The flag of Morocco () is the flag used by the

government of Morocco The Cabinet of Morocco is the chief executive body of the Kingdom of Morocco. The Cabinet is composed of some 24 ministers including 5 "Minister Delegates". It is headed by the Prime Minister since August 2011, who is appointed by the King of Moro ...

and has served as the national flag of

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

since 17 November 1915. It has a red field with a green

pentagram A pentagram (sometimes known as a pentalpha, pentangle, or star pentagon) is a regular five-pointed star polygon, formed from the diagonal line segments of a convex (or simple, or non-self-intersecting) regular pentagon. Drawing a circle around ...

in the centre. The green star represents the five pillars of Islam, and the red represents the blood of the ancestors and unity. Red has considerable historic significance in Morocco by virtue of its association with the

Alawi dynasty The Alawi dynasty () – also rendered in English as Alaouite, Alawid, or Alawite – is the current Moroccan royal family and reigning dynasty. They are an Arab Sharifian dynasty and claim descent from the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his ...

, which used a red field as its flag. The 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 divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

via

Fatima Fatima bint Muhammad (; 605/15–632 CE), commonly known as Fatima al-Zahra' (), was the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his wife Khadija. Fatima's husband was Ali, the fourth of the Rashidun caliphs and the first Shia imam. ...

, the wife of

Ali Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until his assassination in 661, as well as the first Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Born to Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib an ...

, the fourth Muslim

Caliph A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

. Red is also the color that was used by the

sharifs of Mecca The Sharif of Mecca () was the title of the leader of the Sharifate of Mecca, traditional steward of the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina. The term ''sharif'' is Arabic for "noble", "highborn", and is used to describe the descendants of ...

and the

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

. On 17 November 1915, Sultan Yusef signed a dahir introducing the current flag design. While Morocco was under French and Spanish control, the red flag with the pentagram remained in use but only inland since its use at sea was prohibited. When independence was restored in 1955, it once again became the national flag.

Design

The legal definition of the flag specifies that the colours are bright red and palm green. No more precise colour specifications are known to be published. The RGB colours used in the illustration on the kingdom's website are listed below, along with rough CMYK and Pantone equivalents for printing.

Construction sheet

Variants

File:Flag of Morocco.svg, Non-interlaced pentagram File:Flag of Morocco unbordered.svg, Thicker non-interlaced pentagram File:Flag of Morocco (large stroke).svg, Interlaced pentagram File:Flag of Morocco 1slash6.svg, 1/6 circle interlaced pentagram

History

In the 17th century, when Morocco became ruled by the current 'Alawid dynasty, its flag was solid red at first. The Sharifs of Makkah used that as a reference colour. Flag of Morocco HV

On 8 May 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 territorial dispute, disputed territory in Maghreb, North-western Africa. It has a surface area of . Approximately 30% of the territory () is controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR); the remaining 70% is ...

. It was certified by

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

as the largest flag ever draped.

Other historical flags

File:Flag of Morocco (1666–1915).svg, Flag of Morocco under the

(1666–1915) File:Flag of the Republic of the Rif.svg, Flag of the

Republic of the Rif The Republic of the Rif ( ''Jumhūriyyatu r-Rīf'') was a confederate republic in the Rif, Morocco, that existed between 1921 and 1926. It was created in September 1921, when a coalition of Riffians and Jebala led by Abd el-Krim revolted in ...

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

French protectorate in Morocco The French protectorate in Morocco, also known as French Morocco, was the period of French colonial rule in Morocco that lasted from 1912 to 1956. The protectorate was officially established 30 March 1912, when List of rulers of Morocco, Sultan ...

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

Spanish protectorate in Morocco The Spanish protectorate in Morocco 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 protectorate. The Spanish protectorate consisted of a norther ...

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

Tangier International Zone The Tangier International Zone (; ; ) was a international zone centered on the city of Tangier, Morocco, which existed from 1925 until its reintegration into independent Morocco in 1956, with interruption during the Spanish occupation of Tang ...

(1953–1957)Flags of the world: International Zone of Tangiers
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Other national flags

File:Morocco gov index commercial.svg, Civil ensign File:Morocco gov index naval warfare.svg, Naval ensign File:Naval Jack of Morocco.svg, Naval jack File:Royal Flag of Morocco.svg, Royal flag File:Royal standard of Morocco.svg, Royal standard

References

External links

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

Flags of Africa This is a gallery of the various international, national flag, national and subnational flags of Africa. Supranational and international flags An incomplete list of flags representing African international and supranational organisations. Fla ...

National symbols of Morocco

Flags with stars