The jihadist flag is a flag commonly used by various Islamist and Islamic fundamentalist movements as a symbol of

jihad Jihad (; ar, جهاد, jihād ) is an Arabic word which literally means "striving" or "struggling", especially with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it can refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with G ...

. It usually consists of a black background with a white text of the ''

shahada The ''Shahada'' ( Arabic: ٱلشَّهَادَةُ , "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 i ...

'' (Islamic creed) emblazoned across it in

calligraphy Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined ...

style writing. Its usage was widely adopted by jihadists in the early 2000s, and in the 2010s by the

Islamic State An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic ter ...

. Aside from Islamism, the flag has also been used by various Islamic terrorist organizations. Organizations which have used such a flag include: *

al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military targets in various countr ...

* al-Shabaab *

(ISIS/ISIL/IS/Daesh) * Hizbul Islam (2009) * the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

, which is a black-on-white variant In the last decade of the

South Thailand insurgency The South Thailand insurgency ( th, ความไม่สงบในชายแดนภาคใต้ของประเทศไทย; ms, Pemberontakan di Thailand Selatan) is an ongoing conflict centered in southern Thailand. It ...

, the al-Raya' flag has largely replaced the colourful

secession Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics l ...

ist flags formerly used by different rebel groups.

Islamic State variant

The variant used by the

, and before that by the

Islamic State of Iraq The Islamic State of Iraq (ISI; ar, دولة العراق الإسلامية '), commonly referred to as al-Qaeda in Iraq ( ar, القاعدة في العراق '), is a militant Salafist jihadist group that aimed to establish an Islamic sta ...

(since 2006) depicts the second phrase of the

in the form of a depiction of the supposedly historical seal of Muhammad. In August 2014, British Prime Minister

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

suggested that anybody displaying "the Islamic State flag" in the United Kingdom should be arrested. Citing the

Terrorism Act 2000 The Terrorism Act 2000 (c.11) is the first of a number of general Terrorism Acts passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It superseded and repealed the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989 and the Northern Ireland (Em ...

, section 13 (1b) of the act states " person in a public place commits an offence if he wears, carries or displays an article in such a way or in such circumstances as to arouse reasonable suspicion that he is a member or supporter of a proscribed organisation" and can face six months in prison or a statutory fine. It has also been banned from public demonstration in the Netherlands since August 2014. The use of the image of the IS flag (but not other versions of the

black standard The Black Banner or Black Standard ( ar, الراية السوداء, ar-rāyat as-sawdāʾ, also known as (, "banner of the eagle" or simply as , , "the banner") is one of the flags flown by the Islamic prophet Muhammad according to Muslim ...

) for non-educational purposes has been forbidden in Germany by the Federal Ministry of the Interior since September 2014. Neighbouring

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

proposed a ban in the same month.

References

External links

Collection of imagery of black flags used in Islamic extremism

The Black Flag (al-raya)
a
The Islamic Imagery ProjectThe Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
(makingsenseofjihad.com) *Usama Hasan
The Black Flags of Khurasan
(unity1.wordpress.com) {{Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Flags representing the Shahada Religious symbols Black symbols Religious flags Islamism Jihadism Islamic terminology Flag controversies Censorship in Germany

Islamic State variant

See also

References

External links