The Other Iraqi Kurdistan Flag Issues

Much has been written about the national, state, and separatist implications of the recent decision by the Kurdistan Regional Government ("KRG") not to fly the flag of Iraq, but instead to fly only the flag of the KRG. However, the religious and cultural implications, and more specifically, the implications concerning the relationship between religion and the State, may be more profound. The current flag of Iraq contains the words "Allah Akbar" (which is translated as "God is Great," "God is Greater," or "God is Greatest") in Kufic script in the center of the flag. The religious implications, and the implications regarding the relationship between religion and the State, are obvious. Less obvious, but no less significant, is the national and transnational significance. The transnational connection is clearly to Iran. While the words "Allah Akbar" are in the center of the Iraqi flag, they are repeated along the borders of the central white stripe on the flag of Iran. Only the flags of Iraq and Iran contain this particular public proclamation of the greatness of, and implied submission of the State to, the Islamic God. Two States under God. Two States submitting to the same, Islamic God. And perhaps to those who interpret His word. The use of Kufic script has obvious national and religious significance. The name "Kufic" is derived from the city of Kufa in Iraq. The city of Kufa, about 170 kilometers south of Baghdad, and 10 kilometers northeast of Najaf, is one of four Iraqi cities that are of great importance to Shiite Muslims. Indeed, Kufa continues to be an important pilgrimage site for Shiites. The use of this script on the Iraqi flag reinforces not only a uniquely Iraqi (as opposed to Kurdish) identity of those who fly it, but also one intentionally associated with a Shiite city and the predominant Shiite sect. The religious significance of refusing to fly a flag containing the words "Allah Akbar" is both obvious and profound. No longer will the proclamation that the Islamic "God is Greatest" fly over Kurdistan. No longer will the State lie, both literally and figuratively, beneath a declaration of Islamic supremacy. Moreover, the cultural and religious significance of replacing a flag declaring "Allah Akbar" with the flag of the Kuridstan Regional Government, while far less obvious, is equally important. The flag of the Kurdistan Regional Government contains at its center a uniquely Kurdish religious symbol - the 21 ray sun disk. The sun emblem has a long religious and cultural history among the Kurds, stretching into antiquity. The number 21 holds a primary importance in the native Yazdani religious tradition of the Kurds. The Yazidis, who are indigenous to Kurdistan and known for their religious tolerance, have historically been persecuted by both Shiite and Sunni Muslims. Certainly only Iraqi Kurdistan would place the religious symbol of the Yazidi in the center of its flag, much less use that flag to replace one that proclaims "Allah Akbar." As a result, the decision not to fly the flag of Iraq, but instead to fly only the flag of the Kurdistan Regional Government is much more than a statement of national independence. It is a statement of cultural autonomy and rejuvenation. A statement of religious tolerance and pluralism. It is, more than anything, an affirmation that Kurdistan is, and shall remain, different.