Flags and Symbols of Revolution
Enjoy
Soon after the triumph of the Iranian Revolution in February 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini called for the removal of all symbols of the fallen monarchy. Deeming them remnants of a tyrannical regime (taghuti), he called for the nation to create symbols befitting the new revolutionary era. At the head of the list of symbols to replace was the shir-o-khorshid, the lion and sun emblem traditionally associated with the monarchy previously at the center of Iran’s national flag. A national competition was announced in spring 1979 for a new emblem, and eventually it was a design by architect Hamid Nadimi that won out, becoming Iran’s most prominent national symbol.
Iran’s flag is unique in many ways; most prominently, the Allāhu akbar (“God is great”) design at its heart resembles no previously-existing Islamic symbol (such as the crescent and star), but was instead created ex nihilo by an artist to accompany the novel idea it would crown: an Islamic Republic. In Iranian schools today, there are lessons about the colors of the flag – green, white, and red – but little discussion of how the lion and sun came to be replaced suddenly by the Allāhu akbar.
Sun and Lion: Symbol of Monarchy or Islam?
Nadimi’s emblem has always been a controversial one. While national narratives present it as holy and spiritual, there are wide-ranging discussions about whether the flag is appropriate or whether it should be replaced. While this is most prominent in the diaspora – where some who left the country after the Revolution use the previous flag as a symbol of opposition to the present government – the debate persists inside Iran as well. At its most basic level, this debate reflects disagreement about what the symbols of both the previous and the current flag mean. While the sun and lion is most often described as a symbol of monarchy, this is far from certain.
In spring 2014, Iranian president Rouhani’s senior advisor for ethnic and religious minority affairs, Ali Younesi, suggested an Islamic interpretation of Iran’s pre-revolution flag. During a visit to a Tehran synagogue, Younesi suggested that the sun and lion was not merely a monarchic symbol. Younesi argued that the lion was in fact a symbol of the first Shia imam, Imam Ali, and the sun was linked to the Prophet Muhammad.
This argument has historical roots; 20th century Iranian historian Ahmad Kasravi noted the connection between Imam Ali and the lion, and the double-bladed sword it holds is thought to be none other than the famous sword wielded by Imam Ali, the zulfiqar. However, the crown above the lion and sun on the flag – which was added first on coins and medals in the 18th century and then eventually to the flag during the Pahlavi era in the 20th century – altered the flag to be more in tandem with the Persian imperial state.
Younesi consequently suggested that the newly-elected Rouhani administration bring back the Lion and Sun emblem. He also proposed to replace the logo of the Red Crescent – the affiliate of the Red Cross in Muslim-majority countries – with the red Lion and Sun figure. (Under the Pahlavi dynasty, the red Lion and Sun was the only Red Cross affiliate in the world that used a national symbol instead of a religious one.) The reason for this request was to bring back the original Iranian and religious elements back into the sight of public.
Since the 1979 Revolution, there has been a wide-ranging debate on the Iranian national flag. The most common complaint about the current flag is the lack of characteristics linked to Iranianness or Persianness. This is true especially in terms of language, with both the word Allah and the Kufic script reading Allāhu akbar on the green and red stripes being Arabic (The Persian word for God is “Khoda” or “Parwardigār”). One comment on an article about the Younesi synagogue speech, for example, noted that Iran is the only country in the world with a flag containing a language other than its official language. But discussion has largely failed to explore the meaning and concept of the current emblem and flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The characteristics of the Iranian emblem are not well known partially because Nadimi is not a fan of speaking about is work. In interviews they have been known to say this was because designing the flag “was a more divine and spiritual act for me. Due to its grandness, I am speechless when I try to describe it.” When asked about his opinion about the endurance of the flag decades after the Revolution and if he ever expected his emblem to last this long, he said: “We designed this flag in order to hand it over to the hands of Imam Zaman, inshāllāh,” referencing the religious leader that devout Shi’a Muslims believe will return in the End of Times to usher in an era of peace and justice.
Only months after the emblem’s approval, Iraq invaded Iran, beginning an eight year war that left a million dead. Nadimi’s flag came to decorate the coffins of Iranian soldiers killed on the battlefield. As a result, this new flag came to carry heavy emotional weight for Iranians almost immediately. As part of the generation that came of age during the war, the flag triggers a mix of pride, endurance and intense nationalism in me. Seeing the flag on Tehran’s hills today is a reminder of that time for those of us who lived through war and its aftermath.
However, the flag of Iran after the revolution was intended to represent the most fundamental values of Islamic government. As the most important part of the emblem, the iron pillar symbolises justice. In the years after the creation of this flag, the public has interpreted the emblem in many various ways. While the flag was designed in aftermath of the revolution as a powerful tool to carry on its legacy, in the 1980s Iran-Iraq War, it became an emotive symbol for the whole nation. Decades after, there are still debates regarding the flag and if it symbolises the Islamic government outlined in surah al-Hadid. But at the end of the day, what Nadimi wanted to portray or hoped for becomes irrelevant, since the emblem and the flag’s meaning for the Iranian public emerge from the social life of the flag.
Personal stuff
I went to a concert earlier this week (Saint Levant), the energy in the room was off the charts. Some of the stuff the brudda said really just invoked some crazy old feelings in me. It reinstated my desire for community for believing in the causes I do as well as my faith in communal resistance.
To be frank, I’m not sure how to even properly phrase it, but I just felt so invigorated with my life by the end of that gig. Like I was ready to take on the world again, I guess the weight of all the work I have taken on came occasionnally seem daunting/overwhelming but I felt newly motivated and refreshed by the end of the evening. My guess is that it’s because I was provided with a new sense of perspective, given this guy coming from the background he has - has ended up in this circumstance it was just like wow, the world really supports those who can dream and just go all in on what they want from their lives.
That’s to say got big plans, watch this space x x x
Not much else to add this week have a good week, will try to right again at least 1/2x more prior to the end of the calendar year.
Best,
kian