Maghrebis or Maghrebians () are the inhabitants of the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is a modern Arabic term meaning "Westerners", denoting their location in the western part of the Arab world. Maghrebis are predominantly of Arab and Berber origins.
Name Maghrebis were known during ancient and medieval times as the Mauri and Moors. The word Moor is of Phoenician origin. The etymology of the word can be traced back to the Phoenician term , meaning "Westerners", from which the ancient Greeks derive , and from which Latin derives .
The Arabic term maghrib () was given by the first Muslim Arab settlers to the recently conquered region located west of the Umayyad capital of Damascus in the 7th century AD. It initially referred to the area extending from Alexandria in the east to the Atlantic Ocean in the west.
Religion
Historic records of religion in the coastal Mediterranean Maghreb show its inclusion in the Classical World, with coastal colonies established first by Phoenicians, Greeks, and later extensive conquest and rule by the Romans. By the 2nd century common era, the area had become a center of Latin-speaking Christianity. Both Roman settlers and Romanized Berbers converted to Christianity. The region produced figures such as Christian Church writer Tertullian ( 155 – 202); and Christian Church martyrs or leading figures such as St Cyprian of Carthage ( 210 – 258); Saint Monica; her son the philosopher Augustine of Hippo (354 – 430); and Julia of Corsica (5th century). The region was a birthplace of many Christians movements such as Arianism and Donatism, which have since been abandoned.
The domination of Christianity ended when Arab conquests brought Islam to the Maghreb in 647. Carthage fell in 698; the remainder of the Maghreb followed in subsequent decades. Gradual Islamization proceeded, although surviving letters showed correspondence from regional Christians to Rome until the 9th century. Throughout the Maghreb, Christianity remained a living faith. Christian bishoprics and dioceses continued to be active, with relations continuing with Rome. As late as Pope Benedict VII (974-983) reign, a new Archbishop of Carthage was consecrated. Evidence of Christianity in the region faded throughout the 10th century.
During the seventh century, the region's peoples began their nearly conversion to Islam. Local Jewish communities (Maghrebi Jews) historically thrived throughout the region; there also exists a small Local Christian community. Conversions to Christianity, especially to Evangelicalism, during colonial times mostly in Algeria has increased there population in the region.* Sadek Lekdja, Christianity in Kabylie Radio France Internationale, 7 mai 2001 especially in KabylieLucien Oulahbib, Le monde arabe existe-t-il ?, page 12, 2005, Editions de Paris, Paris.International Religious Freedom Report 2007: Tunisia . United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (14 September 2007). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
Most Muslims follow the Maliki school of Sunni Islam. Small Ibadi communities remain in some areas. A strong tradition of venerating marabouts and saints' tombs is found throughout regions inhabited by Berbers. Any map of the region demonstrates the tradition: the proliferation of "sidi"s show places named after the marabouts. As with certain other religious traditions, this significantly decreased during the 20th century. A network of zawiyas traditionally helped perpetuate basic literacy in Arabic and knowledge of Islam in rural regions.https://www.britannica.com/topic/zawiyahhttps://thesubmitters.org/what-is-a-zawiya-sufi-schools/https://www.fondapol.org/en/study/maghreb-the-impact-of-islam-on-the-social-and-political-evolution/https://brill.com/view/journals/wdi/62/3-4/article-p419_007.xml?language=en
Culture
Diaspora France
Maghrebis have settled mainly in the industrial regions in France, especially in the Île-de-France and Mediterranean regions. Many famous French people like Édith Piaf,Carolyn Burke. No Regrets: The Life of Edith Piaf, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2011, p.5 Isabelle Adjani, Arnaud Montebourg, Alain Bashung, Dany Boon, Gérald Darmanin and many others have Maghrebi ancestry.
According to Michel Tribalat, a researcher at INED, there were more than 4.6 million people of Maghrebi origin (with at least one Maghrebi grandparent from Algeria, Morocco or Tunisia) living in France in 2011 (3 million in 1999).Michèle Tribalat, « Mariages « mixtes » et immigration en France » , Espace populations sociétés [En ligne], 2009/2 | 2009, mis en ligne le 01 avril 2011Michèle Tribalat, « Une estimation des populations d'origine étrangère en France en 2011 », Espace populations sociétés, 2015/1-2, en ligne Below is a table of population of Maghrebi origin in France in 2011, numbers are in thousands:
Country of origin (2011)Immigrants1st generation born in France 2nd generation born in France (aged under 60 only)TotalAlgeria7371 1705632 470Morocco6796981301 507Tunisia246280129655Total Maghreb1 6622 1488214 631 Note: for second generation born in France only individuals under 60 are taken into account.
According to Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques (the French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies), 16% of newborns in France between 2006 and 2008 have at least one Maghrebi grandparent born in the Greater Maghreb.Les immigrés, les descendants d'immigrés et leurs enfants , Pascale Breuil-Genier, Catherine Borrel, Bertrand Lhommeau, Insee 2011
In 2005, the percentage of young people under 18 of Maghrebi origin (at least one immigrant parent) were about 7% in Metropolitan France, 12% in Île-de-France, 13% in Lyon, 21% in Perpignan, 22% in the department of Seine-Saint-Denis, 37% in 18th arrondissement of Paris and 40% in several arrondissements of Marseille.Michèle Tribalat, Revue Commentaire, juin 2009, n°126, p.436Michèle Tribalat, Les yeux grands fermés, Denoël, 2010
2005Seine-Saint-DenisVal-de-MarneVal-d'OiseLyonParisFranceTotal Maghreb22.0%13.2%13.0%13.0%12.1%6.9%
According to other sources between 5 and 8 million people of Maghrebin origin live in France, and between 150,000 and 300,000 people of Maghrebin origin live in Canada.Robert Castel, La discrimination négative, Paris, La République des idées/Seuil, 2007https://scholarworks.seattleu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1388&context=suurj
See also Berbers Maghrebi Arabs Arabized Berbers Maghrebi Jews List of Maghrebis Muslim conquest of North Africa Moors Barbary Coast
References and notes
External links The African roots of Latin Christianity by Henri Teissier, Regional Bishop of North Africa