On The Maghrebi Identity: between historical development and future perspectives
What is the Maghreb:
The Maghreb is an Arabic word that means the place where the sun sets. The word used to refer to the current Morocco, for it was believed that the sun sets from there. We can find this term used in this context by many medieval historians such as the Moroccan historian Mohammed El Irfani.
The term however nowadays refers most often to the region of north Africa that includes current: Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Mauritania. The name Maghreb is mostly accompanied with the word “Al Arabi” which means the Arabic Maghreb.
It is not easy, due to lack of historical sources, to track the first use of this term that refers to North Africa. However, it was mainly used by easterners after the Islamic conquests in north Africa to refer to the region in the west of Egypt. The Arabic addition to it is most probably due to the “Arabization” of the region after years of the coming of Arab Muslims to the region through conquest and immigration and spreading the Arabic language and culture.
Ethnicity of the Maghreb:
The Maghreb region is inhabited by mostly Arabs and Berber or Imazighen. The word Berber comes from Barbar. It was used by ancient Greeks to refer to foreign populations that do not belong to the Greek civilization. Later on, the term was intensively and explicitly used by the Romans of North Africa. The first time we track the use of this word was by the Ambassador of Rome in North African Rome to describe Numidians.
It is important to note that the word lost it negative reference through time to only refer the population of north Africa. The term “Berber” is often used interchangeably with Amazigh. Amazigh is a word that comes from the root “Mzegh” which means to rebel or to rebel with one’s group and hence Imazighen means the free man or the rebel.
There have been studies conducted on different samples taken from North Africans on the genetic roots of the inhabitants of the region.
From the paternal side, North Africans are on average 65 % Berber, and 15 % Arabs. From the mother side, Maghrebis seem to be much more diverse. There are markers of European, east African and Iberian and North African origins, and the Arab marker seem to be less frequent on the mother side.
These results had shaken up many North Africans as they somehow put under question their identity, what was mostly considered Arab. This shows the colossal influence Arabic as a language and a culture had. What made a very diverse population become considered more of an Arab? Why did the Arabic language take over the native languages of the region?
The Muslims conquest of North Africa date back to the third caliph Uthman Ibn Afan, however the most important part took place between 665 CE and 689 CE at the time of the Umayyad. During this period, the region experienced spread of Islam among its inhabitants. Yet the Arabic language and culture were only accessible to the elite minority of Berber tribes of the region. Three centuries later, this changed with the coming of Banu Hilal.
Who are Banu Hilal?
The Banu Hilal were tribes in Upper Egypt who arrived to nowadays Maghreb circa 1048 CE,
The tribes, known for their pillage, occupied and ruled over the majority of current Algeria and Tunisia, except for certain mountainous regions such as the Kabylie (Northern Algeria) which served as a refuge from the Banu Hilal for natives.
The sovereignty of the Hilalians affected the politics and the economics of the region greatly. As the ruling entity, the Hilalians used Arabic language in their communications and administrative works, which forced Ipso facto the natives to adapt to this new language. Furthermore, not all Berber tribe leaders saw them as a threat. Unlike city dwellers, the Berber Nomads tied relations with the newcomers more easily since they shared a similar lifestyle.
This ethnic and cultural mélange contributed to, as Ibn Khaldun calls it the “Arabization” of North Afrikya. This indeed marked a new era in the history of Amazigh and in shaping up of the Amazigh or “Maghreb” identity.
What is (a Maghrebian) identity?
According to Oxford dictionary, identity is defined as: “The characteristics determining who or what a person or thing is”. In such case, what are the characteristics determining what a Maghrebian is?
There are usually two distinct perspectives on this: one is the Maghrebi is an Arab, Muslim with some Berber influence and the other more or less opposite idea, the Maghrebi is a Berber that was influenced by Islam and Arabic culture.
The majority of the Inhabitants of North Africa are native Arabic speaker. It is estimated that 80% of Maghrebis are Arabophones in very different dialects known as “daridja”. The institutions function primarily in Arabic language and the educational system is taught in Arabic as a first language with Berber language taught only as a non-compulsory subject in Algeria and Morocco. It is only recently, and after long fights that Berber is recognized as an official language in Morocco and Algeria.
Yet, does the language define Identity or is a language one of the characteristics that determine identity? English is the official language in Nigeria, does that make Nigerian English?
On the other side, the proponents of the homogeneous Berber Maghrebi identity, refer to the ethnic origins of the North African populations that are indeed, genetically dominantly Berber. But does identity rely only on ethnicity? If a fourth generation son of an Algerian immigrant family was born and raised in France, does that still make him an Algerian? Is he French? Is he both?
The core problem in the identity debate in the Maghreb, is the polarization of the issue. It puts us in a position to choose between two extremist views which tends to make us insensitive to a lot of what we consider our “identity”.
The Maghreb region is linguistically Arabophone, genetically mainly Berber and Iberian yet there is much more into that in its identity. The Maghreb region as its history portrays, was influenced by diverse colonizers and cohabitation of other populations: Romans, Spanish and lately Turkish and French. The influence of each was different according to its own era and circumstances yet it is still manifest. Many North African customs are originally Turkish, this could be seen in its cuisine, wedding and circumcision rituals and even its language and life style. The French colonization have had an inerasable influence on not only the language (a war trophy according to Algerian author Kateb Yacine), for the Daridja has uncountable terms derived from French, but also the lifestyle and most importantly the way of thinking. The Maghrebin French literature have produced one of the best francophone works. Until today, the books of Driss Chraibi, Assia Djebar or Kateb Yacine to name a few, are being taught in universities worldwide. Not to mention that most of Algerian, Tunisian and Moroccan universities teach natural sciences in the French language.
Maghrebin identity is indeed much more complex to be reduced to two opposing views. It cannot be simply based on language and ethnicity for even within these two characteristics there is no unanimity.
This will lead us to a controversial question: is there a Maghrebian Identity? If yes, how can we define it and do we really need to do so?
From a small survey of Maghrebin youth, I was astonished by the diversity of answers I received when asking what did the Maghreb and Maghrebian Identity mean to them.
Some refused the very idea of the Maghreb. One argument was the fact that the concept of the Maghreb itself did not come from the Maghrebians but was rather imposed on them by easterners. There should be rather change toward a north African notion of the region instead of the Arabic Maghreb as many believed that the former is much more inclusive and representative of the specificities and divergence of the region.
Some others lean more toward a nationalist definition of identity and discard the idea of the Maghreb. Each country of the north African regions has its own characteristics and its own identity. The adherents of this view think that these are too specific to be generalized over a whole region and hence putting the north Africans in one category lead to the cancellations of many other crucial identifications.
Some, accept the Idea of the Maghreb, yet, they prefer a more inclusive Maghrebian identity. One that unites all the elements from traditions, mores, languages, history and ethnicities and values each and every aspect of it.
What is next for the future Maghreb?
Recognizing historical facts and ethnic origins of the North African region is a right, a must and a necessity. It is our right to know our history as it happened, accept it and celebrate it. All Berber movements and activists who fought and still fight historical defamation of facts are to be saluted and, supported by every citizen regardless of how they identify. The Berber identity of North Afrikya should be valuated and reintegrated in our books and lives.
However, imposing one homogeneous idea of who the Maghrebians is more damaging and further divisive. In the past, we’ve seen that a similar politic of homogenisation has only led to more separation, exclusions and tensions between neighboring countries and even country mates.
Who is a Maghrebian then? Maybe it is about time we leave this question unanswered, for it is an individual matter. Any attempts to generate a definition adopted by a certain constitution would cause an exclusion and hence another ethnic or religious conflict. Maybe it is about time we simply, accept and celebrate the diversity of north Afrikya and leave the door open to everyone to identify with whatever characteristics of North Africa they see convenient. It is smarter, and safer to seek constitutions and unions that include all.
We need to rewrite our history books, change the rhetoric and rectify information, however we should be too vigilant not to commit the same mistakes the previous ones did by creating another homogenous society that has no space for diversity.
It is important to listen to the youth of today, and the youth of today seem to want a dynamic identity. An identity that is interacts with the rest of world, influence and gets influenced.
Yasmine Bougerche
Bibliography:
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Berber
http://latin-dictionary.net/definition/6121/barbarus-barbara
Les invasions hilaliennes en Ifrîqiya, François Decret (Article académique)
Génétiquement, les Maghrébins ne sont pas des Arabes (Article)
