The following by Dawn Perlmutter is reposted here with permission of the Middle East Forum:

A New Muslim Brotherhood Symbol: R4BIA

by Dawn Perlmutter
FrontPageMagazine.com
September 9, 2013
http://www.meforum.org/3608/r4bia-muslim-brotherhood

Dawn Perlmutter

There is a new Islamist symbol appearing in protests, on social networking sites and at demonstrations throughout the Middle East. The symbol allegedly originated as a four-fingered hand sign by pro-Morsi protesters during demonstrations in Egypt's Rabia al-Adawiya Square. The hand gesture quickly evolved into an image of the hand commonly depicted in black on a bright yellow background. It is called the "R4BIA sign." In English it is officially spelled in capital letters and the letter "A" is replaced with the number 4. It has become the symbol of the massacre of pro-Morsi supporters in Rabia al-Adawiya Square on August 14, 2013. This new sign already has its own history, legend and mysticism and it contains all the attributes that Islamists favor in their symbology, particularly martyrdom.

The design of the symbol has been endowed with characteristics of the sacred in Islam: the color yellow used in the background signifies the golden Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and the hand depicted in the color black denotes the black cloth that covers the Kaaba.