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The star and crescent, as a symbol in Islam, has virtually no importance. There is no passage anywhere in the Koran that mentions the star and crescent. In the life of Mohammed, there are no events that give any significance to the star and crescent. In fact, while many Muslims may accept its use as a symbol identifying their faith, many do not. Many see the star and crescent as decidedly un-Islamic. Many even see it as blasphemous.

If the star and crescent has no connection to the Koran, no significance in the life of Mohammad, and elicits extremely divided reactions from Muslims, how did it become recognized around the world as a symbol of Islam?

The recognition certainly did not come by faith. And the symbol did not even have early roots in Islam. Mohammad lived from 570 AD to 633 AD. His writing of the Koran began in 612 AD when he claimed to have received a call from the angel Gabriel and began his life as the Prophet of Allah. In the days of Mohammad, and for centuries afterward, Muslim armies moved under solid-colored flags (which were usually black, green or white) for identification purposes. The star and crescent was nowhere to be seen.

The star and crescent symbol became identified with Islam solely as a result of its association with the Ottoman Empire - and that association did not even begin until eight hundred years after the death of Mohammad. The Ottoman Empire began in 1299 under Osman I and controlled the Muslim world for centuries. In 1453 Constantinople (present day Istanbul) was conquered by the Turks. They adopted the city's flag and symbol - the star and crescent. Centuries of conflict between Muslim and Christian, during which the Muslims operated under the flag of the Ottoman Empire with its star and crescent, made it inevitable that the star and crescent would ultimately become associated with Islam in western minds.

So to reiterate my initial comment, the star and crescent has virtually no importance as a symbol of Islam. In fact, it would seem that much of the Muslim world would be happy to see the symbol go away.

Learn more about this author, Jim Ruth.
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