What is the ruling on remaining silent and still, out of respect and reverence for the national flag when it is raised, while listening intently to what is recited at that time and standing upright for it?

The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. There are questions regarding Islamic jurisprudence.
What is the ruling on standing before the flag? And what is the ruling on refraining from movement and standing upright for the flag and the national anthem?

The Shaykh : This is, without doubt, one of the traditions of the disbelieving Europeans, and we have been forbidden from imitating them by general and specific prohibitions. It is not permissible for any truly Muslim state to adopt any of the traditions of the disbelievers. However, the matter returns to the one who has the choice not to allow it. Without doubt, the Muslim ruler who has no ruler above him in this world is the one who can change these traditions and these disbelieving customs into Islamic traditions and customs. As for the one who is an employee or a soldier and cannot do anything but follow this system that deviates from Islam, here the ranks of people appear, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: We know that many such problems occur in some Islamic countries; because these are, as we said, foreign traditions.
For example: in some Arab Islamic countries, it is not permissible for a soldier to grow a beard. So the people are in these ranks mentioned in the hadith. Most people today, when they enter the military, shave their beards like this system. Some do not shave it, but they shave it against their will. And some others—and this is very few, and there are examples of this here in Jordan and in our Syria—stand firm and endure, and they face torture and imprisonment, etc., and then Allah the Exalted and Majestic grants them victory, so you see a soldier with a beard, while thousands upon thousands are without beards. So the issue is related to the strength of the faith of the one obligated.
So the one who is obligated to salute the flag with this non-Islamic salute is certainly able not to salute it, but he knows that before him is prison and before him is torture, and perhaps other things we do not know. So the believer with strong faith endures, and what comes after endurance is nothing but victory, as our Lord the Exalted and Majestic has accustomed the believers to. And other people do not endure this endurance, so they salute the flag and their hearts deny this salute. And so we must know that this is wrong, and that the one who is compelled to do it should at least deny it in his heart; because: as is known in some narrations of the authentic hadith. Yes. ?

The questioner : Is merely standing upright before the flag a violation of the oneness of Allah?

The Shaykh : It is known that it violates Islam, the Shari'ah, and Islamic etiquette. This is a form of reverence similar to the reverence of idols; because this flag is just a piece of cloth, but it is blind European imitation, unfortunately!!