MALDIVES, FLAG OF THE

national flag consisting of a white crescent on a green panel surrounded by a wide red border. The width-to-length ratio of the flag is 2 to 3. Arabs from the Arabian Peninsula and East African coast have sailed and traded widely throughout the Indian Ocean for centuries. Many of their ships carried a plain red ensign, which served as the national flag of Oman, Zanzibar (now part of Tanzania), Kuwait, the Comoros, and several other Arab states or colonies. This flag, on the initiative of Prime Minister Amir Abdul Majeed Didi, was adopted by the Maldives, but in the 20th century it became increasingly necessary for countries to identify themselves clearly in the international arena. Therefore, at some unknown date (probably in the 1930s), the Maldives acquired a new flag. Many variations of the basic design were developed for special purposes such as use by the sultan, display on public buildings for official holidays, or use by the armed forces. The new Maldivian national flag had a green panel with a white crescent, symbolic of the national religion, Islam, as well as of progress, prosperity, and peace. Its broad red border was a reminder of the traditional red flag and of heroes who sacrificed themselves for the nation. Along the hoist was a distinctive narrow vertical stripe composed of black and white diagonal stripes. The Maldives was a British protectorate from 1887 until July 26, 1965, when it regained its independence. At that time the hoist stripe was omitted, but the national flag otherwise stayed the same. Whitney Smith