Amazigh Cultural Movement and Media in Morocco
Amazigh Cultural Movement and Media in Morocco
- Abdelmalek El Kadoussi, Abdelmalek El KadoussiDepartment of English Studies, Ibn Toufail University
- Bouziane ZaidBouziane ZaidAl Akhawayn University Ifrane, Morocco
- , and Mohammed IbahrineMohammed IbahrineJournalism & Strategic Communication Program, Northwestern University Qatar
Summary
The Amazigh, ethnographically known as the local inhabitants of North Africa, constitute more than half of the Moroccan population. As of 2023, the Amazigh question is a pending contention spot in the current political and public debate. The Amazigh’s contribution is evident in the Moroccan premodern political history (11th–17th century), the protectorate period (1912–1956), and the post-independence nation-building period (1956–1975). However, after independence, the linguistic, cultural, and ideological choices of modern Moroccan national identity did not include the Amazigh, since their cultural recognition and visibility remained marginal. Constitutions prior to 2011 denied local and Indigenous languages and prohibited ethnicity-oriented political parties with very few exceptions. Cultural marginalization, underrepresentation, and misrepresentation were far more evident in Moroccan media, especially the government-owned ones.
From its inception, the Amazigh cultural movement (ACM) has militated for both communicative and socioeconomic rights. ACM activists were aware of the importance of Amazigh languages for the construction, consolidation, celebration, and reimagining of the Amazigh collective identity. They were also aware of the centrality of mass media for Indigenous identity politics and cultural representation, articulation, and diffusion.
Drawing on secondary and case study data analysis, quantitative and qualitative indicators testify to Amazigh underrepresentation and misrepresentation in Moroccan public media. They show, for example, that Amazigh broadcast outlets’ poor content quality and amateurish diffusion styles tend to be a disservice rather than a service for indigenous communities and culture.
However, the advent of the internet and digital platforms offered Indigenous cultural activists convenient spaces and effective venues for revitalizing cultural identity politics. Techno-savvy Amazigh youths managed to do in a few years what their ascendants failed to do in many decades: join efforts of home-based and diaspora activism; gather established scholars, academics, artists, and advocacy groups to address that question from different perspectives by engaging in multidirectional digital activism; build a multilayered virtual community that transcends geographical borders; and, most importantly, firmly address the political authorities and hold them to account.
Keywords
Subjects
- Race, Ethnicity, and Communication