Berbers of North Africa

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Berbers of North Africa Background: The Berbers, who call themselves “imazighen” live across northern Africa and trace their roots to the indigenous pre-Arab, pre-Islamic cultures of the region. Approximately 9.5 million of them live in Morocco, about 4.3 million in Algeria, and smaller numbers in neighboring countries. The language belongs to the Afro-Asiatic language family, making it related to the ancient Egyptian language but not to modern Arabic (though Arabic is widely spoken as a second language). Most Berbers are Muslim though remnants of earlier traditions have survived as well. Berbers constitute about one-quarter of the population of Algeria. Of these Berber- speaking Algerians, about half are Kabyles, who live mostly in the mountains east of Algiers (though, as we see in the movie, many have migrated to the cities). Most Berbers, like their Arab co-nationalists, are Sunni Muslims. Throughout the 1980s, the Kabyles revolted against Algerian government policies of Arabization. Discontent and sporadic fighting has continued. To look for in the movie: - an allusion to fighting in the Berber areas - geographical/ecological features and hardships - rural to urban migration - Islamic religious and cultural practices - women’s role in Berber society A few accessible (short, clear, online) resources: “Algerian Overview: Berbers.” World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples – Minority Rights Group International. May 2008. <http://www.minorityrights.org/4083/algeria/berbers.html> 19 Dec. 2013. “Berber,” The Living Africa. <http://library.thinkquest.org/16645/the_people/ ethnic_berber.shtml> 19 Dec. 2013. “Q&A The Berbers.” BBC News. 12 Mar. 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3509799.stm 19 Dec. 2013. Yezza, Hicham. “Beyond Arab vs Berber” The Rich Complexities of Algerian Identity Should Be Celebrated, Not Feared.” Open Democracy. 26 Apr. 2013. < http://www.opendemocracy.net/hicham-yezza/beyond-arab-vs-berber-rich-complexities-of- algerian-identity-should-be-celebrated-not-f> 19 Dec. 2013. Lesson plan: “Arts and Culture of the Berber Tribes of Morocco and the Sahara” by Lorna Holmes - http://cmes.arizona.edu/outreach/lessons and scroll down to the links to the lesson (alphabetically by title). .

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The Berber Identity: a Double Helix of Islam and War by Alvin Okoreeh
The Berber Identity: A Double Helix of Islam and War By Alvin Okoreeh Mezquita de Córdoba, Interior. Muslim Spain is characterized by a myriad of sophisticated and complex dynamics that invariably draw from a foundation rooted in an ethnically diverse populace made up of Arabs, Berbers, muwalladun, Mozarebs, Jews, and Christians. According to most scholars, the overriding theme for this period in the Iberian Peninsula is an unprecedented level of tolerance. The actual level of tolerance experienced by its inhabitants is debatable and relative to time, however, commensurate with the idea of tolerance is the premise that each of the aforementioned groups was able to leave a distinct mark on the era of Muslim dominance in Spain. The Arabs, with longstanding ties to supremacy in Damascus and Baghdad exercised authority as the conqueror and imbued al-Andalus with culture and learning until the fall of the caliphate in 1031. The Berbers were at times allies with the Arabs and Christians, were often enemies with everyone on the Iberian Peninsula, and in the times of the taifas, Almoravid and Almohad dynasties, were the rulers of al-Andalus. The muwalladun, subjugated by Arab perceptions of a dubious conversion to Islam, were mired in compulsory ineptitude under the pretense that their conversion to Islam would yield a more prosperous life. The Mozarebs and Jews, referred to as “people of the book,” experienced a wide spectrum of societal conditions ranging from prosperity to withering persecution. This paper will argue that the Berbers, by virtue of cultural assimilation and an identity forged by militant aggressiveness and religious zealotry, were the most influential ethno-religious group in Muslim Spain from the time of the initial Muslim conquest of Spain by Berber-led Umayyad forces to the last vestige of Muslim dominance in Spain during the time of the Almohads.
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