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Concept
Flag of the Arab Revolt
Summary
The flag of the Arab Revolt, also known as the flag of Hejaz, was a flag used by Hussein bin Ali and his allies, the Arab nationalists, during the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire during World War I, and as the first flag of the Kingdom of Hejaz.
It later became widespread in the Arab world and has been reused in various adaptations by a majority of Arab countries until the 21st century.
The horizontal colors stand for the Abbasid (black), Umayyad (white) and Rashidun (green) caliphates. The red triangle has been described as referring to the Hashemite dynasty, or the ashraf of Mecca. According to Tim Marshall, white was the Umayyad colour in memory of Mohammed's first military victory, black was the Abbasid colour to mark a new era and to mourn the dead of the Battle of Karbala, and green was the colour of the Prophet's coat and of his followers as they conquered Mecca. Alternatively, the colours' symbolism has been described as follows: white for the Damascene Umayyad period, green for the Caliph Ali, red for the Khawarij movement, and black for Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, showing the "political use of religion" in opposition to the increasingly secularized Turkish colonial rule. Similarly, Marshall explains the use of the European tricolor as a sign of the break with the Ottoman past, while the colours are deeply Islamic without using the star and crescent used by the Ottomans. The explanation given in the official note of the ceremony marking the first anniversary of the Revolt, celebrating Hussein's decree on the adoption of the flag, was that black represented the Black Standard of the Prophet (the al-ʻuqāb, eagle), his companions and the Abbasid empire, the green represented the Prophet's family (Ahl al-Bayt), white various Arab rulers, and red the Hashemites.
It has been suggested that the flag was designed by the British diplomat Sir Mark Sykes, in an effort to create a feeling of "Arab-ness" to fuel the revolt.
Official source
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