Red is in the region of the Indian Ocean a flag color with a great tradition and wide dissemination, from the coasts of Arabia, over Zansibar to the Maldives, which stands in dense context to the islam. Red flags had and have all islamic dynasties, which come from the Alawites (Alides, descentants of Ali) like today Morokko or former North Yemen, the Arabian Emirates and Oman. Oman incorporated to 1730 the african eastern coast, to an in the today Mocambique. They moved their capital to Zansibar (ca. 1830) and founded a new empire which had its red flag, too. The on the between 1997 and 2012 used flag showed hand is probably the Hand of Fatima, a spread symbol of luck. Fatimas was the daughter of the prophet Mohammed. The since 2012 used flag shows a white half-moon and four white stars, like in the national flag of the Comoro Islands.
