FAO Berberella (and anyone else!) about North Africa

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- Mixu Paatelainen
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FAO Berberella (and anyone else!) about North Africa
OP - April 30, 2009, 06:58 PM

I just wanted to ask about the Berber people. I have a friend who is Algerian (he is a Muslim) and he tells me he hates Arabs. There is a lot of animosity between Arabs and Berber in Algeria, and the Berber are treated like second class citizens. Berber languages are not taught in schools and the Arabs have all the positions of power.

How much of this is true?

Are the majority of Algerians, Moroccans and Tunisians Berber or Arabs?

Are Arabs viewed as conquerers and oppressors?

I would be much appreciative if you could answer these questions!

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Re: FAO Berberella (and anyone else!) about North Africa
Reply #1 - April 30, 2009, 08:39 PM

I dont really know that much about algerian berbers and how they interact with moroccan ones.

However from the little i know the same applied in morocco until recently, ie the berber language was not accepted in school or the work place. The new king agreed with the berber people who have regularly opposed the laws that oppress them.

I'm also not 100% sure how they feel about arabs, on the one hand you have moroccan women trying to make themselves appear more arab trying to lighten the skin and straighten the hair. On the other hand there is undertone of resentment and looking down on tin arabs yet goaded by insecurity.

i never really paid much attention back when i was a muslim to those things, but i will certainly question a few people now to sound them out on the subject.

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Re: FAO Berberella (and anyone else!) about North Africa
Reply #2 - April 30, 2009, 08:42 PM

I knew you weren't algerian, I just thought I would ask you because I wanted to ask a sensible person. my algerian friend is a crazy person who is angry all the time and hates everyone, so I wasn't surprised when he said he hated Arabs, so I wanted to ask someone else how much division there was between Berbers and Arabs in North African countries.

Thanks a lot!

Religion - The hot potato that looked delicious but ended up burning your mouth!

Knock your head on the ground, don't be miserly in your prayers, listen to your Sidi Sheikh, Allahu Akbar! - Lounes Matoub
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Re: FAO Berberella (and anyone else!) about North Africa
Reply #3 - April 30, 2009, 08:48 PM

My ex is Moroccan (Arab) and I went there every year for quite a few years so know it well.

There does exists some animosity and there is a very strong movement amongst many Berbers to preserve their identity, languages and culture.

On the other hand there has been a great deal of intermixing and merging of identities that many do not give it a second thought.

Depends who you talk to really.
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Re: FAO Berberella (and anyone else!) about North Africa
Reply #4 - April 30, 2009, 08:59 PM

@ Berbs. You seem to suggest that Berbers are dark-skinned, but my experience of them is that they are very fair-skinned. (My ex-wife - who considered herself Arab - looked very 'African' to me - she was much darker skinned than you.)
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Re: FAO Berberella (and anyone else!) about North Africa
Reply #5 - April 30, 2009, 09:03 PM

Quote from: Hassan on April 30, 2009, 08:59 PM
@ Berbs. You seem to suggest that Berbers are dark-skinned, but my experience of them is that they are very fair-skinned. (My ex-wife - who considered herself Arab - looked very 'African' to me - she was much darker skinned than you.)

That is what I was thinking. Zinedine Zidane for example looks almost European.

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Re: FAO Berberella (and anyone else!) about North Africa
Reply #6 - April 30, 2009, 09:03 PM

Weird lol all the ones i know are darker, like my colour.

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Re: FAO Berberella (and anyone else!) about North Africa
Reply #7 - April 30, 2009, 09:05 PM

Quote from: BerberElla on April 30, 2009, 09:03 PM
Weird lol all the ones i know are darker, like my colour.

Well there are many different Berber tribes - with different languages - the ones I knew were from the Rif mountains of the north.
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Re: FAO Berberella (and anyone else!) about North Africa
Reply #8 - April 30, 2009, 09:05 PM

Im not saying they all are though. My little sister is blonde and fair, and she has a moroccan mum. So fair point.

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Re: FAO Berberella (and anyone else!) about North Africa
Reply #9 - May 01, 2009, 01:08 PM

Quote from: aliadiere on April 30, 2009, 06:58 PM
I just wanted to ask about the Berber people. I have a friend who is Algerian (he is a Muslim) and he tells me he hates Arabs. There is a lot of animosity between Arabs and Berber in Algeria, and the Berber are treated like second class citizens. Berber languages are not taught in schools and the Arabs have all the positions of power.

How much of this is true?

Are the majority of Algerians, Moroccans and Tunisians Berber or Arabs?

Are Arabs viewed as conquerers and oppressors?

I would be much appreciative if you could answer these questions!

Algeria is where you'll find real antagonism between berbers (Kabylie is basically a berber enclave) and arabs including a history of revolts and riot. The Algerian berbers are generally light skinned and are historically a mountain people with a strong sense of identity.

Tunisia is basically arabized culturally although many tunisians have berber roots (and turkish, italian etc.). No tensions obviously as few people consider themselves berber.

Morrocan berbers (amazigh) can be brown or light-skinned but generally are darker than arabs in my experience. There isn't really animosity between the two groups but the berber identity movement seems to be best organized in Morroco.

And of course, even the anti-arab secular berbers consider themselves muslims

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Re: FAO Berberella (and anyone else!) about North Africa
Reply #10 - May 01, 2009, 01:25 PM

Not all Berber as dark-skinned, I know some fair-skinned Iranian looking Berber.

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