Flags With a Crescent

What does a crescent mean on a flag?

On flags, the crescent is mostly associated with Islam and the Ottoman Empire, but it is older than both. It was used as an emblem in Byzantium long before the Ottomans took it up. Most flags with a crescent today are in Muslim-majority countries, such as Turkey, Pakistan, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Malaysia.

Singapore is an exception: the crescent represents a young, rising nation, and the five stars stand for democracy, peace, progress, justice and equality. Nepal shows a crescent moon on its unique double-pennant flag, and the Maldives shows a white crescent on green and red.

Crescent flags by region

• North Africa: Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania and Western Sahara.
• Central Asia and the Caucasus: Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
• Southeast Asia: Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore.
• South Asia: Pakistan, Maldives and Nepal.
• Indian Ocean: Comoros and Mayotte.

Turkmenistan has the most distinctive design, with five carpet patterns beside a crescent and five stars on green. The flag of Brunei is yellow with diagonal stripes and a red crest with a crescent.

Flags on the Moon

The crescent stands apart from the star in some flags. The Maldives show a white crescent in a green rectangle on red, with no star, and many people spot the difference only when the flags are shown next to each other.

The crescent is also older than any of these nations. Before it reached national flags, it appeared on coins, seals and city emblems across the Mediterranean and western Asia, which is one reason it is shared by countries with very different histories.

Many people searching for a "moon flag" mean the American flags planted by the Apollo astronauts. Six were raised between 1969 and 1972. Images from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter show the shadows of flags still standing at five of the sites, and the Apollo 11 flag was knocked over when the lunar module lifted off. After decades of sunlight, the flags are probably bleached white.