Senior News Editor of Yahoo! Maktoob Arabic Nasry Esmat explains the meaning of the flag held up by people taken hostage in a Lindt cafe in Sydney's Martin Place by an alleged gunman, and why it is different to the flag waved by Islamic State.

The flag raised by hostages in Sydney café is written in Arabic language and says “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger”, which is the basic statement of belief in Islam.

This statement is used by different Islamic groups such as the Jabhat Al-Nusra (the Nusra Front), the Islamic group fighting against Bashar Al-Assad in Syria, the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, Boko Haram in Nigeria and even in national flags such as Saudi Arabia official flag and different versions of Afghanistan flag between 1992 and 2001.





The statement is not hostile in nature and is widely used by Muslims in their daily lives and in Islamic events and prayers.

The reason jihadist groups use this statement is because they see themselves as Islam representatives and main defenders, and they believe that the religious bond between their members is the reason for their unity more than nationality, race or origin.

View photos Image 1: The Islamic State flag, which is black and features white text saying “There is no God but Allah”. Photo: AP More



They also use it because it was used in campaigns to spread Islam in the time of Prophet Muhammad.

The flag used in Martin Place is different to the kind used by Islamic State in font and shape, even though it has the same message.

The Islamic State flag is black with white text, which says “There is no God but Allah” (Image 1).

View photos Image 2: The Jabhat Al-Nusra flag, which says “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger” and the 'Jabhat Al-Nusra' name underneath. Photo: AP More

It also has a white circle that contains the rest of the statement, which is “Muhammad is his messenger”.

While the Jabhat Al-Nusra (Image 2) flag is slightly more similar to the flag held in the Lindt café, it is black and has the statement, “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger” and the Jabhat Al-Nusra name written underneath it.

View photos Image 3: The Saudi Arabia flag, which says “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger”. Photo: AP More

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