Playing against fellow finalist Croatia in the group stage then overcoming Belgium, Spain, and now Portugal on their road to the semifinals, The Atlas Lions have been one of the game’s storylines

The only goal in the game was scored by Youssed En-Nesyri right before halftime while Morocco continued to defend its goal with a solid wall of players ready to curb the Portuguese attacks.

The Amazigh flag of the Amazigh people who represent most of Morocco being waived in Qatar.

Morocco will face the winner of England-France on Wednesday and has now become Africa’s first World Cup semifinals.

The Atlas Lions have already defeated European giants Belgium, Spain, and Portugal at this World Cup, as well as holding Croatia to a goalless tie in their first game.

After Spain missed three penalty attempts and went down 3-0 in the shootout, Paris Saint-Germain defender Hakimi scored with a Panenka penalty. Morocco also set the record by reaching their first quarterfinal, being the only African country to do so. 

For the first time and after defeating the 2010 world champion, Morocco will play in a World Cup quarterfinal. If Morocco defeats Portugal, the Atlas Lions would become the first African nation to reach the semifinals. 

Spain tried to score its way to a win over Morocco. It made and executed a significant number of passes. All of those passes, however, did not result in any goals. Spain was unable to score even after a 30-minute extra-time. Morocco, on the other hand, advanced to its first-ever World Cup quarterfinal eliminating Spain after its players missed all three of their penalties. The North African Amazigh team now has the opportunity to advance even further in this World Cup. They will not be overshadowed by their opponents in the following round, and they might yet go to the semifinal.

The North African team had only surrendered one goal in the tournament, and their defensive strategy proved key in defeating Luis Enrique’s team. Although Spain had a monopoly over ball ownership, Morocco didn’t look troubled by Spain’s seeming domination of the game. The teams’  failure to score throughout regular and extra time ensured the game proceeded to penalties where Morocco excelled.

Morocco and Spain’s long standing historical, geographical and political conflicts heightened the mood, but it was the Moroccan supporters’ spectacular display of color and noise that enabled their team to make the game so difficult for Spain. 

With yesterday’s win, Morocco has become now the fourth African nation to advance to the quarter final in the history of the FIFA World Cup, after Cameroon, Senegal and Ghana.

For decades, Morocco and Algeria’s relationship has been marked by hostility, and over the past few years, the level of verbal attacks has escalated to the point that there were actually concern these actions could escalate the conflict into military confrontation between the two powers. Morocco and Algeria’s land border has already been closed since 1994. Algerian airspace was closed to Moroccan flights, and Algeria refused to extend the contract for the gas pipeline, which transported gas to Spain through Morocco. 

What is the reason behind the animosity between the two neighboring countries? What are the implication of this conflict? And how can this Cold War come to an end?

Morocco and Algeria have a lot in common. While both countries share almost the same language, culture, and religion, we can longer pretend that the conflict is just between the two regimes, it is time to admit that this tension is influencing how people from both countries think about each-other. The new generations are being influenced by the propaganda and fake news from social media from both parties. While we can’t say that propaganda is  propagated by both governments but pro-government media on both sides routinely denigrate and mock other country’s major problems and focus on each other’s domestic failures and internal affairs. And while there are groups professing and promoting brotherly sentiments between both people it is obvious that this is changing as people from both sides accuse each other of stirring conflict. 

In 2019, the four nations of North Africa recently put aside their disagreements and joined forces in an effort to have the traditional Amazigh couscous recognized as a UNESCO world heritage dish.

How Does Algeria See The Conflict?

• Decades ago, the Moroccan King Hassan II made territorial claims in Algeria. In 1963, he launched a military invasion on the nation. As a result, hundreds of Algeria’s ill-equipped men were killed. Even though the war was short this conflict has had a lasting impact on Algeria’s military and political institutions.

• From Algeria’s perspective, The Moroccans are suspected of aiding organizations that Algeria just labeled as terrorists. These include the Islamist Rachad and the Amazigh separatist Movement for Kabylie’s Self-Determination (MAK) 

• For a long time Morocco claims what is referred to as Western Sahara as an integral part of its territory and In 1975 Morocco organized what it calls a Green March which resulted in its taking control over Western Shara. Something that resulted in another era of tensions and obviously reminded Algeria of Morocco invasion over a decade ago. The fear of Moroccan expansion became a significant element in Algeria’s decision to accept the independence of Western Sahara because Algiers believed it would help curb Moroccan irredentism, even though Morocco would drop its claims to areas in Algeria in 1972.

• Algeria and Algerians accuse and criticize Morocco’s established relations with Israel so the United States can support Morocco in its claim over “Western Sahara”. It is important to note that Algeria is hostile to Israel and does not have any diplomatic ties with the country. 

How Does Morocco See The Conflict?

• Morocco claims that “Western Sahara” has always been a part of Morocco and accuses Algeria of interfering in its internal affairs. Morocco also suspects that Algeria wants a window to the Atlantic Ocean and uses “Western Sahara” as an excuse to achieve its personal goals. 

• Algeria seeks to destabilize Morocco since it support the Polisario Front financially and militarily. The Polisario Front is an armed group that battled Morocco for sovereignty of Western Sahara from 1975 until 1991. 
• Morocco also blames Algeria for the conflict in the region since Algeria was the one that closed its borders, cut diplomatic ties with Morocco, closed its airspace and decided not to renew the gas pipeline agreement that transported gas to Spain through Morocco. 

• The United States’ recognition of Morocco’s soveinegty over Western Sahara has reignited the conflict between Morocco and Algeria. All these moves have angered Algeria, both because of its support for the Sahrawis and its hostility to Israel.
• Morocco accuses Algeria and Spain for aiding the leader of Polisario, someone Morocco consider a war criminal. 
• Algeria’s rulers continue to argue  that they support the right to self-determination while it continue to ignore the Kbayli region’s attempt to self determination.

The Problem In Simple Terms:

While the issue of Western Sahara may appear to be reason for the conflict, the true basis of the conflict is the competition for regional leadership in North Africa and an unsolved colonial-era land issue caused by both France and Spain. 

The Big Picture And Potential Risks:

Morocco and the United States enjoy strong economic and diplomatic relations in addition to Morocco being an old US ally. Morocco also has established relations with Israel. It is also worth noting that the relations between Morocco and Iran are non existent. Algeria on the other hand is Pro Russia, anti Israel and has cordial relations with Iran.

Why does Algeria’s friendly relations with Russia and Iran matter? It matters because the two countries (Russia and Iran) constitute a threat to both Israel and the United States which is something that is not good specifically for Algeria and North Africa in general as it possible for all four super powers ( The US, Russia, Israel and Iran) to race to to build military bases in North Africa. The equation then becomes; Russia, Iran and Algeria, Vs US, Israel, and Morocco. What some Moroccans fear is North Africa becoming another battle ground for all these military powers. 

How Does This Affect The Amazigh People From Both Sides?

Algerian and Moroccan people are so similar that it is impossible to tell them apart. However, political, and ideological differences between these “brotherly” countries have taken a toll on their relations. Recently, there have been a number of disputes on social media regarding Couscous, Architecture, and other issues regarding historical events. In response to Algeria’s soccer team new training outfit, which was introduced by the manufacturer Adidas last week, the Moroccan government has accused Algeria of “cultural appropriation.” 

The Moroccan government and Moroccans themselves argue that the geometric design imprinted in the Algerian outfit which is typical in Moroccan “Zellige” mosaics, represented cultural appropriation and accused Adidas of cultural theft.

Moroccans and Algerians are also fighting over Couscous and people from both sides claim that it is purely theirs. Disputes of over architectural sites and wether they their design and pattern is Moroccan or Algerian are trending on social media as well. 

Solution:

Whether a specific architecture is Moroccan or Algerian , whether Morocco has more rights to claim couscous, It seems that the only reason individuals from both sides argue about these issues is because they are Arabized. Couscous is neither Moroccan nor Algerian. We can also say it is both Moroccan and Algerian because Couscous is An ethnic Amazigh food. Since these aspects are Ethnically Amazigh, it is obvious that they would be found in most North African countries. Maybe when both countries go back to their roots and embrace their Amazigh identity, they won’t be fighting about whether something is Moroccan or Algerian because they will then know that it belongs to the Amazigh people.  The solution may be simplistic but one thing is undeniable, The troubled relationship Between Morocco and Algeria has prevented the region’s integration, which might have significant advantages for both parties.

The history of the Berber people in northern Africa is extensive and diverse. The Berbers are a large group of non-Arabic tribes, related by language and culture, inhabiting areas stretching from Egypt to the Canary Islands as well as regions south of the Sahara such as Niger and Mali. Archaeologists have traced their origins to the Caspian culture, a North African civilization that dates back more than 10,000 years. Berber-speaking people have lived in North Africa since the earliest times and are first referenced by the Egyptians in 3,000 BC under the name Temehu. Phoenician, Greeks and Roman texts also make reference to them. Since prehistoric times, Berber lands have been a crossroad of peoples from Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. The Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, Arabs, Turks, Spaniards, French, and Italians have invaded and ruled portions of the Berber homeland. The Berbers have never experienced a unified political identity. There have been many Berber kingdoms and cultures existing alongside one another in various regions of North Africa and Spain, but never a unified “Berber empire”. Throughout the centuries, Berbers have mixed with many ethnic groups, including Arabs, and because of this, they have come to be identified more by linguistics instead race. Their language is one of the oldest in the world and belongs to the African branch of the Afro-Asian language family, along with ancient Egyptian.

Although never formalized beyond local cults, the Berbers had a rich mythology and belief system structured around a pantheon of gods. Many of their beliefs were developed locally while some were imported or later influenced by contact with other African mythologies, such as the Egyptian religion along with Phoenician mythology, Judaism, Iberian mythology, and the Hellenistic religion during antiquity. The most recent influence came from Arab mythology, when the Berbers were converted to Islam during the ninth century. Today, some of the traditional, ancient, pagan Berber beliefs still exist within the culture and tradition, especially in Algeria, where older cults survive to varying extents.

Many prehistoric peoples considered rocks to be holy, including the Berbers. Second century Latin writer Apuleius, along with Saint Augustine, bishop of the Hippo Regius (ancient name of the modern city of Annaba, in Algeria), both remarked on rock-worship among North Africans. The Greek historian Herodotus wrote of their sacrifices:

They begin with the ear of the victim, which they cut off and throw over their house: this done, they kill the animal by twisting the neck. They sacrifice to the Sun and Moon, but not to any other god.

The megalithic culture may have been part of a cult of the dead or of star-worship. The best known rock monument in Northwest Africa is Mzora (or Msoura). It is composed of a circle of megaliths surrounding a tumulus. The highest megalith is longer than 5 meters (16 feet). According to legend, it is the resting place of the mythic Berber king Antaeus. Another megalithic monument was discovered in 1926, south of Casablanca and was engraved with funerary inscriptions in the Libyco-Berber script known as Tifinagh.

The tombs of the early Berbers and their ancestors (the Caspian’s and Ibero-Mauresians) indicate that they believed in the afterlife. The prehistoric men of the region of northwest Africa buried their bodies in the ground. Later, they buried the dead in caves, tumuli (burial mounds), and tombs cut into rock. These tombs evolved from primitive structures to more elaborate ones, such as the pyramidal tombs that spread throughout North Africa. The best known Berber pyramids are the 19 meter (62 ft) pre-Roman Numidian pyramid of Medracen and the 30-meter (98 ft) ancient Mauritanian pyramid located in modern-day Algeria.

Among ancient Berber and Egyptian mythology there are similar, overlapping deities. The Berbers were neighbors of the Egyptians, originally inhabiting the lands of Libya for thousands of years, before the beginning of human records in Ancient Egypt. It is thought that some Ancient Egyptians deities, such as Isis and Set, were originally worshipped by the Berbers. Osiris was one of the Egyptian deities’ paid homage to in Libya. Some scholars believe Osiris was originally a Libyan god. Berbers supposedly did not eat the swine’s flesh, because it was associated with Set, and they did not eat the cow’s flesh, because it was associated with Isis. This was reported by Herodotus: Cow’s flesh, however, none of these [Libyan] tribes ever taste, but abstain from it for the same reason as the Egyptians, neither do they any of them breed swine. Even at Cyrene, the women think it wrong to eat the flesh of the cow, honoring in this Isis, the Egyptian goddess, whom they worship both with fasts and festivals. The Barcaean women abstain, not from cow’s flesh only, but also from the flesh of swine Another one of their deities the Egyptians considered to have a Libyan origin, was Neith who is said to have emigrated from Libya to establish her temple at Sais in the Nile Delta. Some legends tell that Neith was born around Lake Tritons or modern Tunisia. It is notable that some Egyptian deities were depicted with Berber (ancient Libyan) characters, such as “Ament” who was depicted with two feathers, which were the normal ornaments of the Ancient Libyans as shown by the Ancient Egyptians.

The most remarkable common god between Egyptian and Berber culture was Amon. King of the gods and god of the wind, he was adopted by the Ancient Egyptians as Amen-Ra, by the Greeks as Zeus-Amon, and by the Phoenicians as Baal-Amon. Represented in human form, sometimes with a ram’s head, early depictions of rams have been found across North Africa dating to 9600 BC and 7500 BC. The most famous temple of Ammon in Ancient Libya was the augural temple at Siwa in Egypt, an oasis still inhabited by the Berbers. Although most modern sources ignore the existence of Ammon in Berber mythology, he was honored by the Ancient Greeks in Cyrenaica, and was united with the Phoenician god Baal due to Libyan influence.

Source: www.ancient-origins.net

Buy, download here; Berbers and Numidian Ruins of Antiquity

Spend any amount of time in Morocco, and you’re bound to trip across one of the most defining characteristics of the country:the Berbers. As the original inhabitants of Morocco, they are rightly proud of the contributions they’ve made in shaping the country. With a unique language and culture, the Berbers stand out as one of last bastions of tradition in an ever-modernizing world; while even the oldest villagers now happily chat on cell phones, they do so in a tongue almost impenetrable to anyone from the outside world.
Most figures put the Berber population of Morocco at around 40 percent of the nation’s 32 million people, though almost 80 percent of the country claims at least some Berber heritage. Smaller Berber populations can also be found in Algeria, Tunisia, Mauritania and Mali. Most historians believe Berbers first arrived in Morocco in the second or third millennium BCE. The name, Berber, is likely derived from the Roman word for barbarian, while they refer to themselves by the term Amazigh, or ‘free people.’ (A fun fact: Should you ever hear yourself called an arumi, you are being called a foreigner, or, literally, a Roman.)
While Berbers in Morocco have a common identity, they can be roughly separated into three distinct tribes. In fact, while nearly all Berbers refer to their language as Tamazight, it’s far from homogeneous. One Berber might not understand a compatriot just a few hours down the road, and dialects from across the country are nearly indecipherable.
In the north, the Riffian Berbers speak a dialect called Tarafit. This is the smallest Berber population in the country, and this group stays within the bounds of the Rif Mountains.
In the Middle Atlas are the Zayanes, who spread from Fes in the north to Marrakesh in the south. Their dialect, Tamazight, varies wildly from region to region but is usually intelligible by native speakers. Some Zayanes, particularly those near Ouarzazate in the south, are still nomads, traveling with their livestock as the seasons change.
The southern Atlas and Anti Atlas Mountains are home to the Shilhah. The Shilhah is the largest Berber tribe in the country and often viewed as having the most ‘pure’ Berber language, Tashlheit. The majority of Berber films and music are produced in the Tashlheit language.
While all Berbers will tell you straight away that they, as a people, have never been conquered, their national heritage and identity has historically been stamped down. The Moroccan government saw a threat in the autonomous mountain tribes and encouraged the assimilation of Berber culture into the larger Arab/Moroccan way of life. This has begun to change, however, and new education and cultural initiatives are now working to preserve Berber identity.
Many schools now teach a standardized form of Tamazight, and the Berber flag can be seen waving from innumerable shops and windows in nearly any city. Berber radio programs and a small film industry have both grown in recent years, and there is now even a satellite television channel that broadcasts exclusively in the Berber language.
This surge in national pride also means that Berbers will be thrilled to help you explore not only their region but their culture as well. If you show a genuine interest and ask questions, you’ll soon be welcomed into the circle and granted access to the homes (and kitchens!) of Morocco’s original inhabitants.
Smile, stay open minded and be prepared to become a member of the Amazigh.

Source: journeybeyondtravel