Crescent Moon: Difference between revisions

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The '''crescent [[moon]] and star''', as with the Cross for Christianity and the Star of David for Judaism, is today a common and almost universal symbol for [[Islam]].
The '''crescent [[moon]] and star''', as with the Cross for Christianity and the Star of David for Judaism, is today a common and almost universal symbol for [[Islam]].


It is used on countless mosques and minarets, by charities,<ref>[http://www.ifrc.org/en/ International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies]</ref> and as part of the flags for various Muslim nations, including, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Comoros Islands, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Pakistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Uzbekistan, and Western Sahara.<ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.fotw.net/flags/isl-ori.html|2=2011-05-09}} Islamic flags] - Flags Of The World, October 18, 2008</ref>
It is used on countless mosques and minarets, by charities,<ref>[http://www.ifrc.org/en/ International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies]</ref> and as part of the flags for various Muslim nations, including, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Comoros Islands, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Pakistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Uzbekistan, and Western Sahara.<ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.fotw.net/flags/isl-ori.html|2=2011-05-09}} Islamic flags] - Flags Of The World, October 18, 2008</ref>
The sighting of the new moon is an important ritual to mark the start of months in the Islamic lunar calendar, most significantly the month of Ramadan. There is a lack of unity as to the exact procedure to be followed, which was not specified in the Quran (see [[Hijri Calendar]]).


==Origins and adoption==
==Origins and adoption==
The '''Crescent moon''' was originally the symbol of [[Hubal]], the moon god worshiped by [[Pagan Origins of Islam|Pagans]] at the [[Kaaba|Ka'aba]].<ref>Karen Armstrong (2000, 2002) - [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Islam-Short-History-Universal/dp/1842125834 Islam: A Short History] - p. 11. ISBN 0-8129-6618-x.</ref>
Star and cresent symbols have a long history and are first seen in Summerian iconography, representing the moon god Sin with a cresent moon and his daughter the goddess Ishtar with a star (associated with the planet Venus), though the symbols are depicted side by side, usually also with a disk representing her brother, the sun god. The first examples of a star ''within'' a cresent moon symbol are found in ancient Greco-Roman times on coins associated with the city of Byzantium and the goddess Hecate for whom there had long been a cult there. It is also found on Roman and Persian coins of the 1st and 2nd century CE.<ref>[https://coinweek.com/ancient-coins/star-crescent-ancient-coins/ The Star and Crescent on Ancient Coins] by Mike Markowitz, Coinweek.com 2017</ref> Andrea Gariboldi writes that "while in Roman coinage stars and cresent moons can allude to a generic astrological cult, albeit of oriental origin (''Sol'' and ''Luna'' in particular), or to zodiacal motifs, or to the divinations of the emperor (the case of Caesar's star on Augustus' coinage is the most emblematic), ultimately degenerating, especially on bronze coinage of Constantine's era, to simple iconographic modifs which may be used to distinguish the different ''officinae'' of mints, I believe that the depiction of the sun and glimmering stars and of the crescent moon in Iranian coinage has its justification only in the concept of the, historically temporal, βασιλεία [i.e. kingdom] that places the sovereign at the centre of the universe created by God."<ref>Gariboldi, Andrea (2004) [https://www.jstor.org/stable/29757605 Astral Symbology on Iranian Coinage.] East and West, vol. 54, no. 1/4, pp. 31–53</ref> In the same article she details (with images) how the symbol of a star within cresent moon was used at the four cardinal points on the margins of coins under the Sasanian emperor Kawad I in the 6th century CE and was adopted for purposes of continuity in the Arab-Sasanian coins of the early Islamic era. The star and cresent became a symbol of Islam under the Ottomon empire, occasionally depicted on military flags in the 14th century CE (the cresent moon on its own being more common)<ref>Pamela Berger, The Crescent on the Temple: The Dome of the Rock as Image of the Ancient Jewish Sanctuary (2012), pp. 164-165</ref> and is widely thought to have achieved its widespread prominence and ubiquitous usage that we see in the Islamic world today when it became the Ottoman state symbol in the 18th century CE.
 
It has been claimed that it was not until the Ottoman Empire that the crescent moon and star became affiliated with the Muslim world. When the Turks conquered Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1453, they "adopted the city's existing flag and symbol".<ref>Christine Huda Dodge - [{{Reference archive|1=http://islam.about.com/od/history/a/crescent_moon.htm|2=2011-05-09}} Crescent Moon - Symbol of Islam?] - About.com, accessed May 9, 2011</ref> However, in 1453 the crescent and star symbols were not a part of any known Byzantine flags,<ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/gr_byz.html|2=2011-05-09}} Byzantine Empire] - Flags Of The World, April 24, 2010</ref> and they were already widely used in different parts of the Muslim world, long before the fall of Constantinople.
 
A few examples include; Islamic coins from as early as the 7<sup>th</sup> century,<ref>S. Album & T. Goodwin - [http://www.amazon.com/Sylloge-Islamic-Coins-Ashmolean-Pre-Reform/dp/1854441736 Syllogue Of Islamic Coins In The Ashmolean - The Pre-Reform Coinage Of The Early Islamic Period] - 2002, Volume I, Ashmolean Museum: Oxford (UK), pp. 6-7</ref> Egyptian and Syrian jewellery from the 11<sup>th</sup> century,<ref>"[http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/30.95.37 Pendant (Egypt) (30.95.37)]". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. (October 2006)</ref><ref>"[http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1979.278.2ab Pair of earrings (Greater Syria) (1979.278.2ab)]". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. (October 2006)</ref> Persian armor of the 10<sup>th</sup>-12<sup>th</sup> century, and paintings and drawings depicting Islamic mosques from areas, which then were not covered by the Ottoman Empire and from the times before the fall of Constantinople.<ref>"[http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1994.232.4 Possibly Mir Khalil and Ja'far: Laila and Majnun at School: Page from the Khamsa of Nizami (Quintet of Nizami) (1994.232.4)]". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. (October 2008)</ref>


==Admissibility in Islam==
==Admissibility in Islam==
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==See Also==
==See Also==


* [[Pagan Origins of Islam]]
* [[Pre-Islamic Arabic Religion in Islam]]
{{Translation-links-english|[[Полумесецът|Bulgarian]]}}
 
==External Links==
 
*{{external link| url =  http://www.australianislamistmonitor.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16:yahweh-or-hubal&catid=177&Itemid=63| title = Yahweh or Hubal| publisher = Australian Islamist Monitor| author = | date = December 13, 2006| archiveurl = http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.australianislamistmonitor.org%2Findex.php%3Foption%3Dcom_content%26view%3Darticle%26id%3D16%3Ayahweh-or-hubal%26catid%3D177%26Itemid%3D63&date=2011-05-09| deadurl = yes}}


==References==
==References==

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The crescent moon and star, as with the Cross for Christianity and the Star of David for Judaism, is today a common and almost universal symbol for Islam.

It is used on countless mosques and minarets, by charities,[1] and as part of the flags for various Muslim nations, including, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Comoros Islands, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Pakistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Uzbekistan, and Western Sahara.[2]

The sighting of the new moon is an important ritual to mark the start of months in the Islamic lunar calendar, most significantly the month of Ramadan. There is a lack of unity as to the exact procedure to be followed, which was not specified in the Quran (see Hijri Calendar).

Origins and adoption

Star and cresent symbols have a long history and are first seen in Summerian iconography, representing the moon god Sin with a cresent moon and his daughter the goddess Ishtar with a star (associated with the planet Venus), though the symbols are depicted side by side, usually also with a disk representing her brother, the sun god. The first examples of a star within a cresent moon symbol are found in ancient Greco-Roman times on coins associated with the city of Byzantium and the goddess Hecate for whom there had long been a cult there. It is also found on Roman and Persian coins of the 1st and 2nd century CE.[3] Andrea Gariboldi writes that "while in Roman coinage stars and cresent moons can allude to a generic astrological cult, albeit of oriental origin (Sol and Luna in particular), or to zodiacal motifs, or to the divinations of the emperor (the case of Caesar's star on Augustus' coinage is the most emblematic), ultimately degenerating, especially on bronze coinage of Constantine's era, to simple iconographic modifs which may be used to distinguish the different officinae of mints, I believe that the depiction of the sun and glimmering stars and of the crescent moon in Iranian coinage has its justification only in the concept of the, historically temporal, βασιλεία [i.e. kingdom] that places the sovereign at the centre of the universe created by God."[4] In the same article she details (with images) how the symbol of a star within cresent moon was used at the four cardinal points on the margins of coins under the Sasanian emperor Kawad I in the 6th century CE and was adopted for purposes of continuity in the Arab-Sasanian coins of the early Islamic era. The star and cresent became a symbol of Islam under the Ottomon empire, occasionally depicted on military flags in the 14th century CE (the cresent moon on its own being more common)[5] and is widely thought to have achieved its widespread prominence and ubiquitous usage that we see in the Islamic world today when it became the Ottoman state symbol in the 18th century CE.

Admissibility in Islam

Many scholars of Islam have raised objection to the use of the crescent moon and star as a "symbol of Islam", citing Islam's strict position against iconography.[6][7]

See Also

References

  1. ↑ International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
  2. ↑ Islamic flags - Flags Of The World, October 18, 2008
  3. ↑ The Star and Crescent on Ancient Coins by Mike Markowitz, Coinweek.com 2017
  4. ↑ Gariboldi, Andrea (2004) Astral Symbology on Iranian Coinage. East and West, vol. 54, no. 1/4, pp. 31–53
  5. ↑ Pamela Berger, The Crescent on the Temple: The Dome of the Rock as Image of the Ancient Jewish Sanctuary (2012), pp. 164-165
  6. ↑ https://islamqa.info/en/answers/1528/taking-the-crescent-as-a-symbol (salafi/hanbali)
  7. ↑ https://islamqa.org/hanafi/askimam/13035 (hanafi)
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