A number of flags have been used to represent the cultural and geographical region of

East Turkestan East Turkestan or East Turkistan (, : , : ), is a loosely-defined geographical region in the northwestern part of the People's Republic of China, on the cross roads of East and Central Asia. The term was coined in the 19th century by Russi ...

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

, particularly by states that broke away from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

during rebellions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Nearly all the flags feature a

star and crescent The conjoined representation of a star and a crescent is used in various historical contexts, including as a prominent symbol of the Ottoman Empire, and in contemporary times, as a national symbol by some countries, and by some Muslims as a sym ...

, a symbol of the region's Turkic and

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

ic identity. The most well-known flag is the Kök Bayraq (), introduced by the government of the short-lived

First East Turkestan Republic The Turkic Islamic Republic of East Turkestan (TIRET) was a breakaway state centered on the city of Kashgar, located in the far west of China's Xinjiang Province, Republic of China, Xinjiang Province. It is often described as the First East T ...

(1933–1934). It is a blue field charged with a white star and crescent slightly left-of-centre. It is identical to the

flag of Turkey The national flag of Turkey, officially the Turkish flag (), is a red flag featuring a white crescent and star on its emblem, based on the 18th-century Ottoman Empire flag. The flag is often called "the red flag" (), and is referred to as "the ...

, albeit with a blue background instead of red. The Kök Bayraq remains a prominent symbol of the

East Turkestan independence movement The East Turkestan independence movement is a political movement that seeks the independence of East Turkestan, a large and sparsely populated region in northwest China, as a nation state for the Uyghur people. The region is currently admini ...

and the

Uyghur Uyghur may refer to: * Uyghurs, a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia (West China) ** Uyghur language, a Turkic language spoken primarily by the Uyghurs *** Old Uyghur language, a different Turkic language spoken in the Uyghur K ...

diaspora. The

Second East Turkestan Republic The East Turkestan Republic (ETR) was a satellite state of the Soviet Union in northern Xinjiang (East Turkestan) that existed from 1944 to 1946. It is often described as the Second East Turkestan Republic to differentiate it from the First E ...

(1944–1946) introduced a similar star-and-crescent flag but with a green background, as well as a white flag with the ''

Shahada The ''Shahada'' ( ; , 'the testimony'), also transliterated as ''Shahadah'', is an Islamic oath and creed, and one of the Five Pillars of Islam and part of the Adhan. It reads: "I bear witness that there is no Ilah, god but God in Islam, God ...

'' written in gold. The Kök Bayraq is banned in China by the government's anti-separatism laws.

History

Kashgaria (Yettishar)

The breakaway state of Kashgaria (Yettishar) flew the

flag of the Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire used various flags and naval ensigns during its history. The crescent and star came into use in the second half of the 18th century. A ' (decree) from 1793 required that the ships of the Ottoman Navy were to use a red flag with ...

from 1873 to 1877. A large Muslim revolt against

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

rule erupted in East Turkestan in 1862. The Kokandi military leader

Yakub Beg Yakub Beg, Yakub Bey, or Ya'qub Beg may refer to: People * Yakub I of Germiyan (died c. 1340), bey of Germiyan * Yakub II (died 1429), bey of Germiyan * Yakup Bey Muzaka (died 1442), Ottoman sanjak-bey of Albania * Yaqub (Aq Qoyunlu) (died 1490 ...

conquered several

oases In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment emirate An emirate is a territory ruled by an emir, a title used by monarchs or high officeholders in the Muslim world. From a historical point of view, an emirate is a political-religious unit smaller than a caliphate. It can be considered equivalent ...

centered around

Kashgar Kashgar () or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is a city in the Tarim Basin region of southern Xinjiang, China. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, located near the country's border with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. For over 2,000 years, Kashgar ...

in 1864. Seyyid Yaqub Khan Töre, an official Kokandi envoy, made four trips to

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

from 1865 to 1875 to request Ottoman support for Yakub Beg. By the time of his last trip in April 1875, the Ottoman flag had already been flying over Kashgar for two years. In August 1875, the

Ottoman sultan The sultans of the Ottoman Empire (), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to Dissolution of the Ottoman Em ...

bestowed upon Yakub the title of

emir Emir (; ' (), also Romanization of Arabic, transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic language, Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocratic, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person po ...

and the (the sultan's holy flag), and sent military advisors and weapons to assist Yakub Beg's army. An expeditionary army sent by the Qing reconquered the area after Yakub Beg's sudden passing in 1877. Töre petitioned the Ottoman sultan to persuade the Qing emperor to withdraw his forces from Kashgaria, citing Kashgar's raising of the Ottoman flag as evidence of Ottoman sovereignty over the area. Töre's request was ignored.

First East Turkestan Republic

The Kök Bayraq was adopted as the flag of the

, officially the Turkic Islamic Republic of East Turkestan, upon its proclamation of independence on 12 November 1933. Pan-Turkic and

pan-Islamic Pan-Islamism () is a political movement which advocates the unity of Muslims under one Islamic country or state – often a caliphate – or an international organization with Islamic principles. Historically, after Ottomanism, which aimed at ...

sentiments among the Turkic population of East Turkestan culminated in local resistance against Chinese rule and the foundation of the republic in

Khotan Hotan (also known by #Etymology, other names) is a major oasis town in southwestern Xinjiang, an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region in Northwestern China. The city proper of Hotan broke off from the larger Hotan County to become an ...

. A government with a constitution and legislature was established, with the Kök Bayraq specifically defined in the former. The design of a blue field with a white star and crescent, nearly identical to the Turkish flag, was meant to symbolise the republic's cultural and political ties to

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. While the Turkish public expressed enthusiasm at the republic's founding, the Turkish foreign ministry exercised caution. The Turkish foreign minister acknowledged Turkey's "feelings for a people which speaks her language" and reasserted the right of every nation to

self-determination Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...

, but immediately denied any connection to the republic. Soviet Union, Soviet diplomatic pressure kept Turkish political influence out of Central Asia in general, and the republic collapsed with the capture of Kashgar by the Hui people, Hui Muslim forces of the Ma clique on 6 February 1934.

Second East Turkestan Republic

On 7 November 1944, uprisings against Chinese rule erupted in the three northern districts of Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Ili, Tacheng, Tarbagatay, and Altay Prefecture, Altay. Five days later, the

(officially just the East Turkestan Republic or ETR) was proclaimed in Yining, Ghulja (Yining). The new state was covertly supported by the Soviet Union, but its leadership was dominated by religious conservatives who saw it as a restoration of the First East Turkestan Republic. A green flag charged with a star and crescent was adopted as the national flag of the ETR, with the green symbolising Islam. Seypidin Azizi, a member of the ETR government who would later become the first chairman of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, described an additional flag in his biographical work ''The Eagle of Tian ShanThe Life of Abdulkerim Abbas''. In it, he describes a meeting he had with other Uyghur political leaders the day after the ETR's founding. He was the first to speak, expressing his confusion at the sudden turn of events in Ghulja: "Early this morning, many flags appeared on the street. One was a green field with a white star and crescent, and the other was a white field with Shahada, 'There is no god but God; Muhammad is the messenger of God', written with gold powder. What is going on?" The exact designs and dimensions of the flags are not described by Azizi in his work.

Contemporary usage

The Kök Bayraq is frequently used by supporters of the

, Uyghur nationalism, Uyghur nationalists, and Turkic diaspora communities to represent East Turkestan or the Uyghur people in particular. The East Turkistan Government in Exile, East Turkestan Government in Exile claims the Kök Bayraq as its national flag in its constitution. Displaying the Kök Bayraq is illegal in China under the country's anti-separatism laws. The Kök Bayraq was previously banned in Turkey as well during the tenure of prime minister Mesut Yılmaz. The flag has also been flown at numerous anti-Chinese government protests, including demonstrations held in

, Washington D.C., New York City, Hong Kong, and Taipei.Istanbul: , Washington D.C.: , New York City: , Hong Kong: , Taipei: . On 22 December 2019, Hong Kong Pro-democracy camp (Hong Kong), pro-democracy protesters held a rally in solidarity with East Turkestan independence supporters, amid 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, wider anti-government protests. Many demonstrators waved the Kök Bayraq or wore face masks with the flag on it. The Kök Bayraq was banned in Hong Kong with the introduction of the 2020 Hong Kong national security law, 2020 national security law, which prohibits all symbols of separatism from China. During the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Turkish ski jumper Fatih Arda İpcioğlu competed with light-blue skis featuring a star and crescent. Uyghur activists praised İpcioğlu, believing his skis deliberately depicted the Kök Bayraq. However, İpcioğlu later declined interview questions about the Kök Bayraq, insisting that his skis were meant to depict the Turkish flag and that he was merely a sportsman. The Turkish National Olympic Committee echoed İpcioğlu's statements, commenting to Reuters: "This was not a political statement. As you may know, the official Turkish flag includes a white crescent and a star on it."

Construction of the Kök Bayraq

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:East Turkestan, Flag of East Turkestan independence movement, Flag Flags introduced in 1933 Flags of China Flags of indigenous peoples, Uyghurs Obsolete national flags