The History of the Moroccan Flag

The Moroccan flag is a common sight in the streets of Marrakech; it can be found flying proudly in both the new town of Gueliz and the old town Medina. Indeed, the Moroccan people are often very patriotic and you will find many Marrakchi locals will proudly tell you about the history of their country and their city. However, like any flag, the Moroccan flag itself can also tell you a lot about the history of Morocco itself. Here is our short guide to the Moroccan flag.

The flag of Morocco is made of a red field with a black-bordered green pentagram star. Although the use of red is more commonly associated with the Arab states of the Persian gulf, red and green are traditional colours in Arab flags and both colours are seen in the flag of neighbouring Algeria and the Western Sahara flag. Furthermore, red has considerable historic significance in Morocco, proclaiming the descent of the royal Alaouite family from the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

Under the Alaouite Dynasty the Moroccan flag was imply a plain red field. The green five-pointed star was added to the flag in 1915 when Mulay Yusuf ruled Morocco. This green pentagram is drawn with five straight lines; each line represents one of the five pillars of Islam. This style of star has long been used as a symbol of religions as the star of Solomon, also known as the seal of Solomon or the Seal of Mohammed, and the green is also often associated with Islam.

When the French and Spanish ruled Morocco, the flag was banned in most parts of the country. When Morocco gained independence in 1956, they resumed the use of the flag we see today flying proudly across the red city and Morocco.