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 Go ...

. It usually consists of a black background with a white text of the '' shahada'' (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 as "t ...

style writing. Its usage was widely adopted by jihadists in the early 2000s, and in the 2010s by the Islamic State. 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 extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

* al-Shabaab * Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL/IS/Daesh) * Hizbul Islam (2009) * the Taliban, 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 secessionist flags formerly used by different rebel groups.

Islamic State variant

The variant used by the Islamic State, and before that by the Islamic State of Iraq (since 2006) depicts the second phrase of the shahada 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, 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) for non-educational purposes has been forbidden in Germany by the

Federal Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

since September 2014. Neighbouring Austria 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