Many Moroccans want greater respect for the country's Amazigh heritage, but not everyone agrees there is a problem.
By Anouar Hamama for Magharebia in Agadir – 26/02/10
Lahoucine Amouzay, like many Berbers, wants greater rights and respect for Morocco's Amazigh citizens. His activism puts him at odds with those who want an exclusively Arab and Islamic identity for Morocco.
"We live in the margins," Amouzay told Magharebia. "All we get are promises. If we don't fight, we'll always be seen as a backward people."
The Amazigh, commonly known as Berbers, were Morocco's first inhabitants and still account for about 60 percent of the country's nearly 32 million citizens. But Amazigh activists say they are treated like a minority by members of the dominant Arab culture.
Even in Agadir, where Berbers are comparatively affluent and powerful, every day is a struggle, according to Amouzay. Like much of Morocco, Agadir has a huge gap between the poor and the wealthy. Islamists usually blame this inequality on Western influences and capitalism, while Amazigh activists often blame the Arab community and Islamist sway.
Amouzay studies Amazigh culture at Ibn Zohr University of Agadir, one of only three schools in the country with such a program. Even the lush university courtyard is starkly divided. Posters about Amazigh political prisoners and protests line one side, while fliers about Islamist prayer groups dot the other. Most Amazigh activists wear T-shirts and Western clothing, in contrast to the Islamists' more traditional dress.
"We fight all the time ... [t]hey tear our posters down", Amouzay said. "They say we should be good Muslims, speak Arabic, and join the Arab world. They say we invent our problems, create our heritage."
One focal point for that heritage is the Royal Institute of the Amazigh Culture (IRCAM) outside of Rabat. The institute was set up in October 2001 by royal decree, as part of a series of reforms intended to meet domestic Amazigh demands. Other changes followed, including adding Amazigh language classes in schools across Morocco and the official adoption of an Amazigh script.
According to IRCAM member Amina Ibnou-Cheikh, the reforms begun by King Mohammed VI, while well-intentioned, are weak in comparison with ongoing injustices. For instance, only Arabic names can be registered for Moroccan children. And although the majority of the people speak Amazigh languages, these tongues do not share Arabic's official standing.
At the government-run Institute of Studies and Research for Arabicisation (IERA) not far from IRCAM, an administrator who requested anonymity said Amazigh identity had become a "minefield" that most officials avoid discussing.
He claimed that the IERA aims only to Arabicise the government, not the people. After Morocco gained independence from the French in 1956, he said, the government was run using a muddled mix of French and Arabic. Therefore, the IERA aims to standardize the terminology of modern science and "civilization" as used in the Arab world.
However, he was clear about the prospects for Amazigh languages gaining national status. "Arabic signifies who we are. It is the language of the Qur'an. I don't see that changing any time soon."
The rivalry between Arab-Islamic and Amazigh identities also has political currents. Since parties based on ethnicity or religion are banned in Morocco, the Amazigh Moroccan Democratic Party (PDAM) was outlawed in 2008. However, PDAM continues to function in a quasi-political manner.
"One of the best examples of the way things are going is the racist banning of PDAM," said party secretary-general Ahmed Adghirni. "They say we can't have 'Amazigh' in our title, because it's an ethnicity, but the government doesn't treat the names of the Agence Maghreb Arabe Presse, the Park of the Arab League [in Casablanca] or countless institutions the same way."
"We are constantly being Arabicised in this country," he added. "You can even see it in the Family Code, which Moroccans are so proud of, because it supposedly gives women more equality, but still not as much as Amazigh tradition gave them."
The Party for Justice and Development (PJD), which many view as Islamist, sees things differently. A political front-runner, the PJD won the second-most seats in Parliament in the 2007 election. Its former leader, Saadeddine Othmani, is Amazigh.
Othmani said his party is still "undecided" about Amazigh languages gaining official status. "We are a Muslim country, and the greatest resource of our government is Islam," he told Magharebia. "To raise Amazigh languages to the status of the language of God [Arabic], that is a difficult idea."
Othmani pushed for Amazigh languages to be written in Arabic script, rather than an Amazigh script adopted in 2003. "For me, it makes sense. There is no difference between Arabs and the Amazigh. To use a different script would imply one."
He added that Berbers who feel battered by Islamists are falling for Western neo-colonialism. "Islam is a great political mobilization tool in this country. Moroccans are more sensitive to democratic values that come from Islamic history than Montesquieu or Rousseau. Muslim identity and Arab identity unite us. Why is that a bad thing?"
But Ahmed Adghirni said that "religious parties", in which he includes the PJD, try to blindside them. "They talk about religion in order to make us feel un-Islamic if we have a strong Amazigh identity," he says. "What these parties are ignorant about is that religious rhetoric does not resonate much among ordinary Amazigh people."
Mohamed Bataoui, an Amazigh university student in Fez, finds the political situation of the Amazigh appalling, but told Magharebia that both sides often overstate their cases. Originally from Guelmim, he says he has experienced discrimination due to his background, but has developed the ability to educate his detractors.
An Amazigh "in culture and origin, but not in ideology," Bataoui says that the Amazigh political situation remains as it always has, "characterized by unfairness and lack of real desire for a political solution to the Amazigh plight." He says that Morocco is often rewriting its past, ignoring the country's history before Arabs arrived centuries ago.
But despite the rancour, he says, Moroccans must remain a united people, even when such issues divide them. "Arabs and Amazigh are equal and will always remain equal," he said. "Our Islamic religion insists on tolerance and mutual love."
Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/02/26/feature-01.
By Anouar Hamama for Magharebia in Agadir – 26/02/10
Lahoucine Amouzay, like many Berbers, wants greater rights and respect for Morocco's Amazigh citizens. His activism puts him at odds with those who want an exclusively Arab and Islamic identity for Morocco.
"We live in the margins," Amouzay told Magharebia. "All we get are promises. If we don't fight, we'll always be seen as a backward people."
The Amazigh, commonly known as Berbers, were Morocco's first inhabitants and still account for about 60 percent of the country's nearly 32 million citizens. But Amazigh activists say they are treated like a minority by members of the dominant Arab culture.
Even in Agadir, where Berbers are comparatively affluent and powerful, every day is a struggle, according to Amouzay. Like much of Morocco, Agadir has a huge gap between the poor and the wealthy. Islamists usually blame this inequality on Western influences and capitalism, while Amazigh activists often blame the Arab community and Islamist sway.
Amouzay studies Amazigh culture at Ibn Zohr University of Agadir, one of only three schools in the country with such a program. Even the lush university courtyard is starkly divided. Posters about Amazigh political prisoners and protests line one side, while fliers about Islamist prayer groups dot the other. Most Amazigh activists wear T-shirts and Western clothing, in contrast to the Islamists' more traditional dress.
"We fight all the time ... [t]hey tear our posters down", Amouzay said. "They say we should be good Muslims, speak Arabic, and join the Arab world. They say we invent our problems, create our heritage."
One focal point for that heritage is the Royal Institute of the Amazigh Culture (IRCAM) outside of Rabat. The institute was set up in October 2001 by royal decree, as part of a series of reforms intended to meet domestic Amazigh demands. Other changes followed, including adding Amazigh language classes in schools across Morocco and the official adoption of an Amazigh script.
According to IRCAM member Amina Ibnou-Cheikh, the reforms begun by King Mohammed VI, while well-intentioned, are weak in comparison with ongoing injustices. For instance, only Arabic names can be registered for Moroccan children. And although the majority of the people speak Amazigh languages, these tongues do not share Arabic's official standing.
At the government-run Institute of Studies and Research for Arabicisation (IERA) not far from IRCAM, an administrator who requested anonymity said Amazigh identity had become a "minefield" that most officials avoid discussing.
He claimed that the IERA aims only to Arabicise the government, not the people. After Morocco gained independence from the French in 1956, he said, the government was run using a muddled mix of French and Arabic. Therefore, the IERA aims to standardize the terminology of modern science and "civilization" as used in the Arab world.
However, he was clear about the prospects for Amazigh languages gaining national status. "Arabic signifies who we are. It is the language of the Qur'an. I don't see that changing any time soon."
The rivalry between Arab-Islamic and Amazigh identities also has political currents. Since parties based on ethnicity or religion are banned in Morocco, the Amazigh Moroccan Democratic Party (PDAM) was outlawed in 2008. However, PDAM continues to function in a quasi-political manner.
"One of the best examples of the way things are going is the racist banning of PDAM," said party secretary-general Ahmed Adghirni. "They say we can't have 'Amazigh' in our title, because it's an ethnicity, but the government doesn't treat the names of the Agence Maghreb Arabe Presse, the Park of the Arab League [in Casablanca] or countless institutions the same way."
"We are constantly being Arabicised in this country," he added. "You can even see it in the Family Code, which Moroccans are so proud of, because it supposedly gives women more equality, but still not as much as Amazigh tradition gave them."
The Party for Justice and Development (PJD), which many view as Islamist, sees things differently. A political front-runner, the PJD won the second-most seats in Parliament in the 2007 election. Its former leader, Saadeddine Othmani, is Amazigh.
Othmani said his party is still "undecided" about Amazigh languages gaining official status. "We are a Muslim country, and the greatest resource of our government is Islam," he told Magharebia. "To raise Amazigh languages to the status of the language of God [Arabic], that is a difficult idea."
Othmani pushed for Amazigh languages to be written in Arabic script, rather than an Amazigh script adopted in 2003. "For me, it makes sense. There is no difference between Arabs and the Amazigh. To use a different script would imply one."
He added that Berbers who feel battered by Islamists are falling for Western neo-colonialism. "Islam is a great political mobilization tool in this country. Moroccans are more sensitive to democratic values that come from Islamic history than Montesquieu or Rousseau. Muslim identity and Arab identity unite us. Why is that a bad thing?"
But Ahmed Adghirni said that "religious parties", in which he includes the PJD, try to blindside them. "They talk about religion in order to make us feel un-Islamic if we have a strong Amazigh identity," he says. "What these parties are ignorant about is that religious rhetoric does not resonate much among ordinary Amazigh people."
Mohamed Bataoui, an Amazigh university student in Fez, finds the political situation of the Amazigh appalling, but told Magharebia that both sides often overstate their cases. Originally from Guelmim, he says he has experienced discrimination due to his background, but has developed the ability to educate his detractors.
An Amazigh "in culture and origin, but not in ideology," Bataoui says that the Amazigh political situation remains as it always has, "characterized by unfairness and lack of real desire for a political solution to the Amazigh plight." He says that Morocco is often rewriting its past, ignoring the country's history before Arabs arrived centuries ago.
But despite the rancour, he says, Moroccans must remain a united people, even when such issues divide them. "Arabs and Amazigh are equal and will always remain equal," he said. "Our Islamic religion insists on tolerance and mutual love."
Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/02/26/feature-01.
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