Flag of Qatar

History

Qatar's historic flag was plain red, in correspondence with the red banner traditionally used by the Kharjite leader Qatari ibn al-Fuja'a. In the 19th century, the country modified its entirely red flag with the addition of a white vertical stripe at the hoist to suit the British directive. After this addition, Sheikh Mohammed bin Thani officially adopted a patterned purple-red and white flag which bore a strong resemblance to its modern derivative. Several additions were made to the Qatari flag in 1932, with the nine-pointed serrated edge, diamonds, and the word "Qatar" being integrated into its design. The maroon colour was standardised in 1936. In the 1960s, Sheikh Ali Al Thani removed the wording and diamonds from the flag. The flag was officially adopted on 9 July 1971 and was virtually identical to the 1960s flag, except the height-to-width proportion.

Symbolism

In 2012, the Qatari government defined the exact shade of the Qatari flag as Pantone 1955 C, or 'Qatar maroon'. The history of purple dye in the country dates back several centuries. It has been asserted that Qatar was the site of the earliest known production of shellfish dye during the rule of the Kassites due to the presence of a purple dye industry on Al Khor Islands. Qatar was also known for its production of purple dye during the rule of the Sasanian Empire. Mohammed bin Thani, who ruled from 1847 to 1876, proposed the creation of a flag with a purple-red colour in order to unify the state, and to highlight its historic role in the production of dye. In 1932, the British Navy suggested an official flag should be designed. According to the Qatari government, the British proposed that the flag be white and red, but Qatar rejected the red colouring and continued using a mixture of purple and red instead. According to letters from the British political agent in the Persian Gulf to British India, the white cloth was purchased in Bahrain and was originally dyed red locally. The locally purchased dye was of poor quality that faded rapidly, causing the flag to take a chocolate colour after being tinted darker by the hot desert sun. This resulted in the eventual adoption of a maroon colouring in 1936. The white portion of the flag symbolises the peace procured from signing anti-piracy treaties with the British.

Construction sheet

|File:Flag of Qatar (construction sheet).svg|flag construction sheet

Historical flags

File:Red flag.svg|18th century – 1860 File:Flag of Qatar (1860–1916, 1916–1932).svg|1860–1916, 1916–1932 File:Flag of Qatar (1916).svg|1916 File:Flag of Qatar (1932–1936).svg|1932–1936 File:Flag of Qatar (1936–1949).svg|1936–1949 File:Flag of Qatar (1949–1971).svg|1949–1971 File:Flag of Qatar.svg|1971–present

References

References

1. "{{lang. ar
2. (2014). "Complete Flags of the World (DK)". DK Publishing.
3. "Imperial era flag of Qatar". British Empire in the Middle East.
4. (2017-07-01). "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency".
5. "Law No. 14 of 2012 Concerning the Qatari Flag, Annex No. 1".
6. "Qatar's flag". World Atlas.
7. mohdnoor. (12 January 2015). "Qatar's national color is Pantone 1955 C (not maroon)". Qatar Living.
8. "Al Adaam.. History of a Nation". Qatar e-Government.
9. Sterman, Baruch. (2012). "Rarest Blue: The Remarkable Story Of An Ancient Color Lost To History And Rediscovered". Lyons Press.
10. (1986). "Bahrain Through the Ages: The Archaeology". Routledge.
11. "Qatar - Early history". globalsecurity.org.
12. British Library: India Office Records and Private Paper. (11 June 1936). "Coll 30/15 'Anthems and Flags of Various States. Bahrein [Bahrain], Koweit [Kuwait], Muscat, Asir, Yemen, Qatar, Trucial, Oman' [16r] (31/261)". Qatar National Library.