Flag of Iraq

What the flag of Iraq looks like

The flag of Iraq is a horizontal tricolor of red at the top, white in the middle and black at the bottom. The proportions are 2:3. In the center of the white band, written in green, is the phrase Allahu Akbar (Allāhu akbar, "God is the greatest"), also called the takbir.

The words are in Kufic script, a simple, angular style of Arabic calligraphy that is one of the oldest forms. Since 2008 this has been the standard. In the earlier version the same phrase was written in a cursive hand, and it was said to be Saddam Hussein's own handwriting. The green words are the only touch of color in the white band.

The flag is seen as a small icon on the Iraq flag emoji page, and you can download images from our download page.

Iraq flag meaning and symbolism

The red, white and black are the Pan-Arab colors, which come from the flags of the Arab Revolt of 1916 and appear on many Arab national flags. Different explanations are given for them. A common one reads red as the blood and struggle of the people, white as peace and hope for the future, and black as the dark past or, in the older Arab tradition, the Abbasid caliphate. These are not part of the law, which only describes the flag.

The words Allahu Akbar are an Islamic phrase used in prayer and as a declaration of faith. They first appeared on the flag in 1991, during the Gulf War, and were kept in 2008 though in a new style. Green is traditionally the color of Islam.

Earlier versions of the flag had three green stars in the white band, which represented the aims of the Ba'ath Party: unity, freedom and socialism. They were also said to refer to the planned union of Iraq, Egypt and Syria. The stars were removed in 2008 because of their party links.

History of the Iraqi flag

The first flags of the modern state were used by the Kingdom of Iraq in the 1920s. It was black, white and green horizontal stripes with a red trapezoid at the hoist containing two white stars, based on the flag of the Arab Revolt. After the revolution of 1958 that overthrew the monarchy, the republic adopted a new flag with black, white and green stripes, with a red star and a yellow sun in the center, to represent both Arabs and Kurds.

In 1963, after another coup, Iraq adopted the red, white and black pattern with three green stars as it planned a federation with Egypt and Syria, a design that survived into the 21st century. In January 1991, in the buildup to the Gulf War, Saddam Hussein added the words Allahu Akbar between the stars in his own handwriting.

After the 2003 invasion and the fall of Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi Governing Council tried to replace the flag. A design proposed in 2004 had a white field with a blue crescent and stripes of blue and yellow. It was widely criticized in Iraq as too similar to the flag of Israel and was dropped. A compromise was adopted in 2008 by the Iraqi parliament: it kept the red, white and black stripes and the green takbir, but removed the three stars and used Kufic script. It was meant to be temporary, with a final flag to be agreed on later, and it has stayed in use.

Kurdistan and other flags in Iraq

The Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq has its own flag, which flies next to the Iraqi flag in the region. It has red, white and green horizontal stripes with a golden sun with 21 rays in the center. Many Kurds objected to the older Iraqi flags because of their link to the Ba'ath regime, which carried out campaigns against the Kurdish population.

Iraq's flag is similar to those of Syria, Egypt and Yemen, which also use the Pan-Arab red, white and black. The Iraqi flag can be identified by its green script in the white band.