The Union of Comoros

The National Flag of Comoros

The Union of Comoros is a small nation of 3 islands off the island of Madagascar. There is a 4th island, but that island, Mayotte, opted to remain French upon independence in 1975. Before independence, the Comoros flag was a simple green banner with 4 white stars running diagonally up it, with an Islamic crescent in the top right corner.

Under Ali Soilih, the Comoros moved towards "Communism with Islamic ideals" and at independence, opted for a new flag. This was predominantly red, with the 4 stars of the 4 Comoros islands and crescent in the top corner, and a green stripe along the bottom.

However, Soilih led the nation into a period of isolation, and in 1978, he was overthrown by Ahmed Abdallah. However, his rule was far more authoritarian and introduced strict Islamic rules for the nation. He introduced a new flag, which went back to a simple green banner with 4 stars, and the Islamic crescent. This time, the stars where aligned much closer to the crescent.

He led the nation until 1992, when he was killed by a disgruntled military officer, and another dictatorship took over. Along with a new flag. This time, twisting the crescent so the points now faced upwards.

Yet another coup saw yet another flag. Again, with the crescent now vertical, and with Islamic scripts placed in 2 of the corners. This proved to be the flag of the Comoros from 1996, to 2001.

Finally, under heavy international pressure, negotiations led to a new constitution giving each island a degree of autonomy, and gave the nation a new name. The Union of Comoros. And in 2002, a new flag came in. This flag features the 4 stars and crescent. Now they where placed in a green triangle next to the flags hoist. The flag now features 4 stripes, standing for the 4 islands. Yellow for Moheli, white for Mayotte (claimed by Comoros, but administered by France), red for Anjouan and blue for Grande Comore. The crescent and the green represent the nations main religion, Islam.