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The Other Iraqi Kurdistan Flag Issues
24.9.2006
By Charles Chapman |
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Much has been written
about the national, state, and separatist
implications of the recent decision by the Kurdistan
Regional Government ("KRG") not to fly the flag of
Iraq, but instead to fly only the flag of the KRG.
However, the religious and cultural implications,
and more specifically, the implications concerning
the relationship between religion and the State, may
be more profound.
The current flag of Iraq contains the words "Allah
Akbar" (which is translated as "God is Great," "God
is Greater," or "God is Greatest") in Kufic script
in the center of the flag. The religious
implications, and the implications regarding the
relationship between religion and the State, are
obvious. Less obvious, but no less significant, is
the national and transnational significance. |
Official Kurdistan Region flag (L), Flag of Iraq (R) |
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The transnational connection is clearly to Iran.
While the words "Allah Akbar" are in the center of
the Iraqi flag, they are repeated along the borders
of the central white stripe on the flag of Iran.
Only the flags of Iraq and Iran contain this
particular public proclamation of the greatness of,
and implied submission of the State to, the Islamic
God. Two States under God. Two States submitting to
the same, Islamic God. And perhaps to those who
interpret
His word.
The use of Kufic script has
obvious national and religious significance. The
name "Kufic" is derived from the city of Kufa in
Iraq. The city of Kufa, about 170 kilometers south
of Baghdad, and 10 kilometers northeast of Najaf, is
one of four Iraqi cities that are of great
importance to Shiite Muslims. Indeed, Kufa continues
to be an important pilgrimage site for Shiites. The
use of this script on the Iraqi flag reinforces not
only a uniquely Iraqi (as opposed to Kurdish)
identity of those who fly it, but also one
intentionally associated with a Shiite city and the
predominant Shiite sect.
The religious significance of refusing to fly a flag
containing the words "Allah Akbar" is both obvious
and profound. No longer will the proclamation that
the Islamic "God is Greatest" fly over Kurdistan. No
longer will the State lie, both literally and
figuratively, beneath a declaration of Islamic
supremacy.
Moreover, the cultural and religious significance of
replacing a flag declaring "Allah Akbar" with the
flag of the Kuridstan Regional Government, while far
less obvious, is equally important. The flag of the
Kurdistan Regional Government contains at its center
a uniquely Kurdish religious symbol - the 21 ray sun
disk. The sun emblem has a long religious and
cultural history among the Kurds, stretching into
antiquity. The number 21 holds a primary importance
in the native Yazdani religious tradition of the
Kurds.
The Yazidis, who are indigenous to Kurdistan and
known for their religious tolerance, have
historically been persecuted by both Shiite and
Sunni Muslims. Certainly only Iraqi Kurdistan would
place the religious symbol of the Yazidi in the
center of its flag, much less use that flag to
replace one that proclaims "Allah Akbar."
As a result, the decision not to fly the flag of
Iraq, but instead to fly only the flag of the
Kurdistan Regional Government is much more than a
statement of national independence. It is a
statement of cultural autonomy and rejuvenation. A
statement of religious tolerance and pluralism. It
is, more than anything, an affirmation that
Kurdistan is, and shall remain, different.
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