Star and crescent

A typical presentation of the star and crescent

The national symbol

The Islamic Crescent is a symbol consisting of a Crescent with a star at the concave side. In its modern form, the Star is usually shown with five points (though in earlier centuries a higher number of points was often used). The two signs together, or the crescent only, was long a symbol of Byzantium. Now it is often a symbol of Islam. It is seen on a number of different country flags such as Turkey and Pakistan respectively.

Flag of Ottoman Empire was the first flag featuring a crescent with a star. Other states formerly part of the Ottoman Empire also used the symbol, so the symbol emerged into popular use.

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