FLAG OF THE COMOROS: HISTORY AND MEANING - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

The flag of the Comoros is the most prominent national symbol of the Republic of the Comoros, an African state made up of an archipelago in the Indian Ocean. It is made up of four horizontal stripes of the same size in yellow, white, red and blue. A green triangle is superimposed on its left side, which includes a white crescent and four stars of the same color.

The Union of the Comoros obtained its independence from France in 1975. Although it had one flag in the colonial period, there have been five that have been used since independence. The crescent with the four stars has been present from the beginning, as has the color green.

Flag of the Union of the Comoros. (By Pas d'auteur is available for the machine identifié. Nightstallion supposé (étant donné la revendication de droit d'auteur)., Via Wikimedia Commons).

The current flag, with the incorporation of the new four colors, came into effect in 2001. Its meaning is related to the four stars. Each of them represents an island in the archipelago.

The yellow represents the island of Mohelí, the red one for Anjouan and the blue one for Greater Comoros. The target identifies the island of Mayotte, a French department claimed by Comoros. On the other hand, the green color and the crescent symbolize the Islamic religion.

History of the flag

The settlement of the Comoros archipelago has been varied. First, the Austronesian peoples were established from at least the 6th century.

Later came the African Bantu, who imposed a Swahili influence. The islands have always remained closely related to Madagascar, their greatest neighbor.

Furthermore, Comoros always had commercial relations with Arab cities. In the 7th century, Arab culture became the dominant one in the archipelago. The islands were an indispensable passage for Arab merchants, especially Sunni Persians.

The Portuguese were the first Europeans to occupy the islands, which ended up being looted. The British had taken the islands of Mauritius and the Seychelles in 1815, which were former French colonies. For this reason, in 1843 France bought the island of Mayotte, starting the French colonization process.

French colony

Through the purchase of Mayotte in 1843, the French colonization process began on the Comoros. Later, in the following decade, France managed to control the islands of Anjouan, Mohelí and Greater Comoros. From the beginning, the flag of that country was the first that flew over its air.

In 1812, France incorporated the Comoros into the colony of Madagascar, diluting its little autonomy. The subordination of the archipelago to Madagascar brought a lot of reluctance in the interior of the territory. This status was maintained until 1946, after World War II, when France declared the Comoros as an overseas territory.

Flag of France, used in the Comoros (1887-1975). (By Deutsch: Diese Grafik wurde von SKopp erstellt.English: This graphic was drawn by SKopp.Español: This file was made by user SKopp.Suomi: Tämän grafiikan on piirtänyt SKopp.Filipino: Ginuhit ni SKopp ang grapikong ito.Portugu: Portugal This graphic was unpacked using SKopp.Slovenčina: Tento obrázok bol vytvorený redaktorom SKopp.Tagalog: Ginuhit ni SKopp ang grapikong ito., Via Wikimedia Commons).

Despite the territorial change, the French tricolor remained the only flag. Elections began to be held in the Comoros, which elected representatives to the French institutions. In this way, the movements for independence began.

The Comoros joined the French Community in 1958 after a referendum, along with the other colonies. That gave them autonomy, exercised by the election of a territorial Assembly. This body made important changes such as that of the capital, which went from Dzaoudzi, in Mayotte, to Moroni, in Greater Comoros.

French colony flag

In the framework of the autonomy of the Comoros, the first flag that identified the archipelago was approved in 1963. It consisted of a green cloth with a white crescent on the left side, representing Islam. In addition, four stars representing each island were arranged diagonally. This flag was accompanied by the French tricolor.

Flag of the Territory of the Comoros (1963-1975). (By Orange Tuesday at en.wikipedia, from Wikimedia Commons).

The independence movement was growing and was imposed on moderate autonomy. In 1972, the Comoros was included as a territory of the UN decolonization committee. That same year, the independentistas won the elections in the archipelago, with the exception of Mayotte, where a pro-French party prevailed.

In June 1973, France and the Comoros signed an agreement to gain independence. In that sense, an independence consultation was convened on September 22, 1974. 94.57% of Comorians voted in favor of independence

Comorian state

The island of Mayotte voted, 63%, to remain in France. That led the French government to reinterpret the result of the consultation and keep Mayotte under its sovereignty.

Independence was precipitated, and on July 6, 1975 the independence of the Comoros was unilaterally declared. France recognized it, but only on the three remaining islands.

Since then, the Comoros has claimed Mayotte as an integral part of its territory. The neighboring island remains an overseas community of the French Republic.

The Comorian state was born after the independence proclaimed by the leader Ahmed Abdallah. However, its stability only lasted a few days as on January 3, 1976 there was a coup d'état that put Ali Soilih in power. This leader established a socialist model that was not maintained, because he was overthrown and assassinated in 1978.

The flag of the Comorian state was quite similar to the model used in the colony. Red occupied two-thirds of the flag, while green was relegated to a stripe at the bottom. The crescent and the four stars were positioned in the upper left corner.

Flag of the Comoros State (1976-1978). (By Zscout370, via Wikimedia Commons).

Islamic Federal Republic of the Comoros

After the overthrow of Soilih, sponsored by French mercenary Bob Denard, Ahmed Abdallah returned to the presidency. In an election with a single candidate, he was elected president. His government became dictatorial and authoritarian, because he established a one-party regime.

One of the changes that occurred since 1978 was that of the flag. With Abdallah the green cloth was retaken. This time, the crescent occupied an inclined position in the central part. The four stars give the impression of closing the semicircle, following the inclination.

Flag of the Islamic Federal Republic of Comoros. (1978-1991). (Par Mysid (Self-drawn in CorelDraw, based on FOTW.), Via Wikimedia Commons).

1991 flag

Abdallah faced various coups, until he was assassinated in 1989. Saïd Mohamed Djohar, President of the Supreme Court and Soilih's half-brother, assumed the presidency.

Djohar was elected president in disputed elections in 1990. The following year, in 1991, the previous flag was modified. The green color remained, but now the crescent was open upwards, with the stars closing it horizontally.

Flag of the Federal Islamic Republic of Comoros (1991-1996). (Par Mysid (Self-drawn in CorelDraw, based on FOTW.), Via Wikimedia Commons).

1996 flag

Comoros experienced another coup in September 1995, when Denard's mercenary forces overthrew Djohar. That motivated the French military intervention in the Comoros, called Operation Azalea. The result was Denard's arrest, and Djohar's transfer to Madagascar.

After much controversy, Djohar was able to return to Comoros in January 1996. In March of that year, the country's first democratic elections were held. Its winner was Mohamed Taki Abdulkarim, who had to face the secessionist attempts of Mohelí and Anjouan.

In 1996 a new flag was approved for the Comorian democratic stage. The green background remained the same, but the crescent came to occupy the central part, vertically.

The stars were positioned to his right, also vertically. New inscriptions in Arabic were added, since in the upper left corner an Allah is great was inscribed, while in the opposite, Muhammad.

Flag of the Federal Islamic Republic of Comoros (1996-2001). (By Mysid, via Wikimedia Commons).

Union of the Comoros

After the secessionist tensions that carried out rebel groups in the islands of Anjouan and Moheli, in 2001 a new constitution was approved. In this way, the Union of the Comoros was born, a new federal state in which the presidency would rotate between the islands.

This national re-foundation was embodied in the constitution that was approved in a referendum. Article 1 of the Magna Carta establishes the description of the flag, which remains in force.

Meaning of the flag

The representation of symbols on the current flag of the Union of the Comoros revolves around the number of islands and Islam. The yellow stripe is the one that represents the island of Mohélí, while the red one is the one that identifies the island of Anjouan.

The blue strip, in the lower part of the flag, is the one that identifies with the island of Great Comoros. All these colors are the ones used in the flag of each island. In addition, the white color is the one that represents Mayotte, a French overseas department that is still claimed by the Comoros.

The four stars have a meaning completely related to the stripes. Before the stripes existed, the stars were the representatives on the flag of each of the islands. His role today remains the same.

Instead, the green color and the crescent are symbols that identify Islam. This is the majority religion in the country and it has been the official one of the State for a long period.

Other flags

Each island has its own flag, from which the colors for the national flag are extracted. In the case of the island of Anjouan, its flag is red with a hand and a white crescent in the middle.

Anjouan flag. (By Euku (FOTW), via Wikimedia Commons).

Instead, the Mohéli flag is yellow. Its main distinctive symbol is that in the center it has a large five-pointed star.

Flag of Mohéli. (By odder, via Wikimedia Commons).

Finally, the flag of Great Comoros is dark blue. Its design is similar to the national flag, as it has a crescent and four white stars on the far left.

Flag of Great Comoros. (By Ninane (Inspired in created with inkscape), via Wikimedia Commons).

References

1. Constitution of the Union des Comores. (2001). Article 1. Recovered from ilo.org.
2. Deschamps, A. (2005). Les Comores d'Ahmed Abdallah: mercenaires, révolutionnaires et coelacanthe. KARTHALA Editions. Recovered from books.google.com.
3. Direction du tourisme des Comores. (sf). Histoire. Votre nouvelle destination. The Comoros. Direction du tourisme des Comores. Recovered from tourisme.gouv.km.
4. Hunter, B. (1992). Comoros: République Fédérale Islamique des Comoros. The Statesman's Year-Book: Statistical and Historical Annual of the States of the World for the Year 1992–1993, 441-443. Recovered from link.springer.com.
5. Manouvel, M. (2011). The revision of May 17, 2009: a veritable nouvelle Constitution des Comores. Revue française de droit constitutionnel, (2), 393-410. Recovered from cairn.info.
6. Smith, W. (2011). Flag of Comoros. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. Recovered from britannica.com