Festivalizing Dissent in Morocco

by Aomar Boum
published in MER263

The website of Morocco’s National Tourist Office, a government organization, advertises the North African country as a land of cultural festivals and moussems (traditional fairs honoring a saint). According to the Ministry of Information, about 150 such festivals take place each year. The Ministry of Tourism describes these gatherings as occasions for Moroccans to celebrate the diverse cultural identities of the country as expressed in all artistic fields.

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Berber Associations and Cultural Change in Algeria

Dancing Toward "La Mixite"

by Jane Goodman
published in MER200

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Berbers in France and Algeria

Realizing Myth

by Paul Silverstein
published in MER200

Rebels and Martyrs

The Mobilization of Kabyle Society and the Assassination of Lounes Matoub

by Paul Silverstein
published in MER208

A Kenza a yelli / D iseflan neghli /
F Lzzayer uzekka / A Kenza a yelli /
Ur tru ara

(O Kenza my daughter / We have sacrificed our lives / For the Algeria of tomorrow / O Kenza my daughter / Do not cry)

—"Kenza," written by Lounès Matoub in 1993 for the daughter of assassinated Kabyle journalist and playwright, Tahar Djaout

Algerian Insurrection

by Heba Saleh
published in MER220

In the past ten years of political crisis, Algerians have been wary of public protest. Terrorized by relentless violence and impoverished by structural adjustment, they have repeatedly given the impression that what they want most is the chance to get on with their lives quietly. Despite the cancellation of one election and the staging of several fraudulent ones -- not to mention wholesale public sector downsizings and devaluation of the currency -- the streets remained calm and mass protest looked like an unlikely prospect.

How "Berber" Matters in the Middle of Nowhere

by David Crawford
published in MER219

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The Kabyle Riots

Repression and Alienation in Algeria

by Heba Saleh | published May 11, 2001

Amazigh Activism and the Moroccan State

by Paul Silverstein , David Crawford
published in MER233

When primary school students in the major Berber-speaking regions of Morocco returned to class in September 2004, for the first time ever they were required to study Berber (Tamazight) language. The mandatory language classes in the Rif, the Middle Atlas, the High Atlas and the Sous Valley represent the first significant policy change implemented by the Royal Institute of the Amazigh [Berber] Culture, a government body established by King Mohammed VI on October 17, 2001, following through on a promise made in July of that year on the second anniversary of his ascension to the Moroccan throne.

States of Fragmentation in North Africa

by Paul Silverstein
published in MER237

Nearly 50 years after independence, the North African states of Algeria and Morocco face challenges to their national unity and territorial integrity. In Algeria, a

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