This article's factual accuracy is disputed. (September 2022) |
The jihadist flag is a flag commonly used by various Islamist and Islamic fundamentalist movements as a symbol of jihad. It usually consists of the Black Standard with a white text of the Shahada (Islamic declaration of faith) emblazoned across it in Arabic calligraphy. Its usage was widely adopted by Islamist groups and jihadists during the 1990s and early 2000s.[1][2]
Organizations which have used such a flag include:
The variant used by the Islamic State, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Islamic State of Iraq, and Al-Shabaab(slight difference) depicts the second phrase of the shahada[5] in the form of a depiction of the supposedly historical seal of Muhammad.[6]
In August 2014, British Prime Minister David Cameron suggested that anybody displaying "the Islamic State flag" in the United Kingdom should be arrested.[7] Citing the Terrorism Act 2000, section 13 (1b) of the act states "[a] person in a public place commits an offence if he wears, carries or displays an article in such a way or in such circumstances as to arouse reasonable suspicion that he is a member or supporter of a proscribed organisation" and can face six months in prison or a statutory fine.[8]
It has also been banned from public demonstration in the Netherlands since August 2014.[9]
The use of the image of the Seal of Muhammad Jihadist Flag "ISIS flag" (but not other versions of the Black Standard) for non-educational purposes has been forbidden in Germany by the Federal Ministry of the Interior since September 2014.[10][11] Neighbouring Austria proposed a ban in the same month.[12]
On September 12 (2014), the Federal Interior Ministry banned any activities of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), including recruitment, fundraising, and the use of the group's symbols under the name "Islamic State" (German: Islamischer Staat), such as the black flag bearing ISIL's name.