Country profile: Iraq

The Iraqi flag takes up the pan-Arab colours that come from the Great Arab Revolt of 1916. Its current form, with three stripes of red, white and black, appeared in 1963, with three green stars inspired by the planned union with Egypt and Syria.

In 1991, during the Gulf War, Saddam Hussein had the words ‘Allahu Akbar’ added between the stars, reputedly in his own handwriting. After his fall, an interim version replaced this handwriting with Kufic calligraphy in 2004.

The current flag was adopted on 22 January 2008: the stars were removed and only the words ‘Allahu Akbar’, in green Kufic script, remain on the white stripe.

The pan-Arab colours of the Iraqi flag are generally interpreted as follows:

• Red: courage and the blood shed in the struggle for freedom.
• White: generosity and peace.
• Black: the victories of Islam and the era of the Abbasids, whose capital was Baghdad.
• ‘Allahu Akbar’ (‘God is the greatest’): the affirmation of the Muslim faith.

Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, was from the 8th century the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate, whose emblematic colour was black.

The Iraqi flag resembles those of Egypt, Yemen and pre-2024 Syria, which share the same red, white and black stripes.

Kufic script, used since 2004, is one of the oldest forms of Arabic calligraphy; it takes its name from the city of Kufa, in Iraq.