A correlation analysis of low-level conflict in North African Berber groups, 1990-2011 [Ressource électronique] / Suzanne Hollands

Bibliogr. p. 158-162

Master of arts : Liberal studies : Georgetown University : 2014

Berber regions of North Africa have long resisted incursion from the outside world. Regional conquests from the Punics, Greeks and Romans were repeatedly met with persistent and at times violent resistance, particularly under Greek and Roman rule. With the Arab conquest in the seventh century AD, the depth of penetration into Berber culture was fundamentally altered, particularly in the area of religion and language. Though still committed to Islam as a religion, recent Berber movements have shown a marked resistance to Arab cultural identity, seeking instead to re-establish a purely Berber cultural ethos through the revival of their indigenous Amazigh language and customs. Because their former identity precedes the advent of Islam, the Berber have recently sought to reconcile their ancient cultural heritage, particularly their language, with a religion they adopted in the seventh century but whose very language they conceive of as that of a former oppressor. Rather than rejecting Islam, they choose instead to reinvent it, replacing the sacred Arabic language of the QUrán with their lingua franca - Tamazight - in their practice of Islam, thereby uniting both culture and religion and reinforcing a cultural identity. The source of Berber identity prior to Arab domination is difficult to establish. Sources of Arab domination in the Maghreb are prevalent, but sources for pre-Arab dominance are more scant and to date mostly rely on inconclusive archaeological data. Attempts at identifying a uniquely Berber origin have been tainted by prevailing rule: French domination was characterized by the perception of France as inheritor of Roman civilization, the 'higher race' recapturing past glories, duty-bound to civilize the Maghreb's 'inferior' races. Arab rule found the Berber to be uncivilized and unworthy, as did the Greeks and Romans before them, with historical accounts describing the Berber as a collection of inherently unruly, rebellious tribes, with little capacity for cohesion and reliable self-governance. But how accurate are these early accounts given the bias of these early historians? Some regional governments have recently begun to recognize the unique Berber status as the First Peoples of North Africa while others have instead ignored any attempts to acknowledge Berber identity. This study examines the Berber situation both historically and in the present day and looks at statistics concerning the geography of North Africa, current locations of Berber groups, and data on civil unrest for the period 1990-2011. Among other things the study reviews Berber pre-history and the biases reported by M. Ghambou (Chapter 1), reviews Berber history during successive conquests (Chapter 2), and examines the Berber plight today (Chapter 3). Chapter 4 examines the distribution of the 48 known Berber populations groups across North Africa, together with their locations and sizes. Chapter 5 looks at current events in the Maghreb on a country-by-country basis. In Chapter 6 relationships are sought between provincial-level Berber presence and civilian unrest for the period 1990-2011. Finally in the Conclusion some overall conclusions are drawn regarding the current Berber situation, noting dangers and opportunities the future might hold.