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Republic of Er Rif (Morocco, 1920-1926)

by Mark Sensen and António Martins, 16 Jun 2004

History of the republic
Flag design
Abd-el-Krim’s personal flag
Other Rif flags

See also:

History of the republic

A revolt broke out in the Spanish part of the Rif mountains, led by Muhammad ibs Abd-el-Krim al-Khattabi. Abd-el-Krim was born in 1882 in the Berber tribe of Bani Uriaghel. He studied Spanish and Arabic, and was appointed qadi al-qudat (Muslim judge) in 1915 in the Melilla district. He was also the editor of the Arabic pages of the newspaper El Telegrama del Rif. He was a supporter of the Egyptian nationalists and the Arab Wahhabits and a great fan of Kemal Atatürk. He fought the Spanish colonial administration and was jailed. He escaped with his brother, the future chief of his army, and organized the resistance of the Berber tribes in the Rif mountains.
Ivan Sache, 15 Jun 2003, quoting [lux01]

There was a Rif War between 1920 and 1926, led by Abd-el Krim (1882-1963) who proclaim the Holy War against Spain. In 1921 he won over the Spanish General Sylvestre in Anoual.
Pascal Vagnat, 07 Jun 1996

In 1921, he defeated the Spanish army and was about to enter Melilla. Abd-el-Krim founded on 19 September 1921 the Republic of Rif and was appointed President of the Republic.
Ivan Sache, 15 Jun 2003, quoting [lux01]

Although this state is always referred to as Republic, Abd el Krim had the title sultan or amir.
Ralf Stelter, 12 Mar 2001

In 1923, an international status for Tangier was proclaimed. In 1924 after the Spaniards left the coast, he nearly threatened to conquer Fes and Tangier.
Pascal Vagnat, 07 Jun 1996

In April 1925, Abd-el-Krim threatened Fes and Taza. A Franco-Spanish conference convened in Madrid and a joint military action was set up. A Spanish army, led by General Sanjurjo, landed in Alhucemas, near Ajir, Abd-el-Krim’s headquarters. Paris sent 100 000 soldiers led by Marshal Philippe Pétain. Abd-el-Krim surrendered on 27 May 1923 in Izemouren. Three days later, he sent a letter to General Boichut, in which he confirmed his surrender, asked for the French protection for his family, and promised to liberate his French prisoners. On 4 June, he was brought with his family to Fes and exiled to the Reunion Island.
Ivan Sache, 15 Jun 2003, quoting [lux01]

In 1926, with the unification of the French and Spanish Military Commandment, he is defeated and is deported to the Reunion Isle. He escaped (1947) from a ship which returned to France and finally died in Egypt.
Pascal Vagnat, 07 Jun 1996

He escaped to Cairo in 1947, where he was granted political asylum. In Cairo, he founded the "Liberation Committee of Arab West" a.k.a. "Maghreb Bureau". After the independence of Morocco, he was invited by King Muhammad V to come back but he refused to do it as long as French troops would stay on the northern African land. Abd-el-Krim died in Cairo on 6 February 1963.
Ivan Sache, 15 Jun 2003, quoting [lux01]

Flag design

Hexagram

I think that can t be a a riffian flag because they dont have a six-pointed star in the flag; only Isreal has that i think that Abdel Karim el Ghatabbi would never accept this flag.
Abdel Karim, 07 May 2000

The hexagram, known in Israel as the Shield of David, was also used frequently in Muslim flags as the “seal of Solomon”. Examples:

Kaliph of the Spanish Protectorate of Morocco (1912-1956)
Moorish Guard of Henry IV of Castile (1454-1479)

It must be taken into account that Israeli-Arab enemity did not exist before the 1917 Balfour Declaration, and in practice started only after the Second World War. So Abd-el-Karim would hardly find it unacceptable to use a hexagram in his republic’s flag — leaving aside the fact that he would consider it an Arab, rather than (at the time) a Sionist symbol.
Santiago Dotor, 11 May 2000

Green emblem centered

by Mark Sensen and António Martins, 16 Jun 2004

Design according to [ivaXX].
Mark Sensen, 06 Jun 1996

Ivanov [ivaXX] reported the same flag, but in proportions 2:3 and with a green crescent and Magen David.
Ivan Sache, 15 Jun 2003

The flag of the Rif Republic as depicted in Banderas [ban] issue #1, drawn by Eduardo Panizo, is quite different from the one in Znamierowski 1999 [zna99]. The one in Banderas looks like the above and was made according to an original captured flag kept in the Spanish Army Museum.
Santiago Dotor, 21 Jan 2002

So, Banderas [ban] published (in issues 1 and 6) two different depictions, both claiming to be drawn from the same original?!
António Martins, 11 Mar 2001

Emblem shifted to the fly

by Ivan Sache, Mark Sensen and António Martins, 16 Jun 2004

On p. 105 of the French edition of Znamierowski (Encyclopedie mondiale des drapeaux [zna00c]), the flag of the Republic of Rif is slightly different than in [ivaXX]: The hexagram is confirmed, but the emblem is much smaller and shifted to the flag fly.
Ivan Sache, 11 Mar 2001

In Banderas [ban] 6, page 10, Tomás Rodríguez Peñas gives exact measures for the flag which is in the Museo del Ejército at Madrid. The device is offcentered to the fly.
Ralf Stelter, 12 Mar 2001

So, Banderas [ban] published (in issues 1 and 6) two different depictions, both claiming to be drawn from the same original?!
António Martins, 11 Mar 2001

Black emblem on long flag

by Ivan Sache, 15 Jun 2003

According to quoting Lux-Wurm [lux01], The flag of the Republic was red with a white lozenge in the middle of the flag, charged with a black crescent and Magen David. Here again, the image shows a flag, in proportions 1:2, with a green crescent and Magen David.
Ivan Sache, 15 Jun 2003

Abd-el-Krim’s personal flag

by Ivan Sache, 15 Jun 2003

Abd-el-Krim used a red flag with a white square canton charged with a black crescent.
Ivan Sache, 15 Jun 2003

as shown in [lux01]

by Ivan Sache, 15 Jun 2003

However, the image at [lux01] has a rectangular canton — nearly square, indeed — and a green crescent! It is a pity that the editorial reviewer, if any, did such a poor job. It would have been easy to point out such a big discrepancy between the text and the matching image, and ask the author for correction.
Ivan Sache, 15 Jun 2003

Other Rif flags

Yellow-blue

(reconstruction!)

by Jaume Ollé, 07 Jul 2001

In 22-9-1998 Hassan Amouch speak in amazigh net about a flag of the Rif republic that one of his friends garde jalousement for many years and that is different from the well know one The colors in diagonal are yellow, black and blue (this last one doubteful) with a crescent in the canton (no color indicated) and David star in the center (also no color quoted). I tryed to reconstruct.
Jaume Ollé, 07 Jul 2001

Green-white

by António Martins, 26 Jun 2004

I know something [about] the real riffian flag: it is horizontal green and white.
Abdel Karim, 07 May 2000