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.

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]mazigh people (Berbers according to Romans) are the aboriginals of North Africa from The Siwa Oasis in Egypt to the Atlantic Ocean including Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, Mali, and Niger. Despite all the different attempts from different invaders to exterminate Amazigh identity from North Africa, the natives still preserve their own culture and language, with all its dialects to the present time. Arabization is a new form of oppression they still resist. Oppressing people differs from country to another. Tamazight, which includes all the dialects of the Amazigh language, was also repressed and even banned from use in institutions and in public spaces. In the past seven years, the Moroccan constitution was the first to acknowledge the Amazigh language in North Africa. Yet, it is still not really in use in official documents, on signs and so forth, the situation is even worse in other countries.

As for Amazigh music, diverse Amazigh musicians can be found performing worldwide. Bombino band and Tinariwen from Mali, who belong to Tuaregs, the nomadic Amazigh in the Desert are few well-known examples. Their music is a mixture of African rhythms and sounds influenced by rock-and-roll and blues. However, when it comes to North Africa mainly Morocco, we find that Izenzaren band contributed a lot to this music by embracing universal rhythms and topics.

Izenzaren was able to be one of the leading bands of Amazigh music thanks to its revolutionary rhythms in which the moans and the groans of the wretched are voiced out. Its power is of three dimensions: the first is voicing out the suffering of the marginalized people, the second is the authentic rhythms, and the third is the spirit of the period (early 1970s) which was influenced by the Beatles. Izenzaren has a sense of adventure toward the unknown due to identity crisis which was an outcome of egocentric dominance of the State vis-à-vis the natives of Morocco and their identity. A wound that gave birth to a challenge which the traditional Amazigh poets articulated its layers, express its content, and passed it to young musicians who beautifully transformed it to touching rhythms using different instruments.

As new experience, Izenzaren came to link the youth with their Amazigh roots but without imprisoning one’s self in the past. It also came to put Amazigh identity to question. The latter was and still is at the center of its experience. Izenzaren strongly asserted the existence of Amazigh identity. By so doing, Izenzaren incorporated many different instruments such as banjo, violin, drum, guenbri or hajhouj, and qarqaba.

Amazigh music addresses all elements of life and human experience. Its major constituents are the romantic, the social, and the political. Because Izenzaren is a committed, intellectual and philosophical tongue, it was very normal that the band was elected to be the voice of the wretched in the world in general and in Morocco in particular. It called for the purification of the self and social justice.

One should note that Izenzaren members are students of the traditional school of Amazigh poets and musicians whose talents were shaped by Amazigh oral culture in North Africa. On the other hand, Izenzaren was able to transcend the traditional school and create a whole new phenomenon called “taznzart”, a transition that put them on the top of the modern Amazigh music.

Abdelhadi Igout, the head of the band, has embraced many musical instruments including banjo and violin since childhood. Instruments that he made with his own hands using simple tools, he kept telling these instruments his secrets by the shores of the Atlantic Ocean and in his neighborhood. This led him to meet many talented people who shared the same sufferings and hopes and who later formed the band which was an exception in North Africa in general and in Morocco in particular.

This experience was a clear answer to a new generation of youth in early 70s, who migrated from rural areas of morocco to big cities, and whose language was Tamazight. That youth could no longer find their prey in the traditional school because they neither shared the same symbolic code with the traditional musicians nor did they share the same vision toward the world, and probably the same was happening in Algeria at that particular time especially in Kabyle region, the area that gave birth to the international Amazigh singer named Idir.

Izenzaren is ground-breaking phenomenon that played a great role in promoting Amazigh culture and Moroccan music by embracing world rhythms and by implementing many musical instruments. The echoes of Izenzaren, the Beatles of Morocco, reached Europe and pushed them to participate in many international festivals in which they proved their outstanding talents. This explains the fact that Amazigh artists don’t lack the talent to give to the world. What they really lack is financial support as well as the institutional encouragement. Izenzaren fertilized Amazigh music and its music will surely be tattooed in the Moroccan memory for ever and ever.

Prince Hicham Alloaui of Morocco is the first cousin of the current King Mohammed VI, he is known as “Red Prince” because of his progressive political positions. More recently, he has become an outspoken advocate for greater democracy in Morocco and the broader Middle East. He regularly speaks on these issues at public forums around the world, among them the University of Harvard University and Yale University. He has also published numerous essays on political reform and democracy in English, French, and Arabic language journals and newspapers.

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[dropcap]N[/dropcap]orth Africa, including Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia and Sudan; are often referred to as part of the Arab world, or as Arabic countries. Although many of these countries have been, “Arabised,” since the Arab/islamic conquests in 632AD, the native people of North Africa are not at all Arabic.

The indigenous people of North Africa are called the ‘Imazighen’, or ‘Amazigh’, meaning ‘free born’ and often use the feminine pronoun ‘Tamazight’ to describe themselves. Within Imazighen culture, women are hugely important members of society, with many historical and religious figures being female. For example the Tamazight warrior queen Dihya, who defeated the armies of the islamic conquest repeatedly during the seventh century. Also the goddess Tanit, the moon goddess, associated with fertility, creation and destruction.

Not only were the Tamazight not ethnically Arabic, they didn’t speak Arabic either. Their own language, and the consonantal alphabet, tifinagh, are far older and totally unlike most languages. Despite this, many Imazighen have been prevented from using and teaching their language ever since the  Arab/islamic conquests. For example, under the rule of  Muammar Gaddafi, Tamazight language in Libya, as well as its culture, was brutally oppressed. In his pursuit of complete Arabisation of Libya, Gaddafi consistently and aggressively oppressed all ethnic minorities, outlawing the teaching of any other languages or cultures except Arabic.  Those who continued to teach their own language and culture, risked life imprisonment, torture and execution.

It is estimated that over 20million people speak Amazigh, or one of its variations. Many of them are based in Algeria where it has been a national language since 2002, an official language since 2006, and where 13million of Algeria`s 39million people are Amazigh.

In Libya, Amazigh is still not recognised as an official language, despite protests from its people. However Amazigh activists are working to build schools, and train teachers so that Amazigh children can learn about their history, culture and language, outside the confines of their own homes. In a country where this was once impossible, this is a huge victory for the Libyan Imazighen, and hopefully one of many to come.

[author title=”Amina Elmansouri” image=”http://www.amazighworldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/amina-1.jpg”]Aspiring writer and journalist[/author]

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Morocco authorities have banned all protests activity planned for the first anniversary of Mohcine Fikri on Friday and Saturday 27th and 28th in the restive Al-Hoceima province, according to a statement issued by the provincial authorities.

“Morocco’s future depends on Rif’s ‘Hirak‘ Protest Movement and Riffian protesters are not separatists” Hicham Alaoui said on Wednesday, October 18th while giving a keynote lecture at Harvard Kennedy School under the topic of “What does Arabness mean in an era of revolution?”. He added: ” This crisis is, of course not new, but had surfaced in Morocco quite strongly in the past months due to the government’s economic policies, its repression of all critics, a mafia-style corruption and the failure of political institutionalization. [ads1]Prince Hicham Alloaui of Morocco is the first cousin of the current King Mohammed VI, he is known as “Red Prince” because of his progressive political positions. More recently, he has become an outspoken advocate for greater democracy in Morocco and the broader Middle East. He regularly speaks on these issues at public forums around the world, among them the University of Harvard University and Yale University. He has also published numerous essays on political reform and democracy in English, French, and Arabic language journals and newspapers.

On the other hand, Moroccan Authorities have responded harshly to the ongoing peaceful protests with an unprecedented crackdown, using excessive force to disperse crowds and carrying out mass arrests and detentions of more than 1000 protesters including Nasser Zafzafi, the leader of the protest movement. [ads1]