For the Ottoman Empire, the First World War ended on Oct. 30 , while for other countries it ended on Nov. 11, 1918. Although it has been 100 years, Europe, which is responsible for the war, still spears to be under its effects, even though their problems seem to be resolved.

Instead of the German Empire, which was dissolved with the war, we have the dominant influence of Germany over the European Union, the insecurity in Eastern Europe after the dissolution of the Austria-Hungarian Empire, and instead of the Romanov Empire, Russia’s powerful comeback into global politics which all show that the war is not over. It is not a coincidence that French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel posed for the cameras arm-in-arm. This is the manifestation of their eternal rivalry that they can suppress but cannot hide.

Although it was not responsible for the break out of the First World War, the Ottoman Empire received the most damage. Its territories were divided, shared and turned into what we know today as the Middle East and North Africa. Among all those states founded within the former borders of the Ottoman Empire, one hundred years later it is only Turkey that can stand on its own feet, which was able to rise again and join in on global politics.

The specter of the war itself, not its shadow, is haunting in the Euphrates-Tigris and Nile basins, places which were once the centers of civilization. Despite their geography, which bounds their destinies together, their shared legacy, and despite most of them being Muslim nations, the Middle East and North Africa still are some of the most problematic regions in the world. Even a hundred years later, these geographies have not or could not become an actor in world politics. The disputes and conflicts that were born of the First World War, a war that initially wasn’t theirs, forced them to remain within the margins of the world order.

Their arbitrary borders and especially the borders determined in the Sykes-Picot agreement are often presented as the reasons why. And while this imperial project is being discussed, it is often overlooked that rather than drawing the borders in the region, the intention was to create a Jewish State in the territories of Palestine. When you take a look at this imperial project, you see that except for Palestinian territories, the historical borders of the region were partially taken into consideration. However, when it comes to Palestine, the fact that it was not shared by different parties reveals the actual intention. Hence, thanks to the efforts of Mark Sykes, one of the architects of the Sykes-Picot agreement, the Balfour Declaration, which was publicized by the British Ministry of Foreign affairs 101 years ago, paved the way for the foundation of Israel.

The only thing that will remain in the hands of peoples of the Middle East and North Africa, who are tied to each other with their geographical and historical legacies, are the border disputes that cause conflicts among them even today and also their flags that were designed after the war.

Have you ever wondered who designed the flags of nations of the Middle East and North Africa, who once were living together peacefully under the glorious crescent and star, and how?

Let me first remind you of this: except for Saudi Arabia, the flags of the Eastern Arab world and Egypt generally consist of black, white and green stripes, and in addition to these a red triangle (or sometimes a red stripe) and an emblem placed in the middle with stars or eagles. In addition, while some countries of North Africa preserve this structure, some also have a star and crescent, resembling the Turkish flag.

All these flags were designed after the First World War. Although some central countries like Syria and Iraq and even Lebanon and Egypt have changed their flags for numerous times, they always preserved their initial characteristics.

There are many theories about how they were drawn, and how their symbols and colors were chosen. The first Arab flag which marked the abandonment of the star and crescent and structure is the flag adopted by Hejaz Kingdom of Sharif Huseyn who rebelled against the Ottoman Empire with the support of the British in 1916. It is assumed that all the other flags that were designed later reproduced from this flag.

The green color of the flag represents Prophet Muhammad and his family members; the black represents the Abbasid dynasty; the white represents the Arab leadership; and the red in the corner represents either the Arab tribes or the struggle of the Arabs. Even though the order of the stripes changes and the shapes in the corner are sometimes triangle and sometimes trapezoid, and the stars represent kingdoms, republics or revolutions change; or there have been additions made like Saddam’s addition of the script “Allahu Akbar” and other changes in these flags throughout history, it has always been obvious that this idea originates from imperialism.

Then, how was this idea formed? Those who researched the subject came up with two arguments. One claims that the color preferences were made during the Ottoman era by organizations like al-Fatah who were working for Arab nationalism. In fact, this claim is supported by the fact that Faysal, the son of Sharif Huseyn, who later became the King of Iraq was an active member of this organization. However, the fact that we have no proof for this organization having an idea of a state or a flag confutes this argument.

The founding father of the colors and stripes in the flags of the ten-member states of the Arab League out of the total 22 members is Mark Sykes. He not only determined the borders with the Picot but also drew the first draft of the flags which will be used in those borders. The fact that the regions which are not subjected to the Sykes-Picot agreement have preserved the star and crescent on their flags further strengthens this argument. Hence, even Egypt has kept them on its flag until 1958. Although the inspiration for the later changes made in the Egyptian flag comes from local sources, it is still highly possible that the original idea belongs to Sykes.

Much research has been conducted about this subject. I recommend those who are interested in this subject to read the article written by Elie Podeh, a scholar from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which was published by the Nation and Nationalism journal in 2011.

This story should be a lesson to us. We should always remember our leaders of the National Struggle with mercy and gratitude; they preserved our flag, the star and crescent, which is a legacy from the Ottoman Empire, and a flag that represents all Muslims, and passed it on to the Republic of Turkey.