Crescent symbol and Islam

The crescent symbol, which is accepted as the sign of Allah in the Islamic tradition, was used extensively by the Turks in Central Asia, as well as in other civilizations such as Mesopotamia, Greco-Roman, Egypt, Arab, Chinese and Indian. This symbol, which has been used by many societies with different meanings in the historical process, has been transformed and continued to be used with the acceptance of Islam. The crescent, whose place as a symbol of Islam can be traced back to the 11th century, has gained a rich place on various works such as depictions, architecture, reliefs and flags in Turkish-Islamic art. Religious symbols allow a religious meaning or spiritual truth to be conveyed through perceptible objects to the senses. In this sense, religious symbols point to a reality other than itself, to the sacred. The process of becoming a symbol in the Islamic world of the crescent symbol, which has taken a place in the collective memory of the society, constitutes our study area. For this reason, in our study, the place and importance of the crescent symbol in the Islamic tradition in the Qur'an and hadiths will be emphasized by trying to determine the conceptual framework of the symbols. Our aim is to explain the symbol, which also provides cultural transfer, as historical, mythological, cultural and religious. In this context, phenomenological, descriptive, comparative and historical methods were used. Our study titled Crescent Symbol and Islam deals with the mythological and historical background of the crescent symbol, which is accepted as the symbol of Islam, and its place in pre-Islamic and post-Islamic tradition. The existence of the crescent symbol in other civilizations has been mentioned by considering the geographical and cultural factors. The process of symbolization of the crescent in the Islamic tradition has been examined with examples of its use on various works and contributed to the study. Keywords: Symbolism, crescent symbol, Islam, mythology