Ten flags prominently combine a star and a crescent: Turkey, Tunisia, Algeria, Pakistan, Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritania, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Comoros. The Maldives is often grouped with them but shows a crescent only, with no star. The star-and-crescent is one of the world's most recognizable flag symbols, spread widely by the Ottoman Empire and later associated with Islam — though the emblem itself is far older than the religion.
A Symbol Older Than It Looks
The pairing of a crescent moon with a star is often assumed to be an ancient Islamic symbol, but its roots run much deeper. Versions of the crescent-and-star appear on coins and carvings from the ancient city of Byzantium (later Constantinople, now Istanbul) and were used in various forms across the pre-Islamic Near East, sometimes linked to moon deities or to the city's patron goddess.
The symbol became firmly attached to a state when the Ottoman Empire adopted it. As the Ottomans expanded across the Balkans, North Africa, and the Middle East, their flags carried the crescent — and eventually the star — into wide use. Because the empire was the leading Muslim power for centuries, the crescent and star gradually came to be read as a symbol of Islam and of the wider Muslim world, an association that persists today even though the mark predates Islam by many centuries.
The Ottoman Heritage Flags
- Turkey: A white crescent and five-pointed star on a red field — the direct descendant of the late Ottoman flag and the model most people picture when they think of the star-and-crescent. Turkey inherited and kept the design after the republic was founded in 1923.
- Tunisia: A red crescent and five-pointed star inside a white disc on a red field. Dating to the early 19th century, it closely echoes Ottoman flags, reflecting Tunisia's long history within the empire's orbit.
- Algeria: A red crescent and star centered over a vertical field of green and white. The green and white represent Islam and purity, while the red crescent and star mark the country's Islamic identity.
South and Southeast Asian Flags
- Pakistan: A white crescent and five-pointed star on a dark green field, with a white vertical stripe at the hoist. The green and crescent represent the Muslim majority, while the white stripe stands for the country's religious minorities.
- Malaysia: A yellow crescent and a 14-point star ("Bintang Persekutuan") set in a blue canton beside red-and-white stripes. The 14 points and 14 stripes represent the country's states and federal territories, while the crescent symbolizes Islam as the state religion.
- Singapore: A white crescent and five stars in the upper hoist on a red-and-white field. Here the crescent represents a young nation on the rise rather than a strictly religious meaning, and the five stars stand for the ideals of democracy, peace, progress, justice, and equality.
African and Caucasus Flags
- Mauritania: A gold crescent and star centered on a green field, framed since 2017 by red stripes at top and bottom. The crescent, star, and green all reference Islam, while the red honors those who gave their lives for the country.
- Azerbaijan: A white crescent and an eight-pointed star on the central red band of a blue-red-green horizontal tricolor. The eight points are often linked to the eight branches of the Turkic peoples.
- Turkmenistan: A white crescent and five white stars beside an ornate vertical carpet-pattern stripe, on a green field. The five stars represent the country's five regions, and the crescent expresses hope for the future.
- Comoros: A green hoist triangle bearing a white crescent and four white stars, set against four colored horizontal stripes. The crescent reflects the islands' Islamic faith, and the four stars stand for the four main islands of the archipelago.
Crescent Only: The Maldives Distinction
- Maldives: A white crescent alone, with no star, centered on a green rectangle bordered by red. It is frequently listed alongside star-and-crescent flags because of its Islamic symbolism, but strictly speaking it shows only the crescent — a useful reminder that the crescent and the star do not always appear together.
What the Symbol Means Today
Across these flags the crescent and star carry overlapping meanings. Most often they signal Islam, reflecting each country's Muslim-majority population and the historical reach of the Ottoman Empire. But the meaning is not fixed: Singapore treats its crescent as a symbol of a rising young nation, and several designs attach numbers of points or stars to internal divisions, regions, or founding ideals. The enduring popularity of the emblem shows how a single, elegant shape can be reinterpreted across very different cultures and centuries.
Good to Know
Is the star and crescent an Islamic symbol?
It is widely associated with Islam today, largely because the Ottoman Empire — the leading Muslim power for centuries — used it and spread it. However, the symbol is not part of Islamic scripture and actually predates the religion, appearing in the ancient Near East long before Islam existed.
Which country first used the star and crescent on its flag?
The modern national use traces to the Ottoman Empire, whose flags carried the crescent and, later, the star. Turkey, as the empire's successor state, kept the design, which is why the Turkish flag is the most iconic star-and-crescent banner.
Does the Maldives flag have a star?
No. The Maldives flag features a white crescent on a green rectangle with a red border, but it has no star. It is often grouped with star-and-crescent flags because of its Islamic symbolism, even though it displays the crescent alone.