Berbers and Islam

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The

autonym: Imazighen) are an indigenous ethnic group of the Maghreb region of North Africa. Following the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb, most Berber tribes eventually became Muslims. Presently, about one-sixth of the population of Maghreb speaks one of the Berber languages (mostly in Algeria and Morocco), but most of them also speak some form of Arabic.[1]
Berbers are the first non-Arab people to have established an Islamic state.

Background

The region of

Aures.[2]

In 750 the caliphs centralized their command in Damascus and a coalition of Islamic forces from Medina, Damascus, Baghdad and Egypt returned in a second attempt following successive defeats in Greece. The Islamic forces in a coalition resumed their conquest of the Mediterranean Sea from the south, through North Africa. A more diplomatic second attempt resulted in a successful alliance with the mainly desert-based Mauretanian tribes (Morocco and west of modern Algeria) then Numidia. The new Muslim northwest African tribes in turn became ambassadors of the Muslim Caliphs, and brokers on their behalf in an attempt to assemble a coalition of forces to engage their common enemy Rome. The new approach was better received by the Numidian tribes of the highlands and were successfully recruited for a joint military venture into Europe and ultimately to Rome and around the Mediterranean Sea. A Moorish chief, Tariq ibn Ziyad, headed these stronger forces under the green flag of Islam and embarked for Europe, taking over most of the Iberian Peninsula. It is then that North Africa west of Egypt was referred to as "al-Maghreb" or the "West" by the peoples of the Middle East.

In 670, the Islamic coalition under the command of Uqba ibn Nafi established its camp on the Tunis peninsula and founded the city of Kairouan, about 160 kilometers south of present-day Tunis. The Muslims used the city as a base for further operations against Numidians in the West and along the highlands of modern Algeria. Successive and repeated attacks on the villages of the lower Numidian agricultural valleys by Abu al-Muhajir Dinar, Uqba's successor, forced the uncoordinated Numidian tribes to eventually work out a modus vivendi through Kusaila, a converted Numidian chief on behalf of an extensive confederation of Christian[3] Berbers. Kusaila, who had been based in Tlemcen, converted to Islam and relocated his headquarters to Takirwan, near Kairouan.[4]

The tolerance of Islamic preachers among the Berbers did not guarantee their support for the

Kharijism was born on the premise that any suitable Muslim could be elected caliph without regard to race, station, or descent from the Islamic prophet Muhammad
.

After the revolt, Kharijites established a number of tribal kingdoms in the North African highlands. Their safety was purchased with taxation without representation. A set of Islamic representatives and tax collectors were established as

Aghlabids
, ruled independently until 909, presiding over a court that became a center for learning and culture.

To the west of

Fatimids
.

Berbers in Al-Andalus

The

Abd ar-Rahman I in Al-Andalus, because his mother was a Berber.[5]

During the

Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi
.

At this point, Berbers were superficially Islamized and hung onto their traditions with varying degrees of religious assimilation to Islam[

Almohad dynasty from Morocco
, during which time al-Andalus flourished.

In the power hierarchy, Berbers were situated between the Arabic aristocracy and the

Muladi
populace. Ethnic rivalries were one of the factors of Andalusi politics.

After the fall of the Caliphate, the taifa kingdoms of Toledo, Badajoz, Málaga and Granada had Berber rulers.[citation needed]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Maghrib | region, North Africa". Encyclopedia Britannica.
  2. ISBN 9780710066145
    .
  3. ISBN 978-1-61592-029-7
    .
  4. ISBN 978-0-520-37924-4
    .
  5. ISBN 978-0-631-19405-7
    .
  6. ISBN 0-312-22464-8
    .
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Berbers_and_Islam&oldid=1217905190"