13 August 2016•Update: 15 August 2016
By Tasnim al-Nakhili
ISTANBUL
Rabaa symbol has gained international fame after Egyptian security forces violently cleared protesters camping out against a military coup against President Mohamed Morsi in Cairo’s Rabaa al-Adawiya Square in mid-2013, killing hundreds.
A four-fingered hand gesture, the sign has become a world symbol for anti-coup protesters around the globe.
As demonstrations broke out against the Rabaa killings, the sign gained worldwide fame, becoming a symbol for anti-coup demonstrators in the world.
At first, the Rabaa sign started as a symbol for resistance against the military coup in Egypt. It emerged by time to symbolize resistance against coups in the world.
The hand gesture gained a further prominence when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan used it during rallies.
The Rabaa symbol has also been used by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and Israel-occupied West Bank to protest violations by Jewish settlers in East Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque.
In Turkey, after the July 15 failed coup by Fethullah Terrorist Group (FETO), the symbol was not forgotten. At the night of the coup attempt, President Erdogan waved to the people at Istanbul Ataturk Airport.
That time after Erdogan’s call, the people flooded to the streets across Turkey. That time the symbol was not in solidarity against the coup in Egypt, but was used to demonstrate refusal of the coup attempt.
