Maghrebis - Origins

Origins

The inhabitants of the region are predominantly "Arab-Berbers" but this term implies a complete fusion of the two groups which is not the case. Whereas Arabs and Berbers, united through Islam are the main ethnic and cultural elements, it is important to bear in mind that over the centuries the Maghreb has been a melting-pot of many other ethnic groups and cultures. Before the Arab conquest Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Vandals, and Byzantines colonized the Maghreb and contributed to the development of its culture. Later, moriscos and muladies, that is, indigenous Spaniards who had earlier converted to the Muslim faith and were fleeing, together with ethnic Arab and Berber Muslims, from the Catholic Reconquista settled to the Maghreb. Among West Asians are Turks who came over with the expansion of the Ottoman Empire. A small Turkish descended population exists, particularly in Tunisia and Algeria. Other European contributions included French, Italians, and others captured by the corsairs and then turned into slaves.

Nowadays, a majority of the current population in the Maghreb consider themselves generally Arab in identity, regardless of mixed ethnic or linguistic heritage. There are significant non-Arab or non-Arab identifying populations in the region and most important of the non-Arab populations found throughout the Maghreb, particularly in Morocco and Algeria, are the Berbers. They represented the majority of the pre-Islamic population. After the arrival of Islamic Arabs, Berbers assimilated in large numbers to Arab or mixed Arab-Berber ethnic identities.

Historically the Maghreb was also home to significant Jewish communities, including the Maghrebim Jews, who predated the 7th century introduction and conversion of the majority of Berbers to Islam. Under the Almohad dynasty rule in the 12th century, the Jews were forced to convert en masse to Islam. Later largely augmented by Spanish Sephardi Jews, fleeing the Spanish Catholic Reconquista, established a presence in North Africa, chiefly in the urban trading centers. They have contributed to the wider population through conversion and assimilation. Many Sephardic Jews emigrated to North America in the early 20th century or to France and Israel later in the 20th century.

On the Saharan southern edge of the Maghreb are large communities of black populations, sometimes called Haratin, who are orally identify themselves as the original inhabitants of southern oasis.