A volunteer from the Sudanese Red Crescent taking part in activities organized by the National Society on 8 May to celebrate International Red Cross and Red Crescent Day – The red crescent emblem was adopted by the Ottoman Empire in 1876, during the war with Russia, because the authorities believed that the red cross was, by its very nature, offensive to Muslim soldiers. The red crescent was recognized by the 1929 Geneva Convention along with the Persian red lion and sun, which was abandoned in 1980 by the Iranian government in favour of the red crescent. National Societies must use the same emblem as that used by their country's armed forces medical services.