Berberism
Encyclopedia
Berber people
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
ethnic nationalism
Ethnic nationalism
Ethnic nationalism is a form of nationalism wherein the "nation" is defined in terms of ethnicity. Whatever specific ethnicity is involved, ethnic nationalism always includes some element of descent from previous generations and the implied claim of ethnic essentialism, i.e...
, found mainly in Kabylia, Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
and later in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
. The movement is in opposition against cultural Arabization
Arabization
Arabization or Arabisation describes a growing cultural influence on a non-Arab area that gradually changes into one that speaks Arabic and/or incorporates Arab culture...
and the Pan-Arabist political ideology.
Amazigh World Congress
The Amazigh World Congress (CMA, Congrès Mondial Amazigh; Agraw Amadlan Amazigh, amazighworld.org) is an international Nongovernemtal Organization with the purpose of providing a structure and international representation for ethnic Berber interests.It was formed in September 1995 in Saint-Rome-de-Dolan
Saint-Rome-de-Dolan
Saint-Rome-de-Dolan is a commune in the Lozère department in southern France.-References:* *...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
It has since held four meetings at irregular intervals, in 1997, 1999, 2002 and 2005.
Algeria
Berberism aspires to the recognition of the distinct BerberBerber people
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
identity of Algeria. Political parties and movements usually considered Berberist include:
- Socialist Forces FrontSocialist Forces FrontThe Socialist Forces Front , , is a social democratic and secularist, political party in Algeria. It was formed in 1963 by Hocine Ait Ahmed...
(Front des forces socialistes, FFS) - Rally for Culture and DemocracyRally for Culture and DemocracyThe Rally for Culture and Democracy is a political party in Algeria. It promotes secularism and has its principal power base in Kabylia, a major Berber-speaking region...
(Rassemblement pour la culture et la démocratie, RCD) - Movement for the Autonomy of KabylieMovement for the autonomy of KabylieThe Movement for the Autonomy of Kabylie is a Kabyle political organization which demands self-government status for the region of Kabylie in Algeria...
(Mouvement pour l'autonomie de la Kabylie, MAK) - Arouch (Mouvement citoyen des Aârchs), a movement that is also organised among KabylesKabyle peopleThe Kabyle people are the largest homogeneous Algerian ethno-cultural and linguistical community and the largest nation in North Africa to be considered exclusively Berber. Their traditional homeland is Kabylie in the north of Algeria, one hundred miles east of Algiers...
.
MAK exalts a unique Kabylian identity instead of a universal Berber one, thus also known as Kabylist
Kabylist
In Algerian politics, the term Kabylist may be used to refer to Kabyle nationalist parties, such as the MAK which support autonomy for Kabylie, or argue that the Kabyles constitute a people unto themselves and distinct from other Algerians....
.
Morocco
Outside AlgeriaAlgeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, fringe Berberist political parties existed in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
:
- Amazigh Democratic Party (Parti démocrate amazigh) was founded in 2005 in RabatRabatRabat , is the capital and third largest city of the Kingdom of Morocco with a population of approximately 650,000...
to promote , political secularismSecularismSecularism is the principle of separation between government institutions and the persons mandated to represent the State from religious institutions and religious dignitaries...
, and Berber cultural and social rights. The party reorganised itself to form the Moroccan Ecologist Party - Greens (Parti écologiste marocain - Izigzawn) in 2006.
- Amazigh Moroccan Democratic Party (BerberBerber languagesThe Berber languages are a family of languages indigenous to North Africa, spoken from Siwa Oasis in Egypt to Morocco , and south to the countries of the Sahara Desert...
:Akabar Amagday Amazigh Amrrukan) was founded in 2005 in Rabat to promote Berber identity, , and Berber cultural rights including recognition of Berber as the official language of Morocco. The party was banned in 2008 by the Moroccan government, but it is not dissolved yet. Its chairman, Ahmed Adghirni, announced a court appeal against the government.
See also
- BerberBerber peopleBerbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
- Ethnic nationalismEthnic nationalismEthnic nationalism is a form of nationalism wherein the "nation" is defined in terms of ethnicity. Whatever specific ethnicity is involved, ethnic nationalism always includes some element of descent from previous generations and the implied claim of ethnic essentialism, i.e...