Language, Script, Calendar, and the Official Flag

Article 15: Persian is the official and common language and script of the people of Iran. The documents, correspondence, official texts, and schoolbooks must all be in this language and script. However, use of regional and ethnic languages in the press, the mass media, and the teaching of their literature at schools, alongside the Persian language, is freely permitted. Article 16: Since Arabic is the language of the Qur’an and Islamic culture and scholar- ship, and since Persian literature is completely interwoven with it, Arabic must be taught after elementary school, until the end of high school, and in all classes and in all fields of study. Article 17: The official calendar of the country is based on the date of the migration (622 CE) of the Prophet of Islam (God’s peace be upon him and his family). Both the solar and the lunar calendars are valid. However, the operation of the governmental offices is based on the solar calendar. The official weekly holiday is on Friday.

Article 18: The official flag of Iran is in the colors green, white, and red and has inscribed on it the special sign of the Islamic Republic and the slogan “God is Great.”