stylized In the visual arts, style is a "...distinctive manner which permits the grouping of works into related categories" or "...any distinctive, and therefore recognizable, way in which an act is performed or an artifact made or ought to be performed a ...

hand gesture A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the koala (which has two opposable thumbs on each "han ...

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 ...

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ('' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar, Imam and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings s ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Mohamed Morsi Mohamed Mohamed Morsi Eissa Al-AyyatThe spellings of his first and last names vary. survey of 14 news organizations plus Wikipedia in July 2012anti-government protests calling for his removal. On July 9, 2014, a Brotherhood-affiliated organization declared August 14, the day when the sit-ins were dispersed, "World Rabia Day," in an attempt to garner support across numerous countries. The sign is named after the Rabaa al-Adawiya Square in

Nasr City Nasr City ( ) forms two of the nine districts of the Eastern Area of Cairo, Egypt. It is administratively divided into Nasr City West/One ''(Gharb Madinet Nasr/awwal),'' and Nasr City East/Two (''Sharq Madinet Nasr/thani''). In 2021, Nasr C ...

,

Cairo Governorate Cairo () is one of the 27 governorates of Egypt. It is formed of the city of Cairo, both the national capital of Egypt and the governorate's, in addition to six satellite cities: the New Administrative Capital - which became the official seat ...

, which surrounds the Rabaa al-Adawiya Mosque, where a sit-in was held by the Muslim Brotherhood and its supporters to celebrate the one-year anniversary of Morsi's inauguration. The sit-in lasted for about forty days before it was dispersed by security forces, leading to clashes that resulted in 638 deaths, of which 43 were police officers. Supporters state that the gesture is used to express solidarity with what they call "the thousands wounded, killed and burnt by the Egyptian Army" during the dispersal of their sit-in. The origin of the sign is unknown. Critics of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Morsi Government allege that the sign implies indirect support for terrorism, due to the sign's use being mostly limited to persons supportive of the Brotherhood, which has been designated a terrorist organization by Egypt. On the other hand, supporters of the Brotherhood, whether inside or outside Egypt, believe the gesture represents freedom and persistence. They also deny any association with terrorism. Egyptian and non-Egyptian politicians, mostly supportive of the Muslim Brotherhood, are regularly seen making the Rabia gesture, which is identical to one common gesture for the number four. Among these politicians is Turkish president

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

who claims the four fingered sign stands for "One people, one flag, one homeland, one nation'.

Background

Protests against Morsi

Beginning on June 30, 2013, anti-government protests in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

were organized nationwide against President

Mohamed Morsi Mohamed Mohamed Morsi Eissa Al-AyyatThe spellings of his first and last names vary. survey of 14 news organizations plus Wikipedia in July 2012 Tamarod Tamarod (, "rebellion") was an Egyptian movement funded by the General Intelligence Service (Mukhabarat) and UAE to overthrow the 1st democratically elected Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi. The nominal aim was to register opposition to and fo ...

movement,

April 6 Youth Movement The April 6 Youth Movement () is an Egyptian activist group established in Spring 2008 to support the workers in El-Mahalla El-Kubra, an industrial town, who were planning to strike on 6 April. Activists called on participants to wear black an ...

and the Al-Wafd party, in addition to numerous unaffiliated protesters, who were mostly

secularists Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on naturalistic considerations, uninvolved with religion. It is most commonly thought of as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state and may be broadened ...

. One of the main causes of the protests, and of the earlier 2012 Egyptian protests, was Morsi granting himself executive powers over courts, which protesters alleged would make him increasingly authoritarian over time. Morsi, being to this date in power for almost one year, refused to resign, insisting that his presidency is "legitimate," having won the Egyptian presidential election of 2012, which was considered to be free and fair. Days before opposition protests, pro-Morsi protesters organized counter-demonstrations to celebrate his one-year anniversary in office, wanting him to remain in office until his term had finished. On July 1, a 48-hour deadline was issued to Morsi, demanding that he respond to the protesters' demands. Morsi refused to do so. On July 3, which was when the deadline ended, Morsi was removed from offices. Sit-ins originally to celebrate the one-year anniversary of his inauguration became anti-government, anti-protests, and anti-military as supporters of the

Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ('' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar, Imam and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings s ...

and Morsi held two main

sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...

s opposing the protests and subsequent overthrow. The sit-ins comprised individuals supportive of the Muslim Brotherhood, who were demanding the reinstatement of Morsi.

Sit-in dispersal

On August 14, the

Egyptian National Police Egyptian National Police or ENP is the national police force of Egypt responsible for law enforcement. It is a department in the Ministry of Interior. National organization The Ministry of Interior divides the functions of the police and public ...

dispersed the sit-in in Rabaa and a smaller one in Nahda. Initially, the

Interior Ministry An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...

had intended to peacefully evacuate the protesters with little to no force. However, the dispersal resulted in violent clashes, which led to deaths among both sides. Al-Masry Al-Youm alleged that the protesters at Rabaa owned dangerous weapons. On the other hand,

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

claimed that only firearms were observed, rather rarely, and that the protesters were ″overwhelmingly peaceful to be attacked in such a disproportionate and premeditated lethal way." The official death toll, according to the Egyptian Health Ministry, was 638 deaths, of which 595 were protesters, and 3,994 injured, in addition to 43 police officers dead. However, the

Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ('' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar, Imam and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings s ...

, along with affiliated organizations, such as the

Anti-Coup Alliance The Anti-Coup Alliance (also known as the National Alliance Supporting Legitimacy) is a coalition in Egypt formed to reverse the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi. The coalition is made up of approximately 40 Islamist parties and groups. ...

and the National Coalition for Supporting Legitimacy claimed that 2,600 protesters were killed. In the wake of the dispersal, violence occurred across Egypt, as retaliation against the security forces who dispersed the sit-ins. Furthermore, many corpses remained unidentified as they bore gunshot wounds and were charred beyond recognition. In the 2014 report,

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

said at least 1,150 demonstrators were killed in the dispersal, which, the organization said, probably amounts to "

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...

."

Appearance of the sign

R4bia sign used in solidarity with victims of Rabaa crackdown 23-Aug-2013

After the sit-ins dispersal, the Rabaa sign emerged widely in

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

and protest marches in Egypt. Various reports place its origin in Turkey, not Egypt, and later performed by the

Turkish president The president of Turkey, officially the president of the Republic of Türkiye (), is the head of state and head of government of Turkey. The president directs the executive branch of the national government and is the commander-in-chief of the ...

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

But the sign stemmed from the "Rabaa Al-Adawiya" Mosque, located in Cairo, Nasr City. Rabaa (رابعة) is the Arabic word for "the 4th" which is believed to have influenced the 4 fingered raising gesture. The Rabaa Al-Adawiya Mosque and its surrounding streets, is where the Muslim Brotherhood members were protesting against the removal of the then Egyptian President Morsi, before they were violently removed by the Egyptian military.

Meaning

The sign is used as part of the protests against the government. The colors used in the graphical sign, the yellow and black, respectively resemble the

Dome of the Rock The Dome of the Rock () is an Islamic shrine at the center of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound on the Temple Mount in the Old City (Jerusalem), Old City of Jerusalem. It is the world's oldest surviving work of Islamic architecture, the List_of_the_ol ...

in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, and the Kiswah of the

Kaaba The Kaaba (), also spelled Kaba, Kabah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Kaba al-Musharrafa (), is a stone building at the center of Islam's most important mosque and Holiest sites in Islam, holiest site, the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Sa ...

.

Name

The namesake of the sign is the Rabaa al-Adawiya Square in

Nasr City Nasr City ( ) forms two of the nine districts of the Eastern Area of Cairo, Egypt. It is administratively divided into Nasr City West/One ''(Gharb Madinet Nasr/awwal),'' and Nasr City East/Two (''Sharq Madinet Nasr/thani''). In 2021, Nasr C ...

,

Cairo Governorate Cairo () is one of the 27 governorates of Egypt. It is formed of the city of Cairo, both the national capital of Egypt and the governorate's, in addition to six satellite cities: the New Administrative Capital - which became the official seat ...

, where Brotherhood affiliates held a sit-in. The square is named after the Muslim saint

Rabia Basri Rābia al-Adawiyya al-Qaysiyya (; 801 CE) or Rabia Basri was a poet, one of the earliest Sufi mystics and an influential religious figure from Iraq. She is regarded as one of the three preeminent Qalandars of the world. Biography Very ...

. The name ''Rabia'' in Arabic means has two meanings; 'fourth' (singular feminine), hence the four-fingered hand gesture and also 'Queen' and 'Royalty'.

Gesture

The gesture is identical to a gesture for the number four, and is made by raising four fingers of either hand (preferably the right hand) and folding the thumb.

Influence

Politics

The Rabia sign and gesture has influenced certain political and social levels among, both in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and in particular, Turkey. Prime Minister and later president of Turkey

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

and his supporters, has been seen in several conferences and speeches making Rabia gestures. The Mayor of

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 ...

, Kadir Topbaş, announced days after the dispersals in August 2013 at an opening ceremony of the

Dörtyol Dörtyol is a municipality and district of Hatay Province, Turkey. Its area is 342 km2, and its population is 128,941 (2022). It is a port city and oil terminus located 26 km north of the city of İskenderun, near the easternmost point of th ...

Square in the district of

Esenler Esenler is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 43 km2, and its population is 445,421 (2022). It is on its European side. Esenler is mainly densely packed, working class residential in the midst of its indust ...

, that he wanted to rename it to ‘Rabia Square.’ Egyptian

kung fu Chinese martial arts, commonly referred to with umbrella terms Kung fu (term), kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (sport), wushu (), are Styles of Chinese martial arts, multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater Ch ...

champion Mohamed Youssef was wearing a T-shirt with the Rabia sign on it after winning the gold medal at the 2013 Kung Fu World Championship in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

; this led to harsh criticism in anti-Brotherhood media and a subsequent one-year ban by the national kung fu federation. Egyptian

football player A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

Ahmed Abd El-Zaher Ahmed Abd El-Zaher (; born 15 January 1985) is an Egyptian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He was part of the Egypt U20 national team which participated in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship. Club career Abd El-Zah ...

also celebrated one of his goals by making the Rabia gesture, which led to his subsequent suspension by the club from the

2013 FIFA Club World Cup The 2013 FIFA Club World Cup (officially known as the FIFA Club World Cup Morocco 2013 presented by Toyota for sponsorship reasons) was the 10th edition of the FIFA Club World Cup, a FIFA-organised international club football tournament between t ...

. On 25 December 2013, the

Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ('' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar, Imam and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings s ...

was designated a

terrorist organization Several national governments and two international organizations have created lists of organizations that they designate as terrorist. The following list of designated terrorist groups lists groups designated as terrorist by current and former ...

in Egypt. German journalist Thorsten Gerald Schneiders claimed that " e abia signis already out of the Islamist spectrum, and has no relation with Islamic radicalism. Its meaning has extended to protesting against dictatorship and tyranny in general."

References

{{Reflist, colwidth=25em 2013 Egyptian coup d'état Hand gestures Political symbols Political terminology in Egypt Muslim Brotherhood

Background

Protests against Morsi

Sit-in dispersal

Appearance of the sign

Meaning

Name

Gesture

Influence

Politics

See also

References