Flag of Iraq
Three horizontal stripes of red, white and black, with the words "Allahu Akbar" (God is the greatest) written in green in the white stripe.
At a glance
- Adopted
- January 22, 2008passed by parliament on 22 January 2008 as a temporary compromise, and still in use; the red-white-black stripes date from 1963
- Shape (height : width)
- 2:3
- Capital
- Baghdad
- Continent
- Asia
- Colours
- red
- white
- black
- green
What it means
- Red, white, black and green: the pan-Arab colours, said to be inspired by a line of a medieval poem by Safi al-Din al-Hilli
- Takbir (green writing): the Islamic phrase "God is the greatest"
Where it came from
The red, white and black stripes with green are the pan-Arab colours, shared by several Arab countries. Iraq took up this tricolour in 1963. Its stripes come from the Arab Liberation Flag of Egypt's 1952 revolution.
The green writing is the takbir. It is written in Kufic, an old style of Arabic calligraphy named after the city of Kufa in Iraq.
History
Under the kingdom (1921-1958) Iraq's flag had a red trapezoid with two white stars, standing for the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. From 1959 to 1963 it used a vertical black-white-green flag with a red star and a yellow circle.
From 1963 the tricolour had three green stars. In 1991 Saddam Hussein added the takbir, said to be in his own handwriting. In 2004 the writing was changed to Kufic script, and in 2008 parliament removed the three stars, which many Kurds linked to violence against them. A blue-and-white design proposed in 2004 was dropped after a public outcry.
Fun facts
- Arabic is written right to left, so the front of the flag is meant to be seen with the flagpole on the viewer's right.
- The 2008 flag was meant to last only one year, but it is still used today.
- The 2008 version also fixed the spelling of the word Allah.
- About 50 designs were sent in when parliament looked for a new flag in 2008.
Easy to mix up with
Egypt
Syria
YemenQuestions
What does the flag of Iraq look like?
Three horizontal stripes of red, white and black, with the words "Allahu Akbar" (God is the greatest) written in green in the white stripe.
What do the colours and symbols on the flag of Iraq mean?
Red, white, black and green: the pan-Arab colours, said to be inspired by a line of a medieval poem by Safi al-Din al-Hilli; Takbir (green writing): the Islamic phrase "God is the greatest".
When was the flag of Iraq adopted?
The current flag of Iraq was adopted on January 22, 2008. (passed by parliament on 22 January 2008 as a temporary compromise, and still in use; the red-white-black stripes date from 1963)
What colours are on the flag of Iraq?
The flag of Iraq uses red, white, black and green.
Which flag is easy to mix up with the flag of Iraq?
It is easy to mix up with the flag of Egypt. Egypt has the same stripes with a golden eagle in the middle
Famous landmarks in Iraq
🎯 Play the flag quiz 🌍 Play the globe
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org
- crwflags.com
- Flag picture: flagcdn.com (Wikimedia Commons)