Flag of Afghanistan

Today's flag of Afghanistan shows three vertical stripes in black, red and green. In the center is the national coat of arms. It was introduced in this form on 05.02.2002. The flag corresponds, apart from the format, to the model which was valid until 1974 in the Kingdom of Afghanistan, but with a reduced representation of the coat of arms, and at its upper end the Schachada (Islamic creed) was inserted. Meaning of the colors: black represents the dark past, red symbolizes the blood spilled in the freedom fights, and green represents Islam. Likewise, a purely Islamic interpretation of the colors is possible: red is the color of Omar, the second caliph; green represents the Fatimids, an Ismaili Shiite dynasty of caliphs dating back to the fourth caliph, Ali; and black represents the Abbasids, a dynasty of caliphs dating back to Caliph Abbas I. At the time of the kingdom in 1929?1974, the black-red-green stripes of the flag were already arranged vertically. With the coming to power of Mohammed Daud Khan, and with the formation of the presidential republic, these became horizontal. After a communist coup led by M.N. Taraki, a solid red communist flag was introduced from 1978 to 1980. After an uprising and internal power struggles, B. Karmal came to power, Soviet troops marched in, and a horizontally striped flag was introduced that included a coat of arms with the historical elements supplemented by a red star and an open Koran. With the change of regime from B. Karmal to Dr. M. Najibullah, the coat of arms was also changed in 1987. The star and the Koran were removed. After the Mujahideen took power in 1992, it was decided to use new national colors, namely green, white and black. Here, the color white stood for the future. In the religious-Islamic sense, white stands for the Umayyads, a dynasty of caliphs dating back to the fifth caliph, Moawija I. The national emblem of Afghanistan was green. For many years, and again today, the national emblem of Afghanistan featured an open mosque with a prayer niche and a preaching pulpit, and a flag on each side of the mosque facing outward at an angle. The mosque is surrounded by a bound spike and since 1996 also by the chesada.

Three vertical stripes (black, red, green) with an emblem centered on the red stripe; the emblem shows a temple-like structure framed by a wreath and an Arabic inscription.

Meaning

the black stripe is to remind of the historical black flags of Afghanistan. The mosque in the center of the red stripe reveals on closer inspection a desk (minabar) as well as the traditional indication of the direction to Mecca (mihrab). Under the mosque is the year 1371 according to the Mohammedan calendar (Gregorian calendar year AD1992) as a reminder of the year of the liberation victory of the Mujahideen (God's warriors). Likewise, this area contains the inscription: "There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his prophet". The green area of the flag (right) symbolizes the color of Islam.