Flag of Qatar

Qatar
Name	Innabi
Use	National flag and ensign
Proportion	11:28
Adopted	9 July 1971 a

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Flag and emblem of Qatar, displayed above the entrance of the Qatari Embassy in Paris

The flag of Qatar (Arabic: علم قطر‎) is in the ratio of 11:28. It is purple with a broad white serrated band (nine white points) on the hoist side.

The meaning of Qatar's flag is:

The white colour reflects the internationally recognised symbol of peace
The maroon colour symbolizes the blood shed during the several wars Qatar had undergone, particularly in the second half of the 19th century.
The nine-point serrated line indicates that Qatar is the 9th member of the "reconciled Emirates" of the Persian Gulf in the wake of concluding the Qatari-British treaty in 1916.

It is very similar to the flag of the neighbouring country of Bahrain, which has fewer points, a 3:5 proportion, and a red colour instead of maroon.

A popular but fanciful tale referring to the maroon colour and the similarity to the red Bahrain flag, is that purple is what becomes of red fading in the Gulf sun.^[1] The legend goes that Qatar's flag used to be red, and that a new type of dye was used for the original flags. However after being left in the sun, the colour changed to maroon, which was then regarded to be a more beautiful colour (by coincidence). That is also why this specific shade of maroon is called "Qatar Red".

Qatar's emir, like Kuwait's, is not known to have a personal standard, nor does any other member of the royal family.

[edit] History

It is assumed that, in 1855, Shaikh Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani already used a flag with similar pattern and the colour red and white. The flag was officially adopted on July 9, 1971, although a nearly identical flag (only differing in proportion) had been used since 1949.

The flag of Qatar has been spotted in news broadcasts from Benghazi flying in the background with the Libyan rebel flag. this is clearly expressing the support for the rebels of Benghazi from the government of Qatar. The colour of the flag is black and white rather than the maroon and white colour, probably the best that can be done under the siege conditions of the war.^{[citation needed]}