The flag of Morocco ( ar, علم المغرب) is the flag used by the government of

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...

which served as the national flag of Morocco since 17 November 1915. It is a red field with a green star in the center. The green star represents 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 ...

and the red represents the blood of the ancestors and unity. Red has considerable historic significance in

, proclaiming the descent from royal 'Alawid dynasty. This ruling house was associated with the Islamic

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the ...

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mon ...

via

Fatimah Fāṭima bint Muḥammad ( ar, فَاطِمَة ٱبْنَت مُحَمَّد}, 605/15–632 CE), commonly known as Fāṭima al-Zahrāʾ (), was the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his wife Khadija. Fatima's husband was Ali, ...

, the wife of Ali, the fourth Muslim

Caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

. Red is also the color that was used by the

sharifs of Mecca The Sharif of Mecca ( ar, شريف مكة, Sharīf Makkah) or Hejaz ( ar, شريف الحجاز, Sharīf al-Ḥijāz, links=no) was the title of the leader of the Sharifate of Mecca, traditional steward of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina and ...

and the

imams of Yemen The Imams of Yemen, later also titled the Kings of Yemen, were religiously consecrated leaders belonging to the Zaidiyyah branch of Shia Islam. They established a blend of religious and temporal-political rule in parts of Yemen from 897. Their i ...

. From the 17th century on, Morocco is ruled by the 'Alawid dynasty, and the flags of the country were plain red at first. On 17 November 1915, Sultan

Yusef Yusuf ibn Ya'qub ibn Ishaq ibn Ibrahim ( ar, يوسف ٱبن يعقوب ٱبن إسحاق ٱبن إبراهيم, Yūsuf ibn Yaʿqūb ibn ʾIsḥāq ibn ʾIbrāhīm, ) is a prophet mentioned in the Quran, and corresponds to Joseph, a perso ...

signed a dhahir that made Morocco's flag red with a green interlaced pentangle. While Morocco was under French and Spanish control, the red flag with the seal in the center remained in use, but only inland. Its use at sea was prohibited. When independence was restored in 1955, it once again became the national flag. The pentagram represents the

seal of Solomon The Seal of Solomon or Ring of Solomon ( he, חותם שלמה, '; ar, خاتم سليمان, ') is the legendary signet ring attributed to the Israelite king Solomon in medieval mystical traditions, from which it developed in parallel within ...

, an Islamic symbol. The five branches also represent the pillars of Islam.

Design

The colors approximation is listed below:

Construction Sheet

History

In the 17th century when Morocco got under the authority of the 'Alawid dynasty (current ruling dynasty), its flag was solid red at first. The Sharifs of Makkah used this shade as a reference colour. Flag of Morocco HV

On May 8, 2010, a Moroccan flag with a size of , weighing , was set in Dakhla, a city in the disputed territory of

Western Sahara Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the ...

. It was certified by the ''Guinness Book of World Records'' as the largest flag ever draped.

Historical national flags

File:Flag of Morocco (780 1070) (1258 1659).svg, Flag of Morocco during the

Idrisid dynasty The Idrisid dynasty or Idrisids ( ar, الأدارسة ') were an Arab Muslim dynasty from 788 to 974, ruling most of present-day Morocco and parts of present-day western Algeria. Named after the founder, Idris I, the Idrisids were an Alid an ...

(788–974) File:Flag of Morocco 1073 1147.svg, Flag of Morocco during the

Almoravid dynasty The Almoravid dynasty ( ar, المرابطون, translit=Al-Murābiṭūn, lit=those from the ribats) was an imperial Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire in the 11th century tha ...

(1040–1147) File:Flag of Morocco (1147-1269).svg, Flag of Morocco during the

Almohad dynasty The Almohad Caliphate (; ar, خِلَافَةُ ٱلْمُوَحِّدِينَ or or from ar, ٱلْمُوَحِّدُونَ, translit=al-Muwaḥḥidūn, lit=those who profess the unity of God) was a North African Berber Muslim empire fou ...

(1121–1269) File:Flag of Morocco (1258-1659).svg, Flag of Morocco during the

Marinid The Marinid Sultanate was a Berber Muslim empire from the mid-13th to the 15th century which controlled present-day Morocco and, intermittently, other parts of North Africa (Algeria and Tunisia) and of the southern Iberian Peninsula (Spain) ar ...

Wattasid The Wattasid dynasty ( ber, Iweṭṭasen; ar, الوطاسيون, ''al-waṭṭāsīyūn'') was a ruling dynasty of Morocco. Like the Marinid dynasty, its rulers were of Zenata Berber descent. The two families were related, and the Marinids ...

, and

Saadian The Saadi Sultanate (also rendered in English as Sa'di, Sa'did, Sa'dian, or Saadian; ar, السعديون, translit=as-saʿdiyyūn) was a state which ruled present-day Morocco and parts of West Africa in the 16th and 17th centuries. It was l ...

dynasties (1258–1659) File:Flag of Morocco (1666–1915).svg, Flag of Morocco during the 'Alawid dynasty (1666–1915) File:Flag of Morocco hexagram.svg, Flag of Morocco of 1915

Other historical flags

File:Flag of Morocco (1666–1915) variant.svg, Variant flag of Morocco during the 'Alawid dynasty (1666–1915) File:Flag of the Republic of the Rif.svg, Flag of

Republic of the Rif The Republic of the Rif ( Tarifit: ''Tagduda n Arrif'', ''Jumhūriyya ar-Rīf''), unofficially The Confederal Republic of the Tribes of the Rif, also recorded as the Riff, was a short-lived republic in northern Morocco that existed between 19 ...

(1921–1926) File:Merchant flag of French Morocco.svg, Merchant flag of the

French protectorate in Morocco The French protectorate in Morocco (french: Protectorat français au Maroc; ar, الحماية الفرنسية في المغرب), also known as French Morocco, was the period of French colonial rule in Morocco between 1912 to 1956. The prote ...

(1919–1956) File:Merchant flag of Spanish Morocco.svg, Merchant flag of the

Spanish protectorate in Morocco The Spanish protectorate in Morocco ; es, Protectorado español de Marruecos, links=no, was established on 27 November 1912 by a treaty between France and Spain that converted the Spanish sphere of influence in Morocco into a formal prote ...

(1937–1956) File:Flag of International Tangier.svg, Merchant flag of the

Tangier International Zone The Tangier International Zone ( ''Minṭaqat Ṭanja ad-Dawliyya'', , es, Zona Internacional de Tánger) was a international zone centered on the city of Tangier, Morocco, which existed from 1924 until its reintegration into independent Moroc ...

(1953–1957)Flags of the world: International Zone of Tangiers
/ref>

Other national flags

File:Civil Ensign of Morocco.svg, Civil Ensign File:Naval Ensign of Morocco.svg, Naval Ensign File:Naval Jack of Morocco.svg, Naval Jack File:Royal standard of Morocco.svg, Royal Standard File:Royal Flag of Morocco.svg, Royal Flag File:Flag of Morocco (large stroke).svg, (Detailed Pentagram) File:Flag of Morocco unbordered.svg, (Large Pentagram, unbordered)

References

External links

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Morocco Historical Flags
FOTW {{Africa topic, Flag of, title=

Flags of Africa These are the various flags of Africa. Supranational and international flags An incomplete list of flags representing intra-African international and supranational organisations, which omits intercontinental organisations such as the United Nati ...

National symbols of Morocco Flags of Morocco