Flag of Qatar
Encyclopedia
The flag
of Qatar
is in the ratio of 11:28. It is brown with a broad white serrated band (nine white points) on the hoist side.
The meaning of Qatar's flag is:
It is very similar to the flag of
the neighbouring country of Bahrain
, which has fewer points, a 3:5 proportion, and a red colour instead of maroon.
A popular but fanciful tale referring to the maroon colour and the similarity to the red Bahrain flag, is that purple is what becomes of red fading in the Gulf sun. The legend goes that Qatar's flag used to be red, and that a new type of dye was used for the original flags. However after being left in the sun, the colour changed to maroon, which was then regarded to be a more beautiful colour (by coincidence). That is also why this specific shade of maroon is called "Qatar Red".
Qatar's emir, like Kuwait's, is not known to have a personal standard, nor does any other member of the royal family.
The flag of Qatar has been spotted in news broadcasts from Benghazi flying in the background with the Libyan rebel flag
. this is clearly expressing the support for the rebels of Benghazi from the government of Qatar. The colour of the flag is black and white rather than the maroon and white colour, probably the best that can be done under the siege conditions of the war.
Flag
A flag is a piece of fabric with a distinctive design that is usually rectangular and used as a symbol, as a signaling device, or decoration. The term flag is also used to refer to the graphic design employed by a flag, or to its depiction in another medium.The first flags were used to assist...
of Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
is in the ratio of 11:28. It is brown with a broad white serrated band (nine white points) on the hoist side.
The meaning of Qatar's flag is:
- The white colour reflects the internationally recognised symbol of peace
- The maroon colour symbolizes the bloodBloodBlood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
shed during the several wars Qatar had undergone, particularly in the second half of the 19th century. - The nine-point serrated line indicates that Qatar is the 9th member of the "reconciled Emirates" of the Persian GulfPersian GulfThe Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
in the wake of concluding the Qatari-British treaty in 1916.
It is very similar to the flag of
Flag of Bahrain
The national flag of Bahrain consists of a white band on the left, separated from a red area on the right by five triangles that serve as a serrated line.Red is the traditional colour for flags of the Arab states of the Persian Gulf...
the neighbouring country of Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
, which has fewer points, a 3:5 proportion, and a red colour instead of maroon.
A popular but fanciful tale referring to the maroon colour and the similarity to the red Bahrain flag, is that purple is what becomes of red fading in the Gulf sun. The legend goes that Qatar's flag used to be red, and that a new type of dye was used for the original flags. However after being left in the sun, the colour changed to maroon, which was then regarded to be a more beautiful colour (by coincidence). That is also why this specific shade of maroon is called "Qatar Red".
Qatar's emir, like Kuwait's, is not known to have a personal standard, nor does any other member of the royal family.
History
It is assumed that, in 1855, Shaikh Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani already used a flag with similar pattern and the colour red and white. The flag was officially adopted on July 9, 1971, although a nearly identical flag (only differing in proportion) had been used since 1949.The flag of Qatar has been spotted in news broadcasts from Benghazi flying in the background with the Libyan rebel flag
National Transitional Council
The National Transitional Council of Libya , sometimes known as the Transitional National Council, the Interim National Council, or the Libyan National Council,...
. this is clearly expressing the support for the rebels of Benghazi from the government of Qatar. The colour of the flag is black and white rather than the maroon and white colour, probably the best that can be done under the siege conditions of the war.