History of the Moroccan Flag

Morocco’s current flag was adopted in 1956, though its original version has been the flag since 1666. The Moroccan flag is a red field with an interwoven star of green and a black border. It has a ratio of 2:3 for the star’s size compared to the flag size. There are a couple of different versions of the current flag. There is one where the civil ensign is in the upper left corner and one where there are civil ensigns in all four corners. The ensign sign is always in yellow and looks like a crown with one star on top.

According to history, Morocco’s flag depicts the royal descent of the country’s people from Prophet Muhammad. The descendants were related to the wife of Ali, who was named Fatima. The color red was chosen for the flag because it was important to the Sharifs of Mecca and Imams of Yemen. The flag from the 17th century was all red, with no addition of a star. It was used to depict the ancestors of Morocco.

By 1915, Morocco changed rule, and Mulay Yusuf reigned over the country. It was Yusuf who decided the Seal of Solomon had to be on the flag. The seal was green and reflective. It was of an interlaced pentangle or star. The pentangle is considered a form of occult law. The Seal of Solomon was a six-pointed star originally (before the 1900s) and was also known as the Star of David. During World War I, the flag underwent another change from the six-pointed star to a five-pointed star, thus the pentangle. The six points were meant to symbolize life, wisdom, good health and other common religious symbols. When the flag was changed to the five points it was considered a better symbol since it reflected the five pillars of Islam.

The red flag with the star was used in the inland countries during French and Spanish rule. At the sea villages, the country’s flag was forbidden. The seal was still considered an occult symbol, and therefore the Spanish and French did not think it should be used. In 1956 the flag was adopted by the entire country when Morocco gained independence. The entire country of Morocco was under African rule again, with little influence from Spain or France.

Morocco did not always use the plain red flag or the flag with star that is used today. Before 1666, the Marinid and Saadi Dynasties ruled the country, and the flag was completely white. For a short period of time, the flag had the Star of David in gold on it as well. The oldest known flag of Morocco was a red flag with a black-and-white checkered square in the middle, which was used from the 11th to 13th centuries.