Does the black color in the Palestinian flag represent the Ottoman era?

What do the colors on the Palestinian flag represent?

Mohammad Yousef / Researcher / Palestine

Flags are meant to express patriotism. It is seen that some discussions and rumors are deliberately tried to be created about the meaning behind the colors of the Palestinian flag. Some are trying to propagate that the black stripe on the Palestinian flag represents the oppression Palestinians faced in the past when they were with the Ottomans, which is completely unfounded. In fact, the Palestinian flag is derived from the Pan-Arab flag and shares the same design as other countries in the Middle East such as Jordan and Sudan. Although it is claimed that it is based on the flag during the 1916 Arab Revolt, the black color on this flag symbolizes the painful event in Arab history.

(Flag of the 1916 Arab Revolt)

On October 18, 1948, the Palestinian Government adopted the flag of the Arab Revolt, and the Arab League later recognized it as the flag of Palestine. In 1964, this flag was officially accepted as the flag of the Palestinian people by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). On November 15, 1988, the PLO flag was adopted as the flag of the State of Palestine and started to be widely used. It is now officially the flag of the State of Palestine.

(The Palestinian flag)

 According to the Palestinian Association for International Studies (PASSIA), the colors of the Palestinian flag represent:

White color

White refers to the Arabian Umayyad Dynasties.

The Umayyads ruled for ninety years, taking white as their symbolic color, reminiscent of the Prophet's first battle at Badr.

Black color

The black on the Palestinian flag refers to the Arab Abbasid Dynasties.

In the seventh century, with the rise of Islam and subsequent liberation of Mecca, two flags, one white and one black, were carried. The white flag read, "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah." The black flag was a sign of vengeance and was the color of the headdress worn when leading soldiers into battle.

The Abbasid Dynasty (750-1258), which ruled from Baghdad, took the color black as a symbol of mourning in memory of the killing of the Prophet's relatives and the Battle of Karbala.

Green

Green denotes the Fatimid Dynasties.

The Fatimid Dynasty was founded in Morocco by Abdullah Al-Mahdi and ruled all of North Africa. They also took green as their color to symbolize their devotion to the Prophet's cousin, Ali.

Red color

Red denotes the Islamic rulers of Andalusia and Khawarij. Arab tribes participating in the conquest of North Africa and Andalusia carried the red flag, which became the symbol of the Islamic rulers of Andalusia (756-1355).

Khawarij, Caliph III. It was a group in the early days of Islam that emerged after the murder of Uthman. Their symbol was the red flag.

As a result, despite all the efforts and teachings of the imperialist powers, the Palestinians never broke their heartfelt bond with the Turkish people. Carrying Turkish flags next to Palestinian flags in almost every demonstration today is the biggest indicator of this. The meaning of the colors on the flag taught in schools is also as explained here. The Palestinian people have great sympathy for the Turkish people. Such false information is deliberately released by Israel or the Israeli-controlled media in order to prevent the Turkish and Palestinian peoples from coming together.