Historical and modern construction of ethnic divides

The divide between Berber and Arab Algeria was solidified by the 123-year French colonization. The Berbers were elevated above the Arabs through the narrative that Berber ancestral heritage stemmed from Europe. Consequently, Arabs and Arab speakers were associated with backwardness, which the Berbers profited from, as it granted them a higher status.^[4]

During the period of French colonization, Arabic and Berber were declared foreign languages in Algeria with the aim to restructure Algerian identity into a more Western one. This was done in attempts to assert French dominance. The Berbers were targeted with heavy French schooling, placing them at the centre of this transformation. The strongest hold France had to advance this platform was the Berber region of Kabyle, where they espoused the Kabyle Myth.^[5]

More recently, Berbers were alienated from the Algerian government following the Algerian War. Despite French attempts at a Divide and Rule strategy in Algeria, Berbers were on the forefront of the Independence movement with several key leaders of FLN (National Liberation Front), including Hocine Aït Ahmed, Abane Ramdane, and Krim Belkacem. Furthermore, Aurès and Kabylia were amongst the principal footholds of FLN due to their geographical remoteness and widespread local support for independence. In fact, the Soummam conference, often cited as the founding act of the Algerian state, took place in Kabylia. Due to Berber regions serving as hotbeds for FLN guerillas, these regions were labelled major targets in French counter-insurgency operations. These counter-insurgency operations resulted in the devastation of agricultural lands, looting, destruction of villages, population displacement, the creation of forbidden zones, etc.^[6]

Following Algerian Independence, Kabyle leaders opposed the central leadership over Arabist policies and the single-party system. These Kabyle leaders held popular backing in Kabylia and Algiers. Two years of armed conflict in Kabylia followed, leaving more than 400 dead and most FLN leaders from Kabylia exiled or executed.^[7] These events created a sense of betrayal, which has made many Berbers suspicious of the government. An example would be Lounès Matoub's death. Lounès Matoub was a Berber secularist and activist who was murdered by Islamic extremists. Many Berbers believed he was killed by the government, chanting "Pouvoir, Assasins" (Government, Murderers) at his funeral.

Currently, the construction of the opposing ideologies is argued to be political and social in nature rather than ethnic.^[4] The dynamics were shifted when the Berber movement entered to make demands in the political sphere. Many of these demands arose from the region of Kabyle in Algeria. Kabylian Berbers constitute two-thirds of the Berber population and have been the strongest advocates for the Berber movement. The second-largest group are the Chaoui Berbers who reside in the Aures mountains. While the elite sphere consisted of the Kabyle population, the Chaoui played an important role due to their military influence. On the whole, the Berberophones make up roughly 25% of the Algerian population, constituting seven to eight million people.^[8] In 2002, Tamazight was declared a national language in Algeria alongside Arabic to accommodate this large percentage of the population. In 2016 it was declared to be an official language, and efforts are underway to create a Standard variation of the Algerian Berber dialects.^[9]

1940 to 1950 Berberist crisis

The developments of 1940 to 1950 constituted a period of social unrest in Algerian politics which would set the framework for the coming years. The emergence of the Algerian Arabism-Islamism Nationalist framework meant to combat colonialism was accompanied by the emergence of Berberism, to combat this Arabism-Islamism. The Berbers demanded for the redefinition of the society they were historically a part of (linguistically and culturally): they wanted an 'Algerian Algeria' to represent all the ethnic and cultural minorities of the nation. The Movement for the Triumph of Democratic Liberties (MTLD) continued to impose the Arabism-Islamism framework and were denounced as anti-democratic by Berber activists.^[10]

The MTLD refused to acknowledge these minorities because it would have hindered their advancement in the provincial elections. This led to the beginning of open conflict between Berber partisans and "Arab unity" advocates: the outbreak of the Berber crisis. At this stage, the Algerian People's Party (PPA) and MTLD, both headquartered in Paris, had merged to advance the Berber platform. They wanted to replace the single-party state system with democracy. This 'Algerian Algeria' would include the contributions, histories and cultures of all the ethnic populations. The platform as stated by Rachid Ali revolved around the fact that the Berbers should break the status quo that they have no place in society, as Algeria does not belong to the Arab world but was instead a nation for all its citizens.^[11] With the adoption of this platform, the Berber activists were seen as a threat to unity and independence by the Arabists-Islamists, on the account that "the Berbers wished to impose the Western agenda on Algeria".

Effects of 1962 constitution and Arabization

The 1962 Constitution declared that Islam was the state religion and Arabic was the national language. These two aspects of identity became mutually exclusive to be Algerian. In turn, linguistic and cultural diversity was interpreted as a threat to national unity. Rapid Arabization measures were implemented after independence in 1962 which sought to spread the Arabic language throughout the country. This was largely in an attempt to reclaim and reconstruct the Algerian identity which was lost during French colonial rule.

The rise in Arabic speakers and education institutions was accompanied by the decline in the Berber speakers.^[12] Linguistic ability was a large factor in Berber identification meaning its decline was a threat to the survival of the Berber identity. The Berber narrative stated that the rapid Arab-Islamic conquest was rising at the expense of the Berber identity. The Berber struggle was seen as an uphill battle.^[12] Furthermore, these Arabization measures stigmatized the Berber speakers vis-à-vis the Arabic speakers through the creation of more rigid divides between the communities. Political and social power was seen to lie with the Arabs who imposed their will on the Berber minority.

Outburst of 1980s: the Berber question, the Berber Spring, the rise of political parties

The Berber Question was revived during this period. The youth of Kabyle fought for the assertion of their Berber culture in a post-independent Arabist-Islamist Algeria. Repression of Berber particularism combined with the accelerating programs of Arabization in schools and universities led to the sharpening of the divide and the eventual outbreak of the 1980 Berber Spring. The catalyst was set on the 10th of March 1980, when the government banned a lecture given by Mouloud Mammeri on Ancient Berber poetry at the University of Tizi Ouzou. Strikes continued until the 26th of June. The Berber demonstrations in Algeria of that year were the first instance in the international scene where a Berber group demanded recognition on the institutional level of their culture, language, and place in society.^[8] The later 1980s saw a rise in Berber associations, political parties and cultural movements. Article 56 of the 1976 constitution stated that preliminary certification was needed in order to establish associations, over which the administration had discretionary power.^[8] Legally, this meant that no Berber associations could exist from 1962 until this was amended out of the constitution in 1988. Underground Berber groups could now officially register themselves, and by July 1989 there were officially 154 of these organizations.^[8] Of the most notable included the Berber Cultural Movement (MCB) which held its first official meeting in July 1989 in Tizi Ouzo. The MCB comprised French intellectuals and Kabliyan students with the agenda to oppose Arabization, call for recognition of Berber culture and language, and implement a Western style democracy.^[13] The MCB mobilized large groups of people and coordinated multiple protests to advance Berber culture, language, and position in civil society. However, the MCB had major limits on the account that the MCB was unable to resist the partisan tensions between the FFS and the RCD.^[8]

Events of 1990s

Historical construction of ethnic divides

The Berber Dahir is a dhahir (decree) created by the French protectorate in Morocco on 16 May 1930. This dhahir changed the legal system in parts of Morocco, it replaced the pre-colonial Islamic Sharia system in Berber areas with old pre-Islamic Berber laws, which many Moroccan nationalists saw as an attempt by the French to weaken the authority of the Makhzen and strengthen the autonomy of Berber tribes, causing public demonstrations and protests against the French in all Moroccan cities.^[15] The new legal system in Berber communities would ostensibly be based on local Berber laws and customs rather than the authority of the sultan.^[16] The legal system in the rest of the country remained the way it had been before the French invasion.^[16]

The Berber Dahir reinforced a dichotomy in popular Moroccan historiography: the division of the country into Bled el-Makhzen—areas under the direct control of the Sultan and the Makhzen, or the state, (especially urban areas such as Fes and Rabat)—and Bled es-Siba—typically geographically isolated areas beyond the direct control of the state, where Berber languages are primarily spoken and where Islamic Sharia was not applied.^[17] The former was described as Arab and the latter as Berber.^[16]

Achievements of the Berberist movement

The Berber gilding in Morocco shone after the speech given by the monarch Mohamed VI in October 2001, in Ajdir, Khenifra region. His words deflated the outburst of the Berber activists and intellectuals who, a year ago, had presented to the Palace a document referred to as the Berber Manifesto, which demanded the national and legal recognition of the Berber identity.^[18]

On 17 October 2001, in the presence of his advisors, the members of the government, the leaders of the political parties and unions, and Berber activists, King Mohammed VI announced the royal decree (dahir) that established the Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture (L'Institut Royal de la Culture Amazighe, IRCAM). He defined Moroccan national identity as a composition of different cultural elements, underlined that the Berber language constituted a principal element of the national culture, and added that its promotion was a national responsibility. The Royal Institute was charged with the promotion of Berber culture in education and media. While redefining Moroccan identity so as to incorporate Berberness.^[19]

The establishment of IRCAM represented the first substantial change in the state's attitude towards its Berber population from a policy of subtle neglect to explicit recognition and support.^[19] There was an attempt at creating a Berberist party in 2005, when Omar Louz, a long-time Berberist, former member of the Popular Movement and cofounder of the Amazigh World Congress, founded the Amazigh Moroccan Democratic Party. However, the party was banned by the Moroccan Interior Ministry on 25 November 2007 because its name infringes on the Moroccan law on political parties, which forbids parties explicitly based on ethnicity or religion.^[20] It then tried to be legally reestablished under a new denomination (Izegzawen) to promote Berber identity, political secularism, and Berber cultural rights, without success.