flag of Comoros

While still a French territory in 1963, Comoros chose a distinctive local flag designed by the French heraldist Suzanne Gauthier. Its green background and its crescent reflected the Islamic majority population, and its four white stars represented the islands in the archipelago—Grande Comore (Njazidja), Mohéli (Mwali), Anjouan (Nzwani), and Mayotte. Soon after independence was proclaimed on July 6, 1975, a new national flag was hoisted. It had a red stripe at the top (for socialism) with the white stars and crescents in the hoist corner, flanked along the bottom edge by a green stripe. When that government was overthrown in 1978, a variation of the first flag was adopted. The crescent was larger and its horns faced toward the lower fly corner of the flag; the four stars fell within the horns of the crescent, symbolizing Islam embracing the nation. A change of government in 1992 produced another variation on the flag. The stars were still within the horns of the crescent, but they pointed toward the top edge of the flag (see illustration).

The constitution of October 3, 1996 (approved by referendum October 20), established yet another flag. The horns of the crescent were again turned, this time toward the fly end of the flag. The Islamic symbolism was reinforced by the addition of Arabic inscriptions—in the upper fly corner (“Allah”) and in the lower hoist corner (“Muhammad”). The fourth star in the flag represented a territorial claim on Mayotte, although it continued to be under French control.

Anjouan and Mohéli declared independence from Comoros in 1997—a move that was not internationally recognized. In an attempt to restore unity, the national government drafted a new constitution, which was promulgated on December 23, 2001. At that time the current national flag became official.