Azul fellawen/t,
Un article en arabe du journaliste Abderrahman Errached intitule: Les
intellectuels arabes et la revolte des berberes.
"Il reproche aux intellectuels et nationalistes arabes leur manque de
courage pour reconnaitre les droits linguistiques et culturels des
berberes, allant meme jusqu'a qualifier leurs louanges du processus
d'arabisation a outrance, de "evanglisation arabiste"."
Source:
Asharq al-awsat Arabic News
http://www.asharqalawsat.com/leader.asp?section=3&article=37879&issue=8191
Traslation of the article into English:
The Arab intelligentsia and Berber revolution Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid July 2001More than ten years ago I wrote an article supportingdemands by Morocco’s Tamazight population who were atthat time pressing for their language to be recognizedby the state-run media. Some responded to my article arguing that I was notfully acquainted with the issue and that the Tamazightwas only a French claim intended to sow unrest in thatpart of the Arab world. I am not convinced of theclaim or justifications intended to intimidate andfrighten others, lack authenticity and are based onnational or religious sentiments only. What we seetoday corroborates my conviction of the incorrectapproach adopted by Arab intellectuals and the dangersthat could result from the Arabization drive beingforced on the Tamazight. The Berbers of the Maghreb lived in that area
longbefore the French set foot in the region. They playeda pivotal and decisive role in shaping Arab history aswe know from the conquest of Andalusia and the runningof the affairs of successive Islamic states in theMaghreb. The Berbers and Tamazight are not products ofcolonialism nor are the Kurds in the Arab east. Youcannot reject the Berbers and at the same time takepride in Tareq ibn Ziyad just as you cannot reject theKurds and glorify Saladin. It is inconceivable that we accuse the grandchildrenof these two great peoples of treason and of beingloyal to France or other countries when they had livedin the same lands they live now for a long time withtheir own language and culture, long before thearrival of Arab nationalists and Islamic extremists.The long and continued presence of the cultures ofthese minority groups is proof that they represent anextension of the past as well as a natural right inthe
present. What is happening in Algeria today shouldmake all of us, who are Arabs, feel keenembarrassment. This is because the presentconfrontations are the result of determined attemptsto impose a single culture on a large segment of thepopulation. Instead of treating the Tamazight problemin the same way we ask others to treat our languageand religion — with understanding and tolerance —, wetry to impose on them our language and traditions andthen complain of Arab or Muslim minorities in theworld who are being denied their linguistic andreligious rights.We are happy with the steps taken by Morocco when itdecided to consider the Tamazight language part of thecountry’s official media. Tamazight now features innews bulletins just like Arabic [*]. By so doing,Morocco denied the rejectionists any justification forhating Arabic or siding with the French. Blame shouldbe put on Arab intellectuals who kept raising
thebanner of Arabization at the expense of locallanguages and claiming they were attacking foreignlanguages. To these, we say that Tamazight is agenuine local language. Blame should specifically beput on those Arabs who attacked Tamazight and accusedits people of being traitors and Francophone agents.This led other Arabs in the East to heap praise on theArabization campaigns while criticizing the Tamazight,their arts and culture.It is time that Arab intellectuals regain theirconsciences and admit their mistakes in seeking toimpose their cultures on others. It is the duty ofArab intellectuals to provide strong support for allcultures and stand by the peoples of those cultures.[*] Note of berberworld. We'd like to point out thereal situation of Tamazight in the Moroccan officialmedias. Tamazight is far from "featuring in newsbulletins just like Arabic". In Morocco, " thebulletins of the dialects", as they are
called, lastat most twelve minutes (with four minutes for each ofthe three tamazight varieties). The level of thisbulletin is very low, the credits accompanying themare in Arabic and their unpleasing character isrepellent. That is why the Amazigh Movement rejectsthis bulletin, qualified as a masquerade, and call fora real introduction of Tamazight in the Moroccanmedias. The news bulletins in Arabic are broadcastedfour times per day and may last one hour.
Source: Amazighnet.
Un article en arabe du journaliste Abderrahman Errached intitule: Les
intellectuels arabes et la revolte des berberes.
"Il reproche aux intellectuels et nationalistes arabes leur manque de
courage pour reconnaitre les droits linguistiques et culturels des
berberes, allant meme jusqu'a qualifier leurs louanges du processus
d'arabisation a outrance, de "evanglisation arabiste"."
Source:
Asharq al-awsat Arabic News
http://www.asharqalawsat.com/leader.asp?section=3&article=37879&issue=8191
Traslation of the article into English:
The Arab intelligentsia and Berber revolution Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid July 2001More than ten years ago I wrote an article supportingdemands by Morocco’s Tamazight population who were atthat time pressing for their language to be recognizedby the state-run media. Some responded to my article arguing that I was notfully acquainted with the issue and that the Tamazightwas only a French claim intended to sow unrest in thatpart of the Arab world. I am not convinced of theclaim or justifications intended to intimidate andfrighten others, lack authenticity and are based onnational or religious sentiments only. What we seetoday corroborates my conviction of the incorrectapproach adopted by Arab intellectuals and the dangersthat could result from the Arabization drive beingforced on the Tamazight. The Berbers of the Maghreb lived in that area
longbefore the French set foot in the region. They playeda pivotal and decisive role in shaping Arab history aswe know from the conquest of Andalusia and the runningof the affairs of successive Islamic states in theMaghreb. The Berbers and Tamazight are not products ofcolonialism nor are the Kurds in the Arab east. Youcannot reject the Berbers and at the same time takepride in Tareq ibn Ziyad just as you cannot reject theKurds and glorify Saladin. It is inconceivable that we accuse the grandchildrenof these two great peoples of treason and of beingloyal to France or other countries when they had livedin the same lands they live now for a long time withtheir own language and culture, long before thearrival of Arab nationalists and Islamic extremists.The long and continued presence of the cultures ofthese minority groups is proof that they represent anextension of the past as well as a natural right inthe
present. What is happening in Algeria today shouldmake all of us, who are Arabs, feel keenembarrassment. This is because the presentconfrontations are the result of determined attemptsto impose a single culture on a large segment of thepopulation. Instead of treating the Tamazight problemin the same way we ask others to treat our languageand religion — with understanding and tolerance —, wetry to impose on them our language and traditions andthen complain of Arab or Muslim minorities in theworld who are being denied their linguistic andreligious rights.We are happy with the steps taken by Morocco when itdecided to consider the Tamazight language part of thecountry’s official media. Tamazight now features innews bulletins just like Arabic [*]. By so doing,Morocco denied the rejectionists any justification forhating Arabic or siding with the French. Blame shouldbe put on Arab intellectuals who kept raising
thebanner of Arabization at the expense of locallanguages and claiming they were attacking foreignlanguages. To these, we say that Tamazight is agenuine local language. Blame should specifically beput on those Arabs who attacked Tamazight and accusedits people of being traitors and Francophone agents.This led other Arabs in the East to heap praise on theArabization campaigns while criticizing the Tamazight,their arts and culture.It is time that Arab intellectuals regain theirconsciences and admit their mistakes in seeking toimpose their cultures on others. It is the duty ofArab intellectuals to provide strong support for allcultures and stand by the peoples of those cultures.[*] Note of berberworld. We'd like to point out thereal situation of Tamazight in the Moroccan officialmedias. Tamazight is far from "featuring in newsbulletins just like Arabic". In Morocco, " thebulletins of the dialects", as they are
called, lastat most twelve minutes (with four minutes for each ofthe three tamazight varieties). The level of thisbulletin is very low, the credits accompanying themare in Arabic and their unpleasing character isrepellent. That is why the Amazigh Movement rejectsthis bulletin, qualified as a masquerade, and call fora real introduction of Tamazight in the Moroccanmedias. The news bulletins in Arabic are broadcastedfour times per day and may last one hour.
Source: Amazighnet.