Flag of Mali

The current flag was adopted on 1 March 1961. The original flag was adopted on 4 April 1959, when Mali joined the Mali Federation. This flag was the same, except the golden stripe had a black kanaga, a shape of a squatter man with arms raised to the sky. The figure was removed due to the opposition, in a country whose population is 90% Muslim (95% Sunni 5% Shia), of Islamic fundamentalists (see Aniconism in Islam, the belief against making pictures of the human figure). == Symbolism ==

The green stands for fertility of the land, gold stands for purity and mineral wealth, and the red symbolizes the blood shed for independence from the invader. ==Colour scheme==

File:Flag of the Massina Empire.svg| Historical flag of the Massina Empire (1818–1862), located in the present-day regions of Mopti and Ségou File:Possible Flag of the Wassoulou Empire.svg| Historical flag of the Wassoulou Empire (1878–1898), located in the Wassoulou region (part of present-day Mali, Guinea, and Côte d'Ivoire). File:Flag of the Arab Movement of Azawad.svg|Flag of the Arab Movement of Azawad, a militant organization active in Azawad/northern Mali. File:GATIA flag.svg|Flag of the Imghad Tuareg Self-Defense Group and Allies, a militant organization active in the Gao and Kidal regions. File:Flag of the Movement for the Salvation of Azawad.svg|Flag of the Movement for the Salvation of Azawad, a militant organization and political movement active in the Gao and Kidal regions. File:Roundel of Mali – Type 2.svg|Roundel of the Mali Air Force File:Roundel of Mali.svg|Roundel of the Mali Air Force (variant) == See also ==