Several years ago an Amazigh listener from North Africa wrote to Trans World Radio (TWR) this encouraging and refreshing message: “Hello! I must tell you the truth that at the moment I am a follower of the main religion of my country. I very much appreciate your shows which I …
Read More »Monthly Archives: December 2020
How Moroccans reacted to normalization with Israel
Thu 24 Dec 2020 How Moroccans reacted to normalization with Israel Source MENA through Zineb Riboua Unidentified Moroccan and Israeli officials sign memoranda of understanding during a visit by Israeli emissaries to Rabat, Morocco, December 22, 2020. Photo taken on December 22, 2020. REUTERS / Shereen Talaat “I was born …
Read More »Israel-Morocco deal follows a history of clandestine cooperation
Normalization shouldn’t come as a surprise – the unofficial ties between Israel and Morocco have been around for decades. News of Morocco’s normalization with Israel makes it the fourth Arab country in three months to agree to a deal brokered by the United States to establish formal diplomatic relations with …
Read More »Marginalized Indigenous Peoples of North Africa
The Berbers are the descendants of the pre-Arab populations of all of North Africa, from the far west of Egypt to the countries of the Maghreb. The Berbers, who refer to themselves as the Amazighs meaning “free man”, have been fighting for a long time for greater recognition of their …
Read More »An identity in danger: the Berbers of Egypt are scrambling to save their language
Youssef Diab drives his truck through the Egyptian oasis of Siwa, singing catchy songs in a local Berber dialect that clings to life despite the dominance of Arabic. The UN has classified siwi, the easternmost dialect of the Tamazight language spoken across North Africa to Morocco, as “endangered”. But few …
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