jihadist flag
{{Short description|Flag used by various Islamist Groups}}{{Disputed|date=September 2022}}File:Flag of Jihad.svg on a black background]]The jihadist flag is a flag commonly used by various Islamist and Islamic fundamentalist movements as a symbol of jihad. It usually consists of the Black Standard with a white text of the Shahada (Islamic declaration of faith) emblazoned across it in Arabic calligraphy. Its usage is asserted to be adopted by Islamist groups and jihadists during the 1990s and early 2000s.{{Cite web |last1=Hamid |first1=Shadi |last2=Dar |first2=Rashid |date=July 15, 2016 |title=Islamism, Salafism, and jihadism: A primer |url=https://www.brookings.edu/blog/markaz/2016/07/15/islamism-salafism-and-jihadism-a-primer/ |access-date=2022-09-10 |website=Brookings |language=en-US}}{{Cite magazine |last=Prusher |first=Ilene |date=2014-09-09 |title=What the ISIS Flag Says About the Militant Group |url=https://time.com/3311665/isis-flag-iraq-syria/ |url-access=registration |access-date=2022-09-10 |magazine=Time |language=en}} Organizations who use jihadist flags include al-Qaeda, al-Shabaab, the Taliban, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the al-Qassam Brigades and Jemaah Islamiyah.{{cite journal |last=Andre |first=Virginie |year=2012 |title='Neojihadism' and YouTube: Patani Militant Propaganda Dissemination and Radicalization |journal=Asian Security |publisher=Informa UK Limited |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=27–53 |doi=10.1080/14799855.2012.669207 |issn=1479-9855 |s2cid=58924566 |hdl-access=free |hdl=10536/DRO/DU:30064350}}
''Muqwaki'' seal variant{{anchor|ISIS_variant}}
File:AQMI Flag asymmetric.svg"{{cite web | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-flag-what-do-the-words-mean-and-what-are-its-origins-10369601.html | title=What the words on Isis' flag mean | website=Independent.co.uk | date=6 July 2015 }} design. Ratio: 3:4. Used in their beheading videos; banned in a number of states around the world, such as Germany]]
The variant used by the Islamic State, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Islamic State of Iraq, and al-Shabaab depicts the Muqwaki variant of the alleged seal of Muhammad,The SITE (Search for International Terrorist Entities) website on 23 January 2007 stated:
"The Islamic State of Iraq issued a document titled: 'The Legality of the Flag in Islam,' which contains the image of its flag and information to its symbolism, today, Tuesday, January 23, 2007. Text on the flag reading, 'No God, but Allah, and Muhammad is Allah's Messenger,' are the words contained on the flag of the Prophet Muhammad that he carried into battle and handed to generations of bearers. The Islamic State provides evidence and legitimacy for this banner from Islamic scholars, and goes into detail regarding opinions of the flag's material, title, and significance. According to the group the circular shape matches the ring stamp of the Prophet found on many scripts, and the order of the words are to indicate the supremacy of Allah over the Messenger." Cited by Ivan Sache at Flags of the World on 18 February 2007.[http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/iq%7Disi.html]
which some scholars consider to be an anachronistic forgery.{{Cite web |last=Shamsy |first=Ahmed El |author-link=Ahmed El Shamsy |date=2021-10-28 |title=The Hoax in the ISIS Flag |url=https://newlinesmag.com/essays/the-hoax-in-the-isis-flag/ |access-date=2025-01-01 |website=New Lines Magazine |language=en}}
= Legality =
In August 2014, British Prime Minister David Cameron suggested that anybody displaying "the Islamic State flag" in the United Kingdom should be arrested.{{cite news|title=Iraq crisis: Cameron warns of possible IS threat to UK|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-28823281|access-date=17 August 2014|work=BBC News|date=16 August 2014}} Citing the Terrorism Act 2000, section 13 (1b) of the act states "[a] person in a public place commits an offence if he wears, carries or displays an article in such a way or in such circumstances as to arouse reasonable suspicion that he is a member or supporter of a proscribed organisation" and can face six months in prison or a statutory fine.{{Cite web|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/11/section/13|title=Terrorism Act 2000|website=legislation.gov.uk|date=20 July 2000}}
It has also been banned from public demonstration in the Netherlands since August 2014.{{cite news|last1=Cluskey|first1=Peter|title=Dutch ban display of Isis flag in advance Amsterdam march|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/dutch-ban-display-of-isis-flag-in-advance-amsterdam-march-1.1885354|access-date=19 November 2014|work=Irish Times|date=2 August 2014}}
The use of the image of the Seal of Muhammad Jihadist Flag "ISIS flag" (but not other versions of the Black Standard) for non-educational purposes has been forbidden in Germany by the Federal Ministry of the Interior since September 2014.{{cite news|last1=Eddy|first1=Melissa|title=Germany Bans Support for ISIS|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/13/world/europe/germany-bans-support-of-isis.html?_r=0|access-date=19 November 2014|work=The New York Times|date=12 September 2014}}{{cite web |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/236740.pdf |title=Germany 2014 human rights report - US Department of State |author= |date=2014 |page=11 |website=state.gov |publisher=United States Department of State |access-date=September 11, 2018 |quote=On September 12 (2014), the Federal Interior Ministry banned any activities of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), including recruitment, fundraising, and the use of the group's symbols under the name "Islamic State" (German: Islamischer Staat), such as the black flag bearing ISIL's name. }} Neighbouring Austria proposed a ban in the same month.{{cite news|title=Austria bans Isis terror symbols|url=http://www.thelocal.at/20140912/austria-bans-isis-terror-symbols|access-date=19 November 2014|work=The Local|date=12 September 2014}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category|Jihadist flags}}
- [http://www.qassimy.com/vb/showthread.php?p=8271045 Collection of imagery of black flags used in Islamic extremism]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20100729114331/http://ctc.usma.edu/imagery/imagery_warfare.asp#blackflag The Black Flag (al-raya)] at [https://web.archive.org/web/20110413143951/http://ctc.usma.edu/imagery/imagery.asp The Islamic Imagery Project], [https://web.archive.org/web/20110430004821/http://www.ctc.usma.edu/default.asp The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20111008222438/http://www.makingsenseofjihad.com/2009/02/the-semiotics-of-a-black-flag.html The Semiotics of a Black Flag] (makingsenseofjihad.com)
- Usama Hasan, [https://unity1.wordpress.com/2014/09/01/the-black-flags-of-khurasan/ The Black Flags of Khurasan] (unity1.wordpress.com)
{{Islam topics}}
{{Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant}}