Summary: For many people the image of the crescent moon and Islam go hand-in-hand. The two have become so entwined in the popular imagination that itrsquo;s lead some to believe that Muslims worship a moon god, which isnrsquo;t true. Muslims worship Allah who they believe is also the god of the Jews and Christians. But how did the two, the moon and Islam, become so closely associated? It all goes back to the Ottomans. The Muslim Ottoman Empire controlled large swaths of the Middle East and North Africa when, as any empire builders, they decided they wanted to expand and the territory they wanted was in Europe ndash; eventually they would come to control Greece, much of the Balkans and portions of eastern Europe. On the Ottoman flag was the crescent moon ndash; a symbol the Turks adopted from the city of Constantinople after conquering it. Because the crescent moon was the symbol for the Ottomans, it also became the symbol for Muslims in general for many in the West. It has since been adopted by some Muslim nations ndash; finding its way onto the flags of countries as diverse as Malaysia, Pakistan and Algeria. Although some in the Muslim community reject the crescent moon because it can be seen as a pagan symbol.
