in the red chevron.[12] This flag is identical to theflag of Palestine adopted 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 1958 in July.
Iraq adopted a variation of the UAR's flag with a third star to represent Iraqi aspirations to join a new Arab Union
Pre-Invasion Flag (Flag of the Iraqi Republic)
National flag adopted in 1963, under the rule ofAbdul Salam Arif to represent a reformed United Arab Republic with Iraq as a member state, this flag was used as the exclusive national flag until being modified bySaddam Hussein in 1991, but remained in common use as a secular variant until 2008
Proportion
2:3
Adopted
1963; 62 years ago (1963) 2012; 13 years ago (2012) (bySunni opposition)
Relinquished
2008; 17 years ago (2008) (all variants)
Design
A horizontaltricolour of red, white, and black, charged with 3 equal stars, centered on the white stripe. (with thetakbīr on both sides on the second star in later variations)
Variant modified by the Ba'ath Party following theGulf War as part of theFaith Campaign. Following the war, this flag was used as a symbol of loyalist forces and later, as a symbol of Sunni opposition
Adopted
1991; 34 years ago (1991) 2012; 13 years ago (2012) (by Sunni opposition)
AfterQassim wasoverthrown by theBa'ath Party in 1963, the new government, led by the NasseristAbdul Salam Arif (under the influence of what would become theArab Socialist Union), adopted a modified version of theArab Liberation Flag as the new flag ofIraq on 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 theUAR broke up in 1961, hopes forArab unity persisted. As such, whereas theUAR flag had two green stars in the white band, signifying its two members (Egypt andSyria), the new Iraqi flag had three stars, symbolising the aspiration thatIraq would join withEgypt andSyria in a new union. Sharing this goal,Syria adopted the new Iraqi flag as its own later that same year. This remained theflag of Syria until 1971, when the green stars were replaced by theHawk of Quraish as 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 Party motto:wahda, hurriyah, ishtirakiyah (unity, freedom and socialism).
The 1963 and 1991 flags being flown by Iraqi Sunnis, alongside the 2008 flag during the 2012 Iraqi protests
On 13 January 1991, the flag was modified by Flag Law No. 6 of 1991. At the instigation of President Saddam Hussein, thetakbīr (the phraseAllahu akbar, meaning "God is the greatest" inArabic) was added in green between the stars. The form of thetakbīr was said to be Saddam's own handwriting.[16] 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 credentials in the period immediately preceding theGulf War. Despite this, the flag without the Takbir remained legal and remained in co-official use until 2004, most commonly as acivil ensign or in places where a less religiously sensitive flag was needed. It was also sometimes used by Iraqi opposition prior to the U.S. Invasion such as theIraqi National Accord, as the "true flag" of Iraq, viewing the new text added to the flag as an example of Saddam’s authorian tendencies by adding his personal imprint onto the national flag, which had been the most nationally and internationally recognized symbol of Iraq for decades. This use contrasts its post-2003 use as a symbol of loyalism towards Saddam and the Ba'athist government. The version without the Takbir was never officially used by the American administration.
The flag seen on a Propaganda stamp (1969)
As with other flags inscribed withArabic script, thehoist is to the right of the obverse (front) of the flag. Thehamza over thealif of “Allah” in the main variant seems to be a spelling error according to formalArabic grammar, but it is a common mistake found in many texts.[2]This flag remerged during the2012–2013 Iraqi protests as a symbol ofSunni Iraqi identity (mainly among ethnic Arab and Turkmen), and remains in use by SunniIraqi diaspora worldwide. The flag also remains in use by rebel groups such as theFree Iraqi Army, theNaqshbandi Army, theIslamic Front for the Iraqi Resistance, theSupreme Command for Jihad and Liberation and theAnbar Tribal Council, often swapping between the original 1963 and takbir versions of the flag. The stars of this flag still remain a recognizable symbol of Iraq, as seen in the logo of theIraqi Communist Party. Because of the associations between these movements and the flag, the flag is commonly retroactively known or perceived as being a Ba'athist flag, Saddamist flag or Sunni flag, despite being an inherently non-sectarian symbol with Nasserist origins that had widespread use long before the rule of Saddam Hussein.
The flag also continued to be used as the design of the Iraqi national flag on multiple emoji design sets including the OpenMoji project and onHuawei devices (both until 2024) and still remains the design of the flag on sites such asSteam, despite not being in official use for over a decade.
A mural with the flag alongside an image of Saddam Hussein, destroyed by theCoalition forces during the Iraq War (2007) 15 August 2004 – 22 January 2008 variant of the flag of Iraq with stylizedKufic script (ratio: 2:3)The Pre-Invasion flag being used byU.S. Air Force to represent Iraq after the invasion in 2006
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 existingflag was retained;[17] however, thetakbīr was rendered in traditional stylizedKufic script, as opposed to the handwriting ofSaddam Hussein.
The modified flag was unveiled at the ceremony marking the technical "handover" of power from theCoalition Provisional Authority occupation forces to the U.S.-appointed administration on 28 July 2004.[18]
Despite this measure, the Kurdish population still opposed the flag, as it contained the three stars associated with theBa'athist regime of Saddam Hussein, and thus, theatrocities that were committed upon the Kurds by the Ba'athists.[19] 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.[19]
22 January 2008[1] – present flag of Iraq (ratio: 2:3)Flag of Iraq being flown alongside theFlag of Kurdistan inErbil (2011)
On 22 January 2008,[1] theCouncil of Representatives of Iraq approved its new design for the national flag, confirmed by Law 9 of 2008 as the compromising temporary replacement for theBa'athist Saddam-era flag. In this current version, the three stars were removed, leaving only thetakbīr (which confused some Iraqis, as this was the part added to the flag directly by Saddam), with the two words of thetakbīr being brought closer together and rendered in bold, and corrected the previous spelling ofAllah (ألله toالله). 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 ofFallujah refused to fly the temporary flag that year unless instructed otherwise.[19] Theparliament intended 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.[20]
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".[21]
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 wordsʾAllāhu ʾakbar "الله اكبر" inKufic script coloured green is in the middle of the middle white rectangle. The ratio of flag is 2:3.
Following the military invasion of Iraq by theUnited States in 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. The simplicity of his design was inspired by the flags ofCanada andSwitzerland,[22] and it also shares elements (a crescent, stripes, a light blue shade) with the flag of his ethnic group, theIraqi Turkmen.
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'a clericMuqtada 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.
On 28 April 2004, IGC PresidentMasoud Barzani formally 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.
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.[23]
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.[24]
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.[25]
White flag charged with the emblem of the governorate. The emblem depicts the leaning minaret of theGreat Mosque of al-Nuri, Mosul surrounded by olive branches.
^"country flag".Directorate of Coordination and Protocol Presidency of the Council of Ministers Republic of Iraq. Government of Iraq. Archived fromthe original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved13 February 2022.
^Tabari (1995), Jane McAuliffe (ed.),Abbāsid Authority Affirmed, vol. 28, SUNY, p. 124
^Patricia Crone (2012).The Nativist Prophets of Early Islam. p. 122. As remembered in pro-Umayyad apocalyptic: p. 125}
^"The proselytes of the ʿAbbasid revolution took full advantage of the eschatological expectations raised by black banners in their campaign to undermine the Umayyad dynasty from within. Even after the ʿAbbasids had triumphed over the Umayyads in 750, they continued to deploy black as their dynastic colour; not only the banners but the headdresses and garments of the ʿAbbasid caliphs were black [...] The ubiquitous black created a striking contrast with the banners and dynastic color of the Umayyads, which had been white [...] The Ismaili Shiʿite counter-caliphate founded by the Fatimids took white as its dynastic color, creating a visual contrast to the ʿAbbasid enemy [...] white became the Shiʿite color, in deliberate opposition to the black of the ʿAbbasid 'establishment'." Jane Hathaway,A Tale of Two Factions: Myth, Memory, and Identity in Ottoman Egypt and Yemen, 2012,pp. 97f.
^Amatzia Baram, "Mesopotamian Identity in Ba'thi Iraq," Middle Eastern Studies, Oct. 1983, p. 427.
^Podeh, Elie; Pôde, Ēlî (2011-06-30).The Politics of National Celebrations in the Arab Middle East. Cambridge University Press. p. 144.ISBN9781107001084.
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