On Moroccan identity language and ethnicity

Cadi Ayyad University Faculty of Letters and Humans Sciences Marrakech

English Department English Studies course Research Project Module

On Moroccan identity Language and ethnicity By: Khalid Bossette

A term paper submitted to the department of English in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Licence in English Studies

Supervisor: Prof.Binebine Laila

UniversityAcademic UniversityAcademic Year: 2016/2017

On Moroccan Identity language and Ethnicity Cadi Ayyad University

 Spring 2017

Academic year: 2017/2018

Faculty of Letters and Human sciences

Date: 09/06/2017

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Declaration

Student Name: Khalid Boussetta

Student Number: 01322291

I declare that I am fully aware that plagiarism is not only morally wrong, but is legally  penalized. Therefore, I declare that this research paper entitled:

On Moroccan Identity Language and Ethnicity is the product of my work, that it has not been submitted before for any degree or examination in any other university, and that all the sources I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete references.

Signed: Date: 09-06-2017

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Title: On Moroccan Identity language and Ethnicity  Author: Khaled Boussetta  Supervisor: Laila BineBine

 Abstract: Sociologists, philosophers, and scholars, in general, are trying to give us as true a picture of identity as possible, works of culture and cultural studies are the reflecting mirror of societies, and the question of identity is among the important questions that sociology, philosophy, and all concerned disciplines must find answers . This essay, however, is based on the problematic question of the Moroccan identity in relation to language and ethnicity, in a way of gaining a better understanding of the Moroccan identity. The focus of the essay is to analyze and discuss the Moroccan identity, in the aspects of the African belonging and language approach, the Amazigh origins and The Arab hegemony, with reference to the external influence brought by other parties.

Keywords:  Identity, ethnicity, language, Morocco, Amazigh, Arab, African, culture.

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Contents: 1. Introduction

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2. Part One: Definition of personal identity ………………………………………………… 7 3. Part Two: Morocco between the African, the Amazigh, and the Arab identity …………………………………………………………………………………………………..  9

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Chapter 1: The African Belonging and language approach ….……….. 11

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Chapter 2: The Amazigh origins and The Arab Hegemony …..………...14

4. Part Three: Morocco, a crossroads of cultures…………………………….……….. 18  5. Part Four: Ethnicity and identity ……………………………………………………………. 22 6. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………… 26 7. Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………………… 28

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1. Introduction: Many scholars have been trying to answer the question of identity which is one of the most intriguing questions nowadays. the notion of identity is complex, and deep seated as one of the notions scholars themselves differ in its definition. in this essay I will try to put the Moroccan identity into question in virtue of language and ethnic groups that are important elements of our identity as Moroccans. The topic and its importance, and the way sociologists saw identity or wanted us as readers to see it; the world is still very much the subject of study at universities around the world today. We learned about the crisis experienced in many societies facing the  problem of identity and conflicts caused by this phenomenon. I have found myself asking: who we are ? And what make us different  from each other in terms of identity? Why are we so diverse? What do we share as Moroccans? And what makes us different from one person to another and in the meantime alike? In the light of these questions I will discuss and analyze the topic of Moroccan identity from different angles, firstly I will define personal identity Then I will explain the reason behind our diversity and the historical facts that contribute in establishing the diversity in our country. In addition to that I will spot the light on the multicultural identity of Morocco, and the various components shaping multiculturalism in the Moroccan identity such as ethnic Minorities who lived in Morocco in certain times and their collaboration in infecting the Moroccan identity.

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Part One: Definition of personal identity

The term identity is defined according to what the term is referring to in different fields of study, that is to say that a person’s identity from a

 psychological point of view is not the same as a person’s identity from a  philosophical point of view. Philosophy sees that identity deals with such questions as what makes it true that a person at one time is the same person at another time. Philosophy is concerned with the fundamental question of who we are.  John Locke distinguishes between the person and the person’s identity, he

argued that what make a person himself is the faculty of thinking, and a container containing the mind which is practically the body, while identity is determined by two virtues; consciousness and memory, which is an extension of consciousness in the past. According to John Locke, a person’s appearances may

change, and he may lose a part of his body, but he would remain the same as long as he still conscious, identical to himself. Locke argued that a person is a thinking object which is capable of perceiving himself as a self-matching. In spite of the changes occurring in time and space. Consciousness literally means that a person perceives what’s happening inside of his mind, in other words, the continuity of a person’s consciousness is what define his identity. Consciousness links the person’s existence and his past deeds with his actual ones which make

the person remain the same, and simultaneously differ from others. In conclusion, I can only say that consciousness and memory are both responsible  for shaping the personal identity by virtue of spatiotemporal continuity.. Generally, identity in personal identity refers to “numerical identity”

where saying that X and Y are identical to each other. it is the unique numerical identity of a person in the course of time, that is necessary and sufficient

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conditions under which a person at one time and a person at another time, can said to be the same person persisting through time. Definitions are different as identity is different from one person to another and from one field of study to another, what philosophers argued to be their definition of personal identity differs from what psychologists argued to be their ideal of personal identity. Sydney Shoemaker went far more in his definition of personal identity by distinguishing between two definitions of  personal identity, first; the eternal return of a dead person’s identity to a living

 person, that is to say, that a person who existed in the past can be identical to another person existing now. and this seems far beyond reality, we cannot  prove it as well as we cannot objectively investigate its correctness. Second; the  psychological view held the same idea of the eternal return of the consciousness of one dead person to a living one with the difference of the consciousness container (the body); or the physical existence of the person. To conclude defining personal identity, it is not that easy work that can be done by a single thinker or a single field of study, it is a whole process of different definitions and interpretations, as a result it can be just enough to say that personal identity means many things to many people.

Source: An Essay Concerning Human Understanding John Locke chapter 27 http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/assets/pdfs/locke1690book2.pdf 

Personal Identity [Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy] 8

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Part Two: Morocco between the African, the Amazigh, and the Arab identity

Often many ask whether the Kingdom of Morocco is an Arab or Imazighen State especially that in the past decade or so, many voices from  Amazigh speakers began a quest to “re -establish” their heritage and gain recognition both nationally and internationally. Morocco has always been a multi-layered society throughout its rich and vast history, and by looking back thousands of years ago, we can conclude that there is no specific ethnic group that can claim the sovereignty over the land. Even the Amazigh have migrated at some point in history from the Arabic Peninsula, Yemen more specifically, wherein Arabic language is vastly spoken. There is no Abrahamic religion that can claim its threshold in Morocco; Jews, Christians and Muslims all lodged safely in the oldest monarchy in the world. Even Pagans used to live in Morocco, and many archeological studies proved this theory.  Amazighs in Morocco have become vocal in demanding recognition of their rights and resort to diverse strategies to voice them. While the monarchy has taken progressive initiatives in support of their rights, and has come to be seen as a pioneer among regional states with an Amazigh community, public authorities continue to perceive cultural and ethnic differences as a security concern and pursue practices of deliberate discrimination and persecution. These contradictory attitudes contribute to a growing sense of cultural and linguistic alienation and exacerbate feelings of exclusion among Amazigh, thereby complicating national integration.  Amazigh groups themselves have been tempted lately by a more radical line. Some have sought to internationalize their cause, and a few have forged alliances with outside parties, including with Kurds and with some Israeli organizations, thus attracting harsh accusations from political and civil society actors. 9

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 After the death of the late King Hassan II in 1999, his successor King Mohammed VI decided to implement unprecedented policies in the country, including measures to recognize Tamazight as a preserved language and recognize Amazighi culture and heritage. That is great, although Moroccans  from all backgrounds never denied this reality, and no one ever questioned why many speak their own dialect in the streets. But the question that comes to mind is why some radical Amaizigh want to push aside the Arabic language and substitute it with a dialect only spoken in certain areas and by only a few, while  Arabic is widely spoken nationwide. Moreover, there are three different Amazighi dialects, so which one should be picked as an official language of the country? The missing ingredient in the policies implemented by the monarch was the readiness of many Moroccans to comprehend the true meaning of democracy and the real concept of civil liberties. Morocco has always been a land wherein every faith and ethnic group melted together in a perfect harmony to create at some point in history one of the strongest superpowers in the world, and many dynasties ruled the land and never in the Moroccan history we have learned that a specific ethnic group was targeting another to prevail ethnically, except in political situations. Quite the contrary, Jews, Muslims, Christians, Arabs, Amzigh, Sahraouis have all lived in total peace and harmony.

Source: Morocco World News -

https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2013/09/104142/morocco-and-thedialectic-between-arab-and-amazigh-identities/ 

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Chapter 1: The African Belonging and language approach In this paragraph, I will answer the question of who are the Moroccans in terms of belonging and language approach? The first thing that comes to mind is that Moroccans are Africans. In reality, Moroccans are Africans but most of them have forgotten their belongings to Africa, no matter what language they speak, and no matter their skin color. Because of the powerful influence of the European culture and languages, in different parts of Morocco. We as Moroccans have forgotten our  African identity and think of ourselves as Europeans because we think that  Africans are only those with dark skin color. I am not trying to be rude or racist, but all I am trying to do is to convey the reality of this matter as I see it. Our  African belonging is what defines us in the first place as Moroccans and we don’t have to forget about it because Spain is nearer  to us rather than South

 Africa. It is not a question of distance, but it is a question of origin and belonging. What do we share with our neighboring countries Tunisia, Algeria, Libya and Mauritania in terms of language, religion, culture, and ethnicity, even though our nuances is what determine our African identity as Moroccans. Morocco politically and economically is focusing on Africa in the recent years, as many projects have been implemented so to foster the global economic of Africa. This shows how important Africa is for Morocco. I believe that diversity is richness. I have always felt fortunate for the diversity in my country. I admire the fact that everything is different and yet so much alike. What I don’t like are the divisions that are based on such

differences that should not minimize who we are. From a sociolinguistics point of view, Morocco as a whole entity from the south to the north is a continuum of dialects that changes throughout the kingdom by virtue of place and particularity in terms of the spoken dialect of the region and the impact of external factors on it. For example let’s take Tetouan city as a study case, if you are wandering in the streets of the “ Paloma Blanca “ you don’t have to be surprised by the use of many Spanish words in the 11

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inhabitants daily vocabulary, and this is due to the Spanish colonization of the city and the influence of the Spanish language and culture on the people of Tetouan. Thi s is just one example, there are more, but let’s go down a little bit toward Rabat. The spoken dialect in the region of Rabat is much more different than the one spoken in Tetouan, with the French influence on the dialect. The Rabati dialect is a pure Moro ccan “Darija” with a mixture of French language which gives it an esthetical dimension in terms of style, and in terms of communication, it fills the gap of the spoken dialect of the region. Casablanca doesn’t differ from Rabat, but in Marrakech, the spoke n dialect is a Moroccan “Darija“ like the one spoken in Rabat, and Casablanca but with a heavy

different pronunciation. The other cities located in the middle of Morocco are no exception, except  for those regions which speak Tamazight as their Mother tongue. That is the case for Agadir and its regions, Ouarzazate, Taroudant, and others.The south of Morocco is an exception, it differs a lot. The spoken dialect is “Elhassania” it is a combination of Moroccan “darija” and Saharan dialect which is identical to  our

Mauritanian fellows. Every region in Morocco has its own traits of the spoken dialect, which makes the Moroccan “Darija” rich and one of the basic affiliations t hat we

share as Moroccans from north to south. Morocco is very diverse in all aspects of culture and identity as Amine Maalouf argued in his essay on identity about himself: ”what makes me myself

rather than anyone else is the very fact that I am poised between two countries, two or three languages, and several cultural backgrounds.” In brief,  I would

rather say that Amin Maalouf is a meeting ground for many different allegiances and affiliations that shaped who he is. and it is the same thing for Morocco as one entity of different ingredients of identity. The Moroccan identity had been through a historical determinism which makes of Morocco and Moroccans diverse and colorful. Source: Amin Maalouf, In the Name of Identity: Violence and the Need to Belong

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Chapter 2: The Amazigh origins and the Arab hegemony  Nobody can deny the fact of the Amazigh origins of Morocco as a country of North Africa that is known  for the land of the setting sun or the land of “ Tamzgha” as those defenders of the Amazigh identity call it.  The Amazigh

identity has been one of the important and sensitive issues in the circles of  Amazigh intellectuals, since the last past decades. With the arrival of Arabs to North Africa or what is called the Islamic conquest, these new comers established their land and their rules and started their expansion at the expense of the indigenous people of the land. Their  powerful impact and the dominance in the name of Religion have cost the native people their land, their culture, and their identity as well.  As a matter of fact the only concrete remaining factor showing that the  Amazigh were there and not genocide by the colonizer is the fact that they keep their language and a small part of their culture thanks to community work which gave them the power of the union to hold tight to their allegiances and affiliations. The native language of the Amazigh people is Tamazight and their alphabet is called “Tifinagh” composed of 33  letters which is inherited from one generation to another and it is as old as the Amazigh existence. This hardworking race have built a civilization once upon a time in North Africa, unfortunately for long years ago it was politically marginalized and ignored by the people in power. Micheal brett stated that the predominance of written Arabic had ended the writing of Tamazight (berber) language in both the old Libyan and the new  Arabic script, reducing it to folks language, at the same time, an influx from the east of worrior Arab nomads the 11 th century onward was driving the Amazigh off the plains, and into the mountains, and overrunning the desert, together those factors were turning the population from Tamazight speakers into Arabic 13

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speakers, with a consequent loss of original identities. From the 16 th century onward the process continued in the absence of the Amazigh dynasties, which were replaced in Morocco by Arabs claiming descent from the prophet Mohammed (PBUH). From about 2000 BCE, Amazigh languages spread westward from the Nile valley across the Northern Sahara into the Maghreb by the 1 st  millennium BCE, their speakers were the native inhabitants of the vast region encountered by the Greeks, Carthaginians, and Romans, a series of Amazigh peoples, Mauri, Masaesyli, Masulami, Getuli, Garamantes, then give rise to Amazigh kingdoms such as Numidia, and Mauretania. While many of those features of Berber society have survived, they have been greatly modified by the economic and political pressures and opportunities that have built up since the early years of the 20th century. Beginning with the Kabyle of Algeria, emigration from the mountains in search of employment created permanent Berber communities in the cities of the Maghrib as well as in France and the rest of western Europe. That emigration in turn has conveyed modern material and popular  culture back into the homelands. The independence of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya,  Mauritania, Mali, and Niger meanwhile created a new political situation in which Berber  nationalism made its appearance. That circumstance was largely a reaction to the policies of the new governments, which have frowned on a separate Berber identity as a relic of   colonialism incompatible with national unity. In Morocco the monarchy felt threatened, first by the French use of Berbers to dethrone the sultan in 1953 and second by the role of Berber officers in the attempted assassinations of the king in 1971– 72. In Algeria the rebellion in Kabylie in 1963 – 64 was further  justification for a policy of Arabization, resented by Berbers not least because many had been educated in French. Berber studies were forbidden or repressed in both Morocco and Algeria, but in Algeria in 1980 – 81 the cancellation of a lecture on Berber poetry touched off a “Berber Spring” of demonstrations in Kabylie that were energized by popular Berber songs and singers. Berberism under the name of Imazighenity (from the Berber Amazigh, plural Imazighen, adopted as the proper term for the people) was meanwhile formulated academically by Berbers in Paris who founded the journal Awal  in 1985. Berber languages have been revived as a written language called Tamazight (the name of one of the three Moroccan Berber languages) with a modified Latin script as well as Tifinagh, and the people and their culture have

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been fleshed out in print through UNESCO’s ongoing publication of the Frenchlanguage Encyclopédie Berbère.

Growing demands for the recognition of Berbers—in theory as the original inhabitants of North Africa and in practice as distinct components of its society—have met with some success. Tamazight is studied in Algeria and since 2002 has been recognized as a national, but not official, language; despite popular unrest in Kabylie, Berbers have yet to achieve a strong political identity in an Algerian democracy. Berberism in Morocco has led to the creation of a Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture, to schoolteaching in Tamazight, and finally, since 2011, to the recognition of Tamazight as an official language, all in the interest of national unity under the monarchy. Meanwhile, Berber culture provides the invaluable tourist industry with much of its cachet: its distinctive architecture, crafts, and costumes set in a romantic landscape that is specifically Moroccan. In Libya the overthrow of  Muammar al-Qaddafi opened the way for the Berbers of the Nefūsah Plateau to demand a recognized

position in the new order, but the Tuareg from abroad whom Qaddafi had recruited into his army were driven out of the country. The Algerian Tuareg of the Ahaggar were turned into cultivators, their nomadism surviving only as a tourist attraction. But the Tuareg soldiers returned to the southern Sahara to reignite, in concert with Islamic militants, a long-standing conflict of their people with the governments of Mali and Niger over Berber minority status and to make yet another demand for separate status. Although the outcomes of contemporary conflicts remain uncertain, Berberism is sufficiently established as an ideology and as a cultural and political program to provide the scattered communities of Berbers with a new national identity in place of the old anthropological one.

Source: Sydney Shoemaker :  https://www.britannica.com/topic/personal-

identity Last apdates:3-3-2017 15

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Part Three: Morocco, a crossroads of culture

Morocco throughout the past centuries was a melting pot of cultures and civilizations, that contributes to shaping the diverse Moroccan identity of today. Considering Morocco the bridge that links Europe to Africa, the mediator, the in-between medium linking the west with the east. This geographical proximity makes of Morocco a meeting ground for many cultures and ethnicities. Morocco has long been a crossroads between Europe, sub-Saharan and the middle east, and diverse cultural and ethnic groups have migrated through the region and left their mark on it, beginning in the 8th century, indigenous  Amazigh culture was met with waves of Arab conquerors and travelers who brought with them the Islamic faith and the powerful influence of the Arabic language. The arrival of numerous Jewish and Muslims refugees from the Spanish Reconquista beginning in the 16th century left Moroccan culture with a lasting Andalusian quality and starting in the 19th century. The influence of French culture began to grow alongside French political power in all parts of North Africa. The Phoenicians arrived in ancient Morocco during the 12 th century BC, motivated by the search for gold and ivory, being a commercial people. Therefore, the Phoenicians established several commercial cities on the African coasts from the 12th century BC, such as Carthage, Tengis and Lixos. The entry of Morocco into history is associated with Phoenicians who invented writing The alphabet, and entered many items such as pottery and glass ..., in addition to the influences of the Mediterranean culture. The Carthaginians arrived in ancient Morocco during the 6th century BC.  Although the city of Carthage was founded during the 9th century BC, the Carthaginians did not control commercial activity with the Amazigh tribes until 16

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after the Roman conquest of Phenicia (6th century BC) and established many centers The Carthaginian interest in ancient Morocco is linked to the mediation role played by the Amazigh tribes with the sub-Saharan region. Thus, the Moroccans were influenced by the Carthaginians in the social, economic and  political fields, but the trade was done through barter. The social life of the Amazigh population was influenced by the Carthaginian culture, where they learned their language and were influenced by their customs and traditions such as henna, kohl, dress and jewelery, and the use of pottery. Some of these customs still prevail in Morocco today.  After the collapse of the Carthaginians, the Roman took over the Northern parts of Morocco and as any other powerful civilization that settled  for years in Morocco, they left their mark on the country and on the people. and by the end of their term, the Arab conquest took place bringing a new hurricane to Morocco with all the changes and flux brought by Arabs who turned the native Amazigh into Muslims officially sharing a huge part of the Arab identity. and since then Amazigh and Arabs coexisted together with other ethnicities such as Jews and Christians in the land of the setting sun, and made the history of Morocco with all its aspects, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Those ethnic groups lived side by side. they had their trace stressed directly or indirectly on our Moroccan identity. Last but not least, is the European influence on Morocco, for so long Morocco was colonized and exploited by its Europeans neighbors who left their mark as well as their scars on all life aspects of the Moroccan people, culturally our ancestors were marginalized by the colonizer and this is obvious today, they cannot write or read, they left Moroccans ignorant and illiterate, economically they were trying valiantly to survive, and because Most of the Moroccans their lives back then was dependent on agriculture, the colonizer exploited the  farmers and their cattle, and even after independence. as a matter of fact the Europeans contribute in distorting our identity, and make of it subordinate identity of their identity. They exploit the land and the people to serve their greedy goals. The Moroccan identity before the French protectorate is not the same after independence. We have been through harsh conditions set by the colonizer to weigh us down and their desires were successfully fulfilled. It is 17

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really horrible to feel strange in your country of birth that should speak your mother language, because sometimes I find myself wondering are we really independent?

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Part Four: Ethnicity and identity

Nowadays ethnicity is much-discussed issue in the contemporary world , especially in the third world, the underdeveloped countries. Ethnic identity always materializes in relation with someone else. Identity is contextual and can be changeable and manipulated in terms of both the derivation and expression, that is now well spread and is certainly expectable, for it shares these traits with all that is cultural. It is almost impossible to delineate the boundaries of one cultural identity and the beginning of another.”Berrman 1983” 

 Another way in which social groups are similarly distinguished is through ethnicity, a shared heritage defined by common characteristics such as language, religion, cultural practices and nationality t hat differentiate one group from other groups. Have you ever wondered why foods with similar ingredients taste different? The comparison illustrates cultural practices that distinguish ethnic groups. Sometimes we have an assumption about an ethnic group that is not true for all members. For example, Arabs are an ethnic group but differ on religion. They adhere to Christianity, Islam or atheism, Even though the story of ethnic groups as immigrants is widely accepted, immigrants ’roles and place in society are still debated. Some think that once a person

resides in another country, that person needs to shed his or her cultural traits and adopt the cultural traits of the members of the dominant group. This is called assimilation. Another way to view immigrants’ place in the country as a

union, a collection of various ethnic groups that make up society. In this manner, societal culture evolves in some ways while other aspects remain unchanged. Source: Race and Ethnicity Sergio Romero What is Ethnicity page 4 19

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In his Essay “on the Amazigh Identity of Morocco” written in Arabic, the

author Mohammed boudahnane explains that ethnicity is not an important element of identity, and further explains that this contradicts the prevailing cultural understanding of the notion identity in the dominant culture in Morocco which is obviously the Arabic culture, In which ethnicity and kinship have an important role of determining identity. In the reality of this identity if it is not separable in the way the most Moroccan intellectuals perceive the notion of identity in its frequent and general definition from ethnic origin and belonging. Therefore the dominant culture in Morocco is the Arabic culture that considers ethnicity the one and the only element of identity, says Boudahnane. On the other hand, we have to admit that ethnicity has an important role in explaining the events and history course, and that is perceived in many countries that made history thanks to ethnicity, and the best example illustrating this case is the Nazis in Germany. Many modern Kingdoms are inherited, based on ethnic affiliation; the crown passes to the male line of the royal family by virtue of blood and kinship, then the question that arises, how is it possible to exclude ethnicity in determining the person’s identity if it has such

importance and influence on both politics and history? Because there is no pure race that has extension through decades and even if we suppose it exists we cannot objectively prove it. Is Morocco 100  percent Arabic or Amazigh or something else? to answer this question of ethnic identity Budahnane argued that ethnic identity is different and various because of mixed marriage between different ethnic groups, and if a couple get married, and each one of them belongs to a different ethnic group consequently they will give birth to a new ethnic identity which has both genes of the parent, for example if an Amazigh male married to an Arab female, what would be their children identity Amazigh or Arab? To solve the dilemma posed by the ethnic  perception of identity, the holders of such attitude say that the identity of the children of such mixed marriage would be multiple i.e Amazigh and Arab, and this is the impasse the ethnic concept of identity leads to, ethnicity is a diverse combination resulting from mating and intermarriage. Consequently, the number of identities resulting of this mating would be equal to the number of ethnic groups forming these new identities. Historically, this plural ethnic understanding of identity exclude the terminology of identity itself. since the 20

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number of identities of ethnic origin would be equal to the number of the  families and the tribes and dynasties that will be estimated of thousands, which denies the existence of one identity and one land of the people concerned. Moreover the country should objectively reflect in its cultural identity “pluralism” of ethnic identities, so it can represent all the ethnic groups

belonging to it Amazigh, Arabs, Andalusian, Jews, sub Saharan… and maintain symbolism for all components. and also French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian … because there are Moroccans who married foreigners from these

countries, and the identity of their children bear in part of it the identity of these countries. Thus we eliminate identity it is related to race, which is inherently diverse, variable and multi-ethnic due to the intermingling of genealogy imposed by mating, migration and cross-border movement. So if there is no  pure ethnicity, on what basis do we say that Morocco and Moroccans are of  Amazigh Identity? The Moroccan soil has been, and will be always Amazigh argued Boudahnane regardless of its ethnic components, as it is the case for all countries of the world where the identity of their peoples is determined by their territorial and non ethnic affiliation, therefore Morocco is of Amazigh identity. For example the former French president Nikolas Sarkozy is of Hungarian origins, and he was elected as president of the French Republic and he shares the French identity with the French people because of his belonging to the French soil which has nothing to do with his ethnic origin, the same is true for the US former president Barack Obama, of Kenyan ethnic origin which has nothing to do with his US land based identity, which is the basis of his American identity on which he was elected by the American people in 2008 and reelected in 2012 as president of the United States of America. Ethnic identity is formed by both tangible and intangible characteristics. Tangible characteristics, such as shared culture or common visible physical traits, are important because they contribute to the group’s feeling of identity,

solidarity, and uniqueness. As a result, the group considers perceived and real threats to its tangible characteristics as risks to its identity. If the group takes steps to confront the threats, its ethnicity becomes politicized, and the group becomes a political actor by virtue of its shared identity. On the other side, ethnicity is just as much based on intangible factors, namely, on what 21

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 people believe, or are made to believe, to create a sense of solidarity among members of a particular ethnic group and to exclude those who are not members.

Source: Mohammed Boudhane: on the Amazigh Identity of Morocco Page 20-25 22

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6-Conclusion:

the question of identity is complicated and deep-seated as I have been arguing in this essay, therefore dealing with such as notion will teach you how to be aware of it. you may find yourself dealing with an acquainted term, but it is treacherous, since identity can take many forms and shapes; it is flexible, and it fits to all, it is tasty and colorful like candy, and it could be as chilly as  peppers, it could be your enemy, or it might be your ally generally it is a recipe made up of allegiances, affiliations, affinities, tastes and so on. Everyone has his own understanding of the notion identity. To some people it is nationality, and to others it is a religion; if you pose the question who are you? They would simply answer; I am a Muslim, a Christian or a Jewish. The reality is that identifying, describing an understanding of one’s id entity is never

straightforward. the notion of identity is a complex one and perhaps cannot be viewed as a single and unified self, instead we operate using multiple shifting identities, and this notion of self identity becomes increasingly complicated the more we interact with the external world. Sociologists attempts to answer the question of identity is not an easy work that can be done by anyone. It is as difficult and complicated as the question of what make people humans in terms of philosophy. The variety of the Moroccan culture is reflected on the identity of Moroccans. Still, the generalization of this statement is strongly not recommended because the identity of each person depends on many factors where foreign influences are not the priority. The charm of Morocco is due to the mixture of the cultures that crossed its land and let a touch on its traditions and a flavor on its culture. Morocco is Moroccan in its identity; it is identical to itself, because it is aware of itself. Being Moroccan is in fact being diverse and different in all aspects of identity, language, and ethnicity, being different is actually something positive for identity’s hybridity which represent coexistence through giving up the desire for a pure origin. Hybridity suggests reconceptualisation of 23

On Moroccan Identity language and Ethnicity home (identity) and introduces comfort in homelessness where one has no identity of origin.

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 Spring 2017

On Moroccan Identity language and Ethnicity

 Spring 2017

7-Bibliography: ―Michael Brett :  https://www.britannica.com/topic/Berber ― Personal Identity [Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy] ― Personal Identity (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) ―Sydney Shoemaker :  https://www.britannica.com/topic/personal-identity

Last apdates:3-3-2017 ―Mohammed Boudhane: on the Amazigh Identity of Morocco

Page 20-25 ― Amin Maalouf, In the Name of Identity: Violence and the Need to Belong ―History of Morocco: The Free Encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Morocco ―Rishikeshav Regmi, Ph.D : Ethnicity and identity ―Mourad Beni-ich :

https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2013/09/104142/morocco-and-thedialectic-between-arab-and-amazigh-identities/ 

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