Arab, Amazigh, both and neither: Moroccans grapple with complex identity in light of World Cup exploits

Since the Moroccan national team started accumulating unprecedented successes in this World Cup, Arab and African communities from around the world rallied behind the Atlas Lions, celebrating their common achievements.

The initial disbelief has quickly given way to vibrant outbursts of enthusiasm around the world, as it became the first ever African, Arab country to qualify for the semi-finals of football’s grandest competition.

But with this collective jubilation comes a familiar debate, about the true nature of Moroccans, whether they should be classified as Arab, or simply Amazigh.

Blessed with a complex and rich identity, Moroccans have always been called many things, either Arab, Amazigh, Muslim and African. But the reality is that Moroccans are a little bit of everything.

The vast majority of Moroccans are ethnically Amazigh or Arab, Arabized Berbers, mainly due to the Islamic empire’s conquest of the North African region.

Since then, lines have been blurred. Many amazigh who converted to Islam merged with the Arab culture of their new co-citizens, who in turn introduced Middle-Estaern Arab culture to indigenous Moroccans along with their religion.

Today, Moroccans can pride themselves for having preserved Amazigh culture despite all converting to Islam, and despite having lived so closely alongside Arabs. Staring from the 7th century, with a major nomadic wave in the 11th century, Arab tribes migrated to Morocco.

Imane Mahrit, a French-Moroccan amazigh activist tells Hespress EN that “Moroccan itself entails a certain mix between Arab and Amazigh origins.”

“Most people who identify as Amazigh can trace their lineage to certain tribes, at times it is a blatant identity from the family name alone,” she says, explaining that “although others proudly identify as Arab, having a little bit of both is nearly inevitable as a Moroccan.”

According to the most recent national census, 44% of Moroccans identify as Arab, while 45% identify as Amazigh from different tribes.

Mahrit says that although these numbers seem to make sense, they do not paint a realistic picture.

“Moroccan society is made up of mixed citizens,” she says, adding that “most Moroccans’ identity comes from their direct environment, which at times fails to include both cultures together, as some families simply do not remain in-touch with their forgotten Amazigh/Arab roots.”

Salma Bayoud, a student and beauty activist argues that the debate over whether Moroccans should be considered Arab or Amazigh overshadows an even more pressant question: “Either which we are, what we can be certain of is that we are African.”

“The richness and diversity of Amazigh tribes is perhaps what confuses people,” says Bayoud, explaining that “people now think that the Amazigh are all from the Souss area, or Rif, but in reality, from the north to the south, Amazigh tribes have lived in Morocco before the Islamic conquests, and they all were deeply tied to the continent through trade.”

“The Arab and Amazigh cultures are complimentary in this country,” argues Bayoud, jokingly adding that “the reason many Arabs from the middle east do not understand Moroccan dialect Darija is due to the Amazigh language’s significant influence on Arabic in Morocco.”

African however, seems to be an agreed-upon banner. “Regragui said it and I agree, we should first and foremost represent Africa after Morocco,” insists Bayoud, adding that Moroccan identity should not be reduced to a binary Arab-Amazigh debate, judging it irrelevant.