Alternate symbols of Islam?

Klisz

According to the Genocide, the ubiquitous star-and-crescent was originally a Turkish symbol, and became the symbol of Islam because the West associated the Ottomans with Islam so strongly.

Anyone got any ideas for alternate symbols? I don't have a specific TL or scenario in mind, just curious.
 

Frige

The six-pointed star was also a popular symbol among the Turks in Anatolia. Maybe a different beylik using it as an emblem could found an empire along the same lines as the Ottoman. In the same way that the star and crescent became associated with Islam, the hexagram would in this timeline.

There's already the shahada as a symbol OTL.
 
Thande

Thande

Donor
The star and crescent is actually a symbol of the city of Constantinople/Istanbul, and was used by the Byzantines before being adopted by the Ottomans precisely as a sign of their legitimacy as the heirs to the Byzantines. So its modern use primarily as the symbol of Islam is kind of ironic.

A more appropriate (but much harder to quickly sketch on a 'religions of the world' chart) is the Shahada, or just "Allahu Akbar" perhaps, written in Arabic script.
 
Hapsburg

Hapsburg

Banned
The forked sword thingy, perhaps? The Zulfiqar, supposedly Ali's sword. It's use in some countries as a symbol of their Islamic background. With a more Arab and less Turkic concentration of Islamic power, it could become the universal symbol of the religion.
 

Color-Copycat

Maybe a stylized emblem of two upward facing palms? I forget what the significance of the gesture is, but I know it's relevant, dammit!
 
The Professor

The Professor

What about the Rub el Hizb?
Wouldn't that have great prominence?

220px-ROUB_EL_HIZB_06DE.svg.png
 
Grey Wolf

Grey Wolf

Donor
Didn't Saladin have an eagle?

I'm assuming thats what forms the basis of the flag for Fascist Egypt in Victoria II

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
Thande

Thande

Donor
Sift Green said:
I've seen a symbol like that in early Christian art. Lets see if I can find the images....
Click to expand...

Apparently it was used as the symbol of Tartessos in ancient times, or so they think, and some people think the Muslims got it from the period of Muslim rule in Spain. This might be a coincidence, though, like how the cross was used as a generic occult symbol by some groups centuries before Christ.
 
LSCatilina

LSCatilina

Thande said:
Apparently it was used as the symbol of Tartessos in ancient times, or so they think, and some people think the Muslims got it from the period of Muslim rule in Spain. This might be a coincidence, though, like how the cross was used as a generic occult symbol by some groups centuries before Christ.
Click to expand...
Furthermore, its usage as marking the end of a chapter isn't prior to the conquest of Spain?
 
The Professor

The Professor

Thande said:
Apparently it was used as the symbol of Tartessos in ancient times, or so they think, and some people think the Muslims got it from the period of Muslim rule in Spain. This might be a coincidence, though, like how the cross was used as a generic occult symbol by some groups centuries before Christ.
Click to expand...

Without the circle it is the Star of Lakshmi, a symbol used in Hinduism so it could have come from the east too.

Generically crosses are one of the oldest symbols (probably because, along with spirals, they so easy to scribble) and tend to represent the 4 cardinal points. There is a combination with a circle that was used in neolithic Europe as a solar symbol - two versions of which ended up becoming national church symbols - the Celtic cross and the Bulgar Cross.
 

Lyly

orangnumpanglewat said:
I can't believe nobody suggested the Star of David yet :p
All we need is to get the Karamanids more successful than the Ottomans
Click to expand...
Frige said:
The six-pointed star was also a popular symbol among the Turks in Anatolia. Maybe a different beylik using it as an emblem could found an empire along the same lines as the Ottoman. In the same way that the star and crescent became associated with Islam, the hexagram would in this timeline.
Click to expand...
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