Good Research Paper On The Spread Of Berbers

Berbers has always been subject to cross current events from Egypt to Sahara who have greatly affected their political system and society. Aside from the first mentioned countries, they have also encountered the Romans and Phoenicians whose interaction gradually transformed them into Byzantium for sometime and eventually followed by Islam which overtime took over their society and identity (Maddy-Weitzman 71).
Berber dynasties even expanded Islamic rule over the other part of their territory in North Africa and Andalusia. Arabic language also spread all over the territories through the religion expansion and the arrival of Arabs between the 10th and 12th century. During this time, native Berber-speaking tribes in Algeria retreated from the Ottoman authorities and went to mountain areas to continue their own tribal culture (Maddy-Weitzman 71).
In Morocco, most people remained in their Berber-speaking tribal framework. During this time, it was not only the Arab-Islamic nations that have been ruling over the Berbers but also the Christian Europe. Although the Christian Europe's presence was already being felt during the fifteenth century in along the coastal areas, it was only in the nineteenth century when Europe's presence and triumph has been felt in a wider scale (Maddy-Weitzman 71-72).
Between 1930 and 1940, Algerian Muslim has been defensive in proclaiming that Islam and Arabic language are exclusive components of the Algerian Berber’s culture and identity, which was the exact opposite of Europe's claim of "Kabylian Vulgate" which means that Kabylian Berbers were really European in origin and are now "ripe" and ready to go back and embraced the Christianity of Europe through their ‘civilizing mission’ (Maddy-Weitzman 72).
The globalization in the Berber communities brought about by several countries has made many changes in their society. Berbers of similar origin are in the confusion of what identity they really have, from language and ethnicity to political/tribal structure that was gradually changed by both colonizers. Globalization has also brought a “homogenizing” effect, which favor only a specific set of values, more of Western. This poses problems because of the conflicts between Western and Islam-Arabism values (Maddy-Weitzman 76).
Since the century of fight over the ‘real identity’ and ‘ethnicity’, many people have fled from one country to another depending on whom they seem to be more believable or what they need. Part of the creation of the diaspora happened when the Berbers moved from Algeria to the northern side of the Mediterranean Sea, which was led by the Kabylians, as part of the increasingly integrated world economy (Maddy-Weitzman 78). As for those on both sides, European and Arab-Islamic, people have been taking sides depending on the event that happens affecting them. One example took place after the September 11 attack, most Berber vocally sided to West, afraid of being affiliated to the terrorist attack that caused death of thousand lives. They have publicly expressed to America their lack of affiliation and connection to the terrorists (Maddy-Weitzman 76-77).
Given that there were several Berber groups, who were globalized by two different nations, Christian Europe and the Arab-Islamic countries; it has greatly affected their culture, identity, and even their locations. And due to this colonization of two nations, Berber people are now in different parts of the globe, dispersed mostly in North Africa, Western Europe and North America. It is estimated that there are 2.5 million Berber of Algerian and Moroccan origin in Europe, more than half of which are in France while the remaining are scattered all over Belgium, Italy, Netherlands, and Spain (Maddy-Weitzman 78). But even so, wherever they set foot or whichever side they take, they have always been fighting for their identity, not just from either of the claiming countries, but of themselves as well.

Works Cited

Maddy-Weitzman, Bruce. “Ethno-politics and Globalisation in North Africa: The Berber Culture Movement.” The Journal of North African Studies Vol. 11, No. 1, March 2006. Web. 08 March 2015.