Title: Relevance of the Star and the Crescent in the Islamic faith... Question: What is the relevance of the star and crescent to the beliefs held by Muslims? Are there any other symbols or icons relevant to the Islamic faith? Answer: The star and the crescent as depicted in a few flags of Muslim countries do not have any significance in the Islamic faith. In other words, the reason for depicting these symbols on flags is not Islamic or religious. On the contrary, it is primarily a continuation of a tradition set by the vast Ottoman-empire (for a period of over half a millennium), which has prompted some of the modern Muslim states to depict these two symbols on their flags. One may, however, ask why did the Ottoman-empire opt for the star and the crescent on its flags. No specific answer can be given for this question. There could be a number of possible reasons. In my opinion, it was to signify the pure nature on which God has created this world. Keeping in view the commonly held Muslim belief of the prohibition of the depiction of living things, it seems that the Ottomans opted for these two celestial bodies to symbolize God's nature [1] . The above explanation should clarify the fact that there is a significant difference between 'symbols of the Islamic faith' and 'symbols adopted by Muslims'. The symbols of the Islamic faith are only those, which have been declared as symbols by the Qur'an or the Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh). These may include the Ka`bah , the five daily prayers, the Hajj , the animal sacrifice at Eid al-Adhaa , the black stone of the Ka`bah etc. All these things symbolize one or the other major reality ascribed to by the Islamic faith. 14 th July 2000 [1] It may be kept in mind that the Muslims hold all the teachings of Islam to be in absolute accordance with the nature on which God has created the universe, including man.