Last modified: 2021-05-07 by ian macdonald
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![[American University of Beirut (Lebanon)]](../images/t/th~c1910.gif)
image by Eugene Ipavec, 17 Jan 2008
The American University of Beirut is a private, independent, non-sectarian university in Beirut, Lebanon. It was founded as the Syrian Protestant College by American missionaries in 1866. The name was changed to "American University of Beirut" on November 18, 1920.
Source: Wikipedia
What may be the university flag is shown in two photos, here and here. In each there is a red/white striped flag, not that of Lebanon which is right next to it, and not that of the US (too few stripes – there are 4/5 max). In the second photo, the (same?) flag has white lettering in the red stripes and a golden emblem on a white one. [Ed.: that turns out to likely be the flag of the Lebanese Press Syndicate]
The International College, Beirut is a preparatory school to the AUB.
Eugene Ipavec, 10 Jul 2007
I have seen the AUB flag many times before, although not within the last 40 years, and the one with the lettering and emblem is the one which I remember. My own University, The American University in Washington, DC, was the sister university of AUB; because of the close relationship between it and my alma mater, the university flags were often flown together. Several distinguished AUB scholars, including Charles Malik, the former Lebanese Foreign Minister and UN General Assembly President, held joint appointments, and there would usually be a visitor from AUB who would deliver a special lecture at which that flag would be shown. I recall that their flag, as carried in procession, was garlanded with the Lebanese colors of green, white, and red – as I dimly recall they looked somewhat similar to US military battle honors. It's been 40 years since I even thought of the flag, but the university has always been an oasis of academic freedom in the Middle East. In fact, up until 1948 many Jewish refugees to what was then the Mandated Territory of Palestine went to AUB to study, as their degrees were automatically transferable to US institutions.
Ron Lahav, 10 Jul 2007
The second flag seems identical to the flag in this photo on the site of the Lebanese armed forces (indeed it looks like the same room).
Eugene Ipavec, 15 Jul 2007
A better view: http://www.aub.edu.lb/news/archive/preview.php?id=72700.
Eugene Ipavec, 15 Jan 2008