The
Pan-Arab colors are
redRed is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked human eye...
,
blackBlack is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...
,
white White is a color, the perception which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...
, and
greenGreen is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered...
and have their origins in the
flag of the Arab RevoltThe Flag of the Arab Revolt was a flag used by Arab nationalists during the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire in World War I.-History:The flag was designed by the British diplomat Sir Mark Sykes, in an effort to create a feeling of "Arab-ness" in order to fuel the revolt...
. The first three colors are featured in the flags of
EgyptThe flag of Egypt in its current form was adopted on October 4, 1984. It depicts Egypt's national emblem, the Eagle of Saladin centered in the white bandof the three equal horizontal bands of red , white, and black.- The Flag of Egypt :The flag of Egypt in its...
and
YemenThe national flag of Yemen was adopted on May 22, 1990, the same day that North Yemen and South Yemen unified. The pattern of red, white and black stripes was also present on the flags of North and South Yemen, symbolizing Pan-Arabism, as are the flags of Egypt, Syria, Iraq among others.According...
; together with green they are also on the flags of
IraqThe flag of Iraq has had a number of different designs since the Kingdom of Iraq was established in 1921. The current flag was adopted in 2008 for a year and is intended to be an interim measure until a permanent solution to the flag issue is found...
,
JordanThe flag of Jordan is based on the flag of the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire during World War I.The flag is black,white and green that are all connected by a red triangle.The colors stand for the Abbasid, Umayyad and Fatimid Caliphates. The red triangle is for the Hashemite dynasty and...
,
KuwaitThe flag of Kuwait was adopted on September 7, 1961 and officially hoisted November 24, 1961.Before 1961, the flag of Kuwait, like those of other Gulf states, was red and white. The present flag is in the Pan-Arab colours, but each colour is also significant in its own right. Black represents the...
,
PalestineThe Palestinian flag is based on the Flag of the Arab Revolt, currently used to represent the Palestinian people and the State of Palestine, and adopted by the Palestinian Authority.The origins of the flag are the subject of dispute and mythology...
,
SomalilandThe current flag of Somaliland was introduced on October 14, 1996, when it was approved by the National Conference. Having established its own local government in Somalia in 1991, the region's self-declared independence remains unrecognized by any country or international organization.The flag in...
,
SudanThe flag of Sudan was adopted on May 20, 1970, and consists of a red-white-black tricolor with a green triangle next to the hoist. Prior to the 1969 military coup of Gaafar Nimeiry, a blue-yellow-green tricolor design was used...
,
SyriaThe current flag of Syria was re-adopted in 1980. It is also the flag of the former United Arab Republic.-History:The first flag to be used by the Syrians, in 1920, was the current flag of Jordan with the green and white colors reversed. The colors and design were taken from the Pan-Arab flag and...
, the
United Arab EmiratesThe flag of the United Arab Emirates was adopted on December 2, 1971.It contains the Pan-Arab colors red, green, white and black, which symbolize Arabian unity...
, and Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.
It is believed that each color of the 4 Pan-Arab Colors represent a certain Arab Dynasty or era: the Black was the color of the flag of the Islamic prophet
MuhammadMuhammad ibn ‘Abdullāh , is the founder of the religion of Islam [ إِسْلامْ ] and is regarded by Muslims as a messenger and prophet of , the last and the greatest law-bearer in a series of Islamic prophets as taught by the...
and of the
AbbasidThe Abbasid Caliphate was the third of the Islamic Caliphates of the Islamic Empire. It was ruled by the Abbasid dynasty of caliphs, who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphs from all but Al Andalus....
caliphate, while white was taken by the
UmayyadThe Umayyad Caliphate was the second of the four Islamic caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. It was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, whose name derives from Umayya ibn Abd Shams, the great-grandfather of the first Umayyad caliph. Although the Umayyad family originally came from the...
s to be their Symbol, as a reminder of the
Battle of BadrThe Battle of Badr , fought March 17, 624 AD Hejaz region of western Arabia , was a key battle in the early days of Islam and a turning point in Muhammad's struggle with his opponents among the Quraish in Mecca...
, Green was taken by the Fatimids to symbolize their support to Ali Bin Abi Talib, while red was the flag held by the Khawarij, and then became the symbol of rulers in
North AfricaNorth Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa.Geopolitically, the UN definition of Northern Africa includes the following seven countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia,Mauritania, and...
and
Al-AndalusAl-Andalus was the Arabic name given to the parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Arab and North African Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492....
.
Other Arab countries, while not using all of the Pan-Arab colors, do use some of them in other combinations:
AlgeriaThe national flag of Algeria consists of two equal vertical bars, green and white, charged in the center with a red star and crescent...
and
LebanonThe flag of Lebanon is formed of two horizontal red stripes enveloping a horizontal white stripe. The white stripe is to be two times a red one —a Spanish fess...
, for example, use green, white and red, and no black.
See also
- Tricolour
A tricolour or tricolor is a flag or banner more-or-less equally divided into three bands of differing colors...
- Pan-Slavic colors
- Pan-Iranian colors
The Pan-Iranian colors, green, white and red, are colors used on the flags of some countries and autonomous provinces inhabited by Iranian peoples...
- Pan-African colors
Two different sets of three colours are referred to as the Pan-African colours: the green, gold, and red first used in the flag of Ethiopia; and the red, black, and green adopted by the American-based Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League...
- Gallery of flags by design
-Solid:Three examples:-Bicolour:Examples:-Tricolour and other tribands:Examples:-Quartered:-Stripes:Four examples:-Border:Four examples:-Canton:-Circle or sphere:Four examples:...
External links