Afghanistan

Information about the Afghani Flag: Colors and Meaning of the Flag of Afghanistan

:: Meaning of the Afghan Flag ::

It is very interesting to know that the flag of Afghanistan went through so many changes in the course of its history since 1747. In fact it is the only flag in the world to have these many changes, 20 in all. Some designs were only used for one or two years. In one four-year period, the national flag of Afghanistan made 7 modifications, reflective of the political changes in the country.

Currently the flag of Afghanistan has three equal vertical panels with solid colors. This was introduced when the Taliban was defeated in 2002. Black is on the hoisting side, red in the middle with an emblem in white and green on the flying side. The emblem or Mehrab has two wheat branches placed on each side of a mosque with a praying mat inside. The praying mat faces Mecca. There are also two flags flying on both sides of the mosque. An inscription indicating the name of Afghanistan is placed below the mosque. A Shahadah on top of the mosque means that “There is no god but Allah and Mohammad is his prophet.”

The current national flag of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan with the ratio changed to 2:3. The tricolor and the seal from the previous flag used from 2002 to 2004 are retained. The Shahadah is still on top and the word “The Islamic State of Afghanistan” was shortened to “Afghanistan.”

The current national flag of Afghanistan was adopted from the design created by King Amanullah Khan in 1928. The black stripe was for the dark past of Afghanistan. The red center stripe represents that blood shed by the millions of Afghan who fought in the wars throughout their history and the green panel is for prosperity, hope and a future that is bright. Green is also the color of Islam. Green is also used to denote their independence. The sheaves of wheat signify the crown that was bestowed in the 17th century on the founder of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Durrani for his bravery.

:: History of the Afghanistan Flag ::

Afghanistan’s national flag underwent a series of changes through the course of the country’s history. Under the Durrani empire (1747-1826) the flag had three equal horizontal stripes, with the top and bottom stripes in very dark green. The middle stripe was white. There was no flag used in 1826 to 1880 under the Barakzai Dynasty. From 1880 to 1901 a solid black flag was flown during the reign of Abdur Rahman Khan to be replaced by Habibullah Khan in 1901 to 1919 with a black flag with his father’s seal in white in the center. The seal was the forerunner of the seal being used today. Amanullah Khan added rays to an octogram (8-pointed star) shape that encased the white seal over the solid black background for the period 1919-1926.

From 1926 to 1928, the still black flag continued to be used but Amanullah Shah replaced the octogram with two sheaves of wheat. In 1928 Amanullah Shah decided to use three equal size horizontal stripes with black on top, red in the center and green at the bottom. The white-colored seal overlaps part of the black and green stripes.

From 1928 to 1929 the fourth flag design under Amanullah Shah was used. The tricolor stripes were vertical with black on the left, red in the middle and green on the right. The seal was changed. A yellow sun rising from two mountains capped with snow was included. In 1929, under Habibullah Kalakani the flag was changed into equal vertical stripes of red on the hoisting side, black in the middle and white on the flying side. The previous tricolor of black, red and green again appeared in 1929 to 1930 under the rule of Mohammed Nadir Shah, using the seal with the octogram over the red stripe. The second design under Mohammed Nadir Shah was used from 1930 to 1973, using the same vertical tricolor, with the seal enlarged and the octogram replaced by the sheaves of wheat. Between the mosque and the sheaves of wheat the date 1348 in Arabic was added. This was equivalent to 1929, the year that Mohammed Nadir Shah came into power.

From 1973 to 1974, the first flag of the Republic of Afghanistan was flown, using the same design as the one used in the 1973 flag but with the year removed. From 1974 to 1978 the size and orientation of the stripes varied. One-fourth of the flag was black (top), another quarter was red and half of the flag was green. A new seal appears on the canton. It showed an eagle with its wings spread. A pulpit was placed over the eagle’s chest to represent the mosque and above the eagle were rays of the sun. The wheat sheaves were retained. 1978 was the start of the communist rule in Afghanistan. The same flag design was used without the seal. During the 1978 to 1980 period, the flag was changed to plain red, with a yellow seal in the canton showing the wheat sheaves, a star on top to represent the five ethnic groups of Afghanistan and the word Khalq written in Arabic at the center of the seal. The flag was used under the rule of President Nar Muhammad Taraki until 1979.

During the period spanning 1979 to 1987, the horizontal tricolor stripes were back but the seal was changed. The seal showed a green field, a rising sun, a pulpit and the Qu’ran to represent Islam, ribbons in the national colors, a red star for communism and a cog wheel to represent industry. The seal was changed again for the period 1987 to 1992, with the green field curved to correspond to the horizon and the cog placed on the bottom.

A provisional flag was used in 1992 when the pro-Soviet rule fell. The horizontal stripes changed to green on top, white in the middle and black at the bottom. Arabic word for Allahu Akbar or God is Great was written on the green stripe in white while the Shahadah was placed in the white stripe in black letters.

From 1992 to 1996, the same colors of the stripes and their position were retained in the new design, but the words were removed and a yellow logo was placed in the center stripe. It included the Shahadah and the Arabic word for The Islamic State of Afghanistan written at the bottom of the logo.

During the first year of Taliban rule (1996 to 1997) a white flag was used. The Shahadah written in black letters was added for the 1997-2001 rule of the Taliban.

After the fall of the Taliban, the 1992 flag design was used for 2001 up to 2002. During the transitional period from 2002 to 2004, the vertical tricolor of black, red and green stripes were back in the new flag design and the seal included the year 1298 in Arabic.

:: References ::
http://www.afghanistan-culture.com/afghanistan-flag.html
http://www.world-free-printable-flags.com/history-of-afghanistan-flag.html
http://www.worldflags101.com/a/afghanistan-flag.aspx
http://www.neatorama.com/2008/09/09/the-evolution-of-national-flags/
Photo credit: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook