Flag

Raising the Peace Flag at Green Acre in the 1920's.

A flag is a type of banner representing or symbolizing an entity or organization. They are commonly used as symbols for geographical entities (e.g. countries, cities, etc.) and ethnic or cultural groups, and they are traditionally displayed to show patriotism or belonging.

Alternately, flags can be used to represent concepts, ideals, beliefs or ideologies. For instance, an all-white flag may symbolize the desire for one party of a conflict to surrender; the Peace Flag, a white flag with the word "PEACE" written in green letters was flown at Green Acre, to symbolize the desire for peace.

Although examples of flags exist that were designed with Bahá’í ideals in mind, there is no flag that represents the Bahá’í Faith—in the same way, as, for instance, the Buddhist Flag represents Buddhism. When symbols are needed to represent the Bahá’í Faith, one of several Bahá’í symbols are generally used, including the ringstone symbol, the nine-pointed star, or the calligraphy of the Greatest Name.

Notably, in his Encyclopedia of Stateless Nations (1996), author James Minahan presented a flag which he claimed represented the Bahá’ís of Iran, with versions of this flag later circulating on the Internet; however, the veracity of Minahan's claim is doubtful as no source was provided for the flag.