The national flag of

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and a ...

( ar, علم البحرين, ʿalam al-Baḥrayn) consists of a white band on the left, separated from a red area on the right by five triangles that serve as a serrated line. The five white triangles symbolize the

five pillars of Islam The Five Pillars of Islam (' ; also ' "pillars of the religion") are fundamental practices in Islam, considered to be obligatory acts of worship for all Muslims. They are summarized in the famous hadith of Gabriel. The Sunni and Shia agree o ...

. It is sometimes mistaken for the

flag of Qatar The national flag of Qatar ( ar, علم قطر) is in the ratio of 11:28. It is maroon with a broad white serrated band (nine white points) on the hoist side. It was adopted shortly before the country declared independence from Britain on 3 Sept ...

, but said flag is maroon, has 9 points and normally has a much greater length-to-width ratio.

Design

The white colour comprises (32.5%) of the flag area, while the red colour comprises (67.5%) of the area.

Colour

The colour specification is red: Pantone 186 c / CMYK (%) C 0 – M 90 – Y 80 – K 5

Construction Sheet

Use

The flag is used on land and at sea as a national, civil and war ensign. In 2002, the King of Bahrain

Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa Hamad bin Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa ( ar, حمد بن عيسى بن سلمان آل خليفة '; 28 January 1950) is King of Bahrain since 14 February 2002, after ruling as Emir of Bahrain from 6 March 1999. He is the son of Isa bin Salm ...

, issued Decree by Law No.(4) for 2002, which pertained to the flag: *Article I: The Flag of the Kingdom of Bahrain shall take a rectangular shape, and shall be divided into two main sections; the first in red, and the other in white color. *Article II: The King shall have his own flag, for which a royal order shall be issued to determine its shape, measures, and places. *Article III: The Flag of the Kingdom of Bahrain shall be hoisted on the Royal Court, Palaces, governmental buildings, public establishments, embassies, Bahraini bureaus abroad, and Bahraini ships. *Article IV: Each non-Bahraini ship entering the territorial waters of the Kingdom of Bahrain shall hoist the Flag of the Kingdom, and shall keep the flag hoisted till it departs from the territorial waters of the Kingdom. *Article V: The Flag shall be hoisted on governmental buildings, public institutions during public holidays and occasions from sun-rise to sun-set. *Article VI: The Flag of the Kingdom of Bahrain shall not be hoisted on vehicles, except on the official protocol vehicles. *Article VII: The Flag of the Kingdom of Bahrain shall be hoisted half mast at the state of mourning. *Article VIII: The Flag of the Kingdom of Bahrain shall not be used for commercial purposes. *Article IX: In case the Flag is used otherwise, and not as stipulated in the above law, a punishment of one month of imprisonment as a maximum, or a fine not exceeding than BD 100, or both shall be inflicted.

Other flags

File:Royal Standard of Bahrain.svg, Royal Standard File:Flag of the Bahrain Defence Force.svg, Flag of the Bahrain Defence Force File:Flag of the Royal Bahrain Naval Force.svg, Flag of the Bahrain Navy File:Flag of the Royal Bahraini Air Force.svg, Flag of the Bahrain Air Force File:Flag of the Royal Bahraini Army.svg, Flag of the Bahrain Army File:Flag of the Royal Guard of Bahrain.svg, Flag of the Royal Guard of Bahrain File:Flag of the Bahrain Defence Force Royal Medical Services.svg, Flag of the Bahrain Defence Force Royal Medical Services File:Flag of the National Guard of Bahrain.svg, Flag of the National Guard of Bahrain

Flags of Governorates

File:Bahrain Capital Governorate Flag.svg,

Capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...

File:Bahrain Muharraq Governorate Flag.svg,

Muharraq Muharraq ( ar, المحرق, al-Muḥarraq) is Bahrain's third largest city and served as its capital until 1932 when it was replaced by Manama. The population of Muharraq in 2012 was 176,583. The city is located on Muharraq Island. Bahrain Int ...

File:Bahrain Southern Governorate Flag.svg,

Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

File:Northern Governorate Logo.jpg,

Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a r ...

Former Governorates

File:Central_Governorate_Logo.jpg,

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

History

The earliest known flags of Bahrain were plain red. In 1820, Bahrain signed a general maritime treaty with the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

, and as result, a white stripe was added to the flag to signify the treaty and to distinguish it from the flags commonly used by

pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

. In 1932, a serrated edge was added to the flag in order to differentiate it from those of its neighbours. The flag originally had twenty-eight white points, but this was reduced to eight in 1972. On 14 February 2002, the number was again reduced, to five, so that each of the points could stand for one of the

Five Pillars of Islam The Five Pillars of Islam (' ; also ' "pillars of the religion") are fundamental practices in Islam, considered to be obligatory acts of worship for all Muslims. They are summarized in the famous hadith of Gabriel. The Sunni and Shia agree o ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bahrain, Flag of Barhrain National symbols of Bahrain National flags Red and white flags