what do the star and crescent symbolise in the islamic flag?

Answer 1

You could have done a simple search as I did and come up with this, but thanks for the points.

This emblem, commonly recognized as the symbol of the Islamic faith, has actually acquired its association to the faith by association, rather than intent.

The star and crescent symbol itself is very ancient, dating back to early Sumerian civilization, where it was associated with the sun God and moon Goddess (one early appearance dates to 2100 BCE), and later, with Goddesses Tanit and even Diana. The symbol remained in near constant use, and was eventually adopted into the battle-standard of the Ottoman Dynasty, who are mainly responsible for its association with Islam. As the Dynasty was also the policitical head of the faith, it was inevitable that their symbol would be associated with Islam as well. It should be noted that there is no mention of such a symbol in the Koran, the Holy book of Islam, nr is there any relationship between the crescent and star and the Prophet (whose flag was black and white, inscribed "Nasr um min Allah," "with the help of Allah.")

Today, the star and crescent is widely accepted as a symbol of the Islamic faith, and is used in decorative arts, jewelry, and national flags- much like the cross in Christian countries. It is associated with the use of the moon to time festivals. It is, however, not accepted by all Muslims- many Muslims consider it un-Islamic and even blasphemous.

Answer 2

The star and crescent historically was a symbol of the Ottoman Empire, but later became associated with Islam in general. Now its popularity among Muslims makes it comparable to the Christian cross and the Star of David. Many Muslim nations such as Pakistan use it on their national flag, as does the secular Republic of Turkey, the successor state to the Ottoman Empire.

The crescent moon and star symbol actually pre-dates Islam by several thousand years.[1] Information on the origins of the symbol are difficult to ascertain, but most sources agree that these ancient celestial symbols were in use by the peoples of Central Asia and Siberia in their worship of sun, moon, and sky gods.

Answer 3

The moon partially eclipsed by the Earth, making a crescent shape, with a bright star close by. It's a fairly common sight in middle eastern countries at night.
The moon is very important in Islam, I believe the Islamic calender is Lunar and not Solar (like the regular calender). That's why Ramadan (which is occurring now) appears to move every year.

Answer 4

The star and crescent is a symbol consisting of a crescent with a star at the concave side. In its modern form, the star is usually shown with five points (though in earlier centuries a higher number of points was often used). It is often regarded as a symbol of Islam.

In Unicode, the "Star and crescent" symbol is U+262A (☪).




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Historical Symbol
The star and crescent historically was a symbol of the Ottoman Empire, but later became associated with Islam in general. Now its popularity among Muslims makes it comparable to the Christian cross and the Star of David. Many Muslim nations such as Pakistan use it on their national flag, as does the secular Republic of Turkey, the successor state to the Ottoman Empire.

The crescent moon and star symbol actually pre-dates Islam by several thousand years.[1] Information on the origins of the symbol are difficult to ascertain, but most sources agree that these ancient celestial symbols were in use by the peoples of Central Asia and Siberia in their worship of sun, moon, and sky gods. The star and crescent (with the crescent under the star, which was simply a round circle) were also widely used in ancient Ethiopia and South Arabia (modern day Yemen and southern Saudi Arabia). Its image can still be seen on the Hawulti at Matara, Eritrea and all of the Aksumite coins prior to its conversion to Christianity, for example. According to some reports, the Greek colony of Byzantium also used the emblem on their flag as an official governing symbol. In 339 BC the city of Byzantium, (later known as Constantinople and then Istanbul), won a decisive battle under a brilliant waxing moon which they attributated to their patron Goddess Artemis whose symbol was the crescent moon.[2] In honor of Artemis the citizens adopted the crescent moon as their symbol.[3] When the city became the Christian Constantinople in 330 AD, Constantine also added the Virgin Mary's star on the flag. When the Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1453, they adopted the city's existing flag and symbol.

The cresent moon and star were not completely abandoned by the Christian world after the fall of Constantinople. To date the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem official church flag is a labarum of white with a church building with two towers and on either side of the arms, at the top, are the outline in black of a crescent moon facing center, and a star/sun with rays.[4]

The predominantly Sunni Muslim ethnic Bosniaks use a similar flag; as their native country Bosnia and Herzegovina is also homeland to two other constituent peoples, Serbs and Croats, the flag is not the official flag of the country.

The star possibly symbolises Venus. Venus indeed may often appear prominently close to the Moon at the first sighting of the new crescent (the hilal) after New Moon, usually shortly after sunset, which marks the start of the first day of a new month in the lunar Islamic calendar.

Answer 5

Which Islamic Flag? Here is an answer in regards to the Turkish Flag: http://flagspot.net/flags/tr.html#mean

Answer 6

I am not an Islam but I think it reflects sky...