The flag of Morocco (Arabic: علم المغرب) is the flag used by the government of Morocco and has served as the national flag of Morocco since 17 November 1915. It has a red field with a green pentagram in the centre. The green star represents the five pillars of Islam, and the red represents the blood of the ancestors and unity.[2][3]

Kingdom of Morocco
UseNational flag and state ensign Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag Reverse side is congruent with obverse side
Proportion2:3
Adopted17 November 1915; 108 years ago (1915-11-17)
DesignA red field with a green pentagram, a five-pointed linear star.[1]
Designed byMawlay Yusef

Red has considerable historic significance in Morocco by proclaiming the descent from the royal 'Alawid dynasty. The ruling house was associated with the Islamic prophet Muhammad via Fatimah, the wife of Ali, the fourth Muslim Caliph. Red is also the colour that was used by the sharifs of Mecca and the imams of Yemen. Since the 17th century, Morocco is ruled by the 'Alawid dynasty, and the first flags of the country were plain red.

On 17 November 1915, Sultan Yusef signed a dhahir that made Morocco's flag red with a green interlaced pentangle.[4]

While Morocco was under French and Spanish control, the red flag with the seal in the centre remained in use but only inland since its use at sea was prohibited. When independence was restored in 1955, it once again became the national flag.

Design edit

The legal definition of the flag specifies that the colours are bright red and palm green. No more precise colour specifications are known to be published. The RGB colours used in the illustration on the Kingdom's website are listed below, along with rough CMYK and Pantone equivalents for printing.[5]


 
Colours scheme
Bright Red Palm Green
RGB 193-39-45 0-98-51
Hexadecimal #c1272d #006233
CMYK 0, 80, 77, 24 100, 0, 48, 62
Pantone 7620 C 3425 C

Construction sheet edit

History edit

In the 17th century, when Morocco became ruled by the current 'Alawid dynasty, its flag was solid red at first.[citation needed] The Sharifs of Makkah used that as a reference colour.

To be known from this book, may God uphold its value and to be around the centre of grace and joy its orbit, that due to the promotion of our Sherifian Kingdom affairs, the spread of its glory and its pride, the need to assign a flag that distinct it from the rest of the kingdoms as that our sacred ancestors flag use to be very similar to some other flags especially the ones used in the marine signs, our noble vision decided to distinct our joyful flag by making the five-pointed seal of Solomon in the middle in green, asking the almighty god to keep it waving with the winds of fortune and ambition for this time and the becoming, Amen and peace.

— Mawlay Yusef, 17 November 1915[6]

In accordance with the seventh article of the constitution, the emblem of the Kingdom shall be a red flag with a five-pointed green star in the center.

The flag shall be made with fabric of bright red, opaque and rectangular in shape. The star shall be open, palm green, made of five continuous branches and woven in the same fabric where it must be visible on both sides of the flag. One of its points must point upwards. The hoist [vertical dimension of a flag] of the flag equals two thirds (23) of its fly [horizontal length of a flag]. The star is inscribed in an invisible circle whose radius equals one sixth (16) of the flag's fly [horizontal length of a flag] and whose centre is the intersection point of the invisible diagonal lines of the flag's rectangular shape.

The width of each one of the branches of the star shall be 120 of its length.

— Sidi Mohammed VI, 23 November 2005[7][dead link]
 
Wide and vertical presentations

On May 8, 2010, a Moroccan flag with a size of 60,409.78 square metres (650,000 sq ft; 14.9 acres), weighing 20,000 kilograms (22 short tons), was set in Dakhla, a city in the disputed territory of Western Sahara. It was certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest flag ever draped.[8]

Other historical flags edit

Other national flags edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Flag of morocco, from the Moroccan site Article27.ma
  2. ^ "Morocco -- Details". The World Factbook. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  3. ^ "Flags, Symbols, & Currencies of Morocco". World Atlas. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  4. ^ "La fabuleuse histoire des drapeaux marocains". Le Desk. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  5. ^ "Flag of the Kingdom of Morocco". Kingdom of Morocco. Department of Communication. 29 April 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2023. (However, compare the pentagram in that page's upper left corner.)
  6. ^ Bulletin Officiel, page 838, 29th of November 1915, archived in July 2021
  7. ^ About the characteristics of the Kingdom's emblem and national anthem (BO-5378-ar page 5) - bo-5378-fr page 6
  8. ^ "Actualités du Maroc". Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2010.[failed verification]
  9. ^ Flags of the world: French Protectorate of Morocco
  10. ^ Flags of the world: Spanish Protectorate of Morocco
  11. ^ Flags of the world: International Zone of Tangiers

External links edit