Flag Day symbolizes the milestones of struggle and unity in Saudi Arabia 
The Saudi leadership has designated Saturday, March 11, as Flag Day, the third national day after Founding Day. The flag symbolizes the milestones of struggle and unity in the Kingdom, its sovereignty, political and economic weight, and its social cohesion.
The approved date corresponds to 1937, as it documents the period in which the flag took its current form.
The first Saudi flag was designed in 1727 from khaz (fabric) and ibrism (the finest types of silk), and it can be said that it is the oldest at the modern Arab and Islamic level, predating the Ottoman flag in 1844, and the Tunisian and Moroccan flags in 1832 and 1915.
The Saudi flag design was finalized even before Sir Mark Sykes’ letter in 1917, which was sent to the Arab countries colonized by Britain. Sykes proposed that the flags of these colonized countries contain a variety of colors ranging from black, white, green and red, referring to the Abbasid, Umayyad and Fatimid states, territories in the west and east of the Arabian Peninsula.
As an example, he presented a drawing similar to the well-known Palestinian flag. The letter took only 25 minutes for him to write, but the results can be seen to date. The document is available in the British National Archive and at the Center for Middle East Studies at Oxford University.
Some Arabs have made efforts to attribute meaning to their flags’ colors based on verses written by the Iraqi poet Sufi Al-Din Al-Hilli, who died in 1339.
Guinness World Records dates the oldest, continuously used national flag to 1219 and says that a piece of cloth fell from the sky during a battle between Denmark and Estonia, and that it was red and had a white cross on it. Because Denmark was lucky in battle, the design was officially chosen as the state flag, and this flag is considered the oldest in the world.
The first Saudi flag was designed in 1727 from khaz (fabric) and ibrism (the finest types of silk), and it can be said that it is the oldest at the modern Arab and Islamic level, predating the Ottoman flag in 1844, and the Tunisian and Moroccan flags in 1832 and 1915.
Flags in their ancient form were wooden sticks with symbols fixed on their head, and the ancient Egyptians and Romans used them 4,000 years ago. They placed their symbols on them, such as the pharaonic snake and the anthropomorphic Roman eagle.
Religious signs are important in the flags of nations, and more than 50 countries have Islamic, Christian, Buddhist or Hindu symbols.
Flags may indicate historic events, as in the case of the German flag that recalls the wars of liberation against Napoleon; the red flag of China, which references the blood of the Chinese in the 1949 revolution, and the founding of the People’s Republic of China; and the 13 red and white horizontal stripes on the American flag representing the original colonies.
Flag Day is a reminder of the importance of the state. The Saudi Flag Act in 1973 stipulated in its 20th article matters relating to the flag’s appearance.
I believe that it is appropriate to amend the system and implement a fine for every capable citizen who disrespects the flag or does not give it adequate care.
• Dr. Bader bin Saud is a weekly columnist for Al-Riyadh and Okaz, a media and knowledge management researcher, and the former deputy commander of the Special Forces for Hajj and Umrah in Saudi Arabia.
