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So many Islamic nations and charities use the crescent symbol on their flags or logos (e.g. Turkey, The Red Crescent, etc). In this manner it could be argued that its modern usage is meant to signify identity and, for devout Muslims, brotherhood.
 Though the crescent was originally a secular symbol of authority for Muslim rulers, it is now often used to symbolize the Islamic faith. However, it should be noted that the crescent was not a symbol used for Islam by Hazreti Muhammed or any other early Muslim rulers, as the Islamic religion is, in fact, against appointing "Holy Symbols". During the early centuries of Islam, Muslim authorities simply didn't want any geometric symbols to be used to symbolize Islam, in the way that the cross symbolizes Christianity, the menorah was a commonly-occurring symbol of Judaism, etc. This is why early Islamic coins were covered with Arabic writing, but contained no visual symbols.
In the case of an astronomical crescent, such as the moon observed in the sky, the outer arc will be 180 degree (a half-circle), while the Islamic crescent symbol (Arabic هلال hilāl) is generally shown with an outer arc significantly greater than 180 degrees.
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