Mr. Abdellah Hammoudi has once again revived a controversy that Prince Moulay Hicham had already sparked in Paris some time ago, when he claimed that the Amazighs are not the original inhabitants of Morocco. In order to put an end to this absurd assertion, I would like to pose a fundamental question: Are there Arabs in Morocco? Or, put differently, where do the Arabs of Morocco—and by extension, of North Africa (Tamazgha)—come from?
Unlike his cousin Prince Moulay Hicham, King Mohammed VI of Morocco stated in an interview with Le Figaro at the beginning of his reign: “Berber claims are not the same as those of the Kabyles. Here, the Amazigh sensibility—rather than the term ‘Berber’—is integrationist. I am Moroccan before I am Berber or Arab. There are Moroccans who are Berber, others of Arab, African, or Andalusian origin. My father was of Arab descent while my mother is Berber.” Thus, the sovereign acknowledged being 50% Amazigh, through his mother. However, if we analyze the Amazigh contribution from his father, the late King Hassan II, we find that it is not 50%, but rather 75%, given that his paternal grandmother was Amazigh. Going further up the lineage to his great-grandfather, the Amazigh genetic contribution becomes 87.5%, and continuing with his great-great-grandfather, the Amazigh contribution reaches 93.75%. If we continue tracing back through earlier generations—given the tradition among Alaouite sovereigns (as with the Idrisids, the Saadians, etc.) of marrying Amazigh women—the King’s genes inevitably approach nearly 100% Amazigh. In contrast, his cousin Prince Moulay Hicham carries only 50% Amazigh genes, as his mother is of Lebanese origin.
I don’t know which disciplines or scientific data our friends Hicham and Hammoudi based their claims on when asserting that Amazighs do not exist in Morocco. As intellectuals, are they unaware of the most recent discoveries from Ifri n Amar at Assif Baht (Oued Baht near Khémisset), Ifri n Ammar in Afsou (Mount Arruit near Nador), and the Pigeon Grotto of Zegzal in Berkane? These discoveries revolutionize what we know about the origins of the first Amazigh populations—their beliefs, their mineral discoveries, their stone tools industry… Not to mention older anthropological findings like the man of Sidi Abderrahmane in Casablanca, dated between 200,000 to 700,000 years ago, and the man of Témara. We must also highlight the publications of renowned researchers like Gabriel Camps and Malika Hachid, the latter of whom wrote a key reference book titled The First Berbers (Les Premiers Bérbères).
The goal of this piece is to draw attention to a new scientific discipline called genetic anthropology (also known as population genetics or molecular anthropology). One of its strongest advocates during the 1980s was the Italian Luca Cavalli-Sforza, and today this field has gained extraordinary importance—so much so that it has miraculously managed to create a global genealogical tree of humanity.
Genetic anthropology challenges traditional assumptions, such as the false claim propagated in school textbooks that Amazighs originated in Yemen.
One of the first to seriously investigate this issue was my friend, the immunologist from the 12 de Octubre Hospital in Madrid, Dr. Antonio Arnaiz-Villena, author of several scientific articles and two landmark publications: El origen de los vascos y otros pueblos mediterráneos and Egipcios, Bereberes, Guanches y Vascos, co-authored with Jorge Alonso García and published by Editorial Complutense University of Madrid in 1998 and 2000, respectively. Starting from a study of the genetic kinship of the Basques and comparing them to various Mediterranean populations, Dr. Arnaiz managed to lift the veil on the origins of these authentically Iberian people, and by extension, those of North Africa—the Amazighs.
Before diving into the surprising results of Arnaiz’s research, let’s briefly recall the basics of genetic anthropology. As everyone knows, the nuclei of our cells contain chromosomes made up of DNA, which carries all our genetic information—such as our organs, skin color, nose shape, and hair texture. By comparing the DNA of different populations, scientists can calculate the number of mutations that created differences between their proteins, under the pressure of natural selection, thus explaining the evolution of species, including humans.
In Arnaiz’s case, he did not focus on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which is passed entirely from mother to child, but rather on mutations in the DNA of immunoglobulins—proteins known as antibodies, produced by the immune system in response to external threats. These HLA genes of blood immunoglobulins are used to categorize population groups. These studies are conducted by the Immunology Department of the 12 de Octubre Hospital to assess organ transplant rejection rates.
According to the results published in Arnaiz-Villena’s article Genética de los bereberes: emparentamiento con ibéricos, vascos y otros antiguos mediterráneos, found in our publication Estudios Amaziges: Sustratos y Sinergias Culturales (editors Vicente Moga Romero and Rachid Raha, Melilla 2000), available on page 67 of the publication [1]), the findings reveal some truths:
- The Basques are genetically very close to other Spaniards and the Portuguese, who have preserved the oldest Iberian language since the Neolithic era, namely Euskera, which appears to be related to ancient Amazigh languages.
- Iberians, as well as southern Italians and Sicilians, are closer to the Amazighs and Algerians than they are to northern Europeans (Gauls, Germans, Flemish, Vikings…).
- Algerian Arabophones, who believe they are “Arabs,” are in fact cousins of Moroccan Amazighs, and are genetically far from the Lebanese or the Arabs of the Middle East. The latter are genetically closer to Israelis. Though they share the same origins, monotheistic religions have driven them into endless sectarian conflicts between Jews, Christians, and Muslims.
- As for Moroccans, comparing Arabic-speakers from Essaouira with an Amazigh-speaker from Agadir shows a clear kinship. This means that all Moroccans who believe themselves to be “Arabs”—and by extension, all North Africans—are in fact Amazighs who became Arabized after converting to Islam and, more importantly, due to forced assimilation policies promoted by Arabist political ideologies that are increasingly turning into Salafism [2].
As a result, all genetic contributions from Arab tribes (like Banu Hilal, Banu Ma’qil…) have been diluted in the indigenous genetic pool—except for Jews, who maintained a distinct genetic identity due to their endogamous traditions and relatively closed community lives.
Faced with these undeniable scientific truths, “Arab” nationalists and Salafists will no doubt cry scandal. They can never accept that these findings are grounded in science and health. These genetic comparisons of immunoglobulins or antibodies conducted on people from various Mediterranean countries by the Immunology Department at Madrid’s 12 de Octubre Hospital reveal that, for example, a Spanish citizen needing a heart transplant would be more likely to accept one from any Moroccan rather than from a Frenchman—even though the French are geographically closer. Similarly, if we take Mr. Abdellah Hammoudi as an example, and suppose he wanted to donate a kidney to help someone, his organ would be more compatible with that of a Sicilian Christian than with a Palestinian Muslim from Gaza—because he is genetically closer to Euro-Mediterraneans than to the Arabs he idealizes. On the other hand, organ rejection is lower between Palestinians and their supposed enemies, the Israelis, because they share a common genetic background. These populations—Palestinians and Israelis—are actually more closely related to Iranians and Northern Europeans, who descend from the man of Palestine and the European Cro-Magnon! Let’s not forget that the man of Palestine, like all humanity, ultimately comes from our African continent.
Based on these early genetic studies of the Amazighs, Professor Antonio Arnaiz-Villena concludes: “There probably existed a large population along the Sahara Desert and in North Africa, sharing a common language and perhaps a genetic identity… This population was forced to migrate during periods of climate-driven desertification that began around 18,000 years ago (after the last ice age), and when survival became difficult, they migrated massively toward the northern Mediterranean coast (Iberian Peninsula, southern Italy, western Mediterranean islands), toward the Atlantic islands (Canary Islands), and eastward (Egypt) around 6000 BCE.”
In conclusion, genetic anthropology asserts that the ancestors of the Amazighs—and of all North Africans, whether Amazigh-speaking or Arabized—as well as those of the Iberians, the Guanches, and the Egyptians, originated from this Great Sahara, where they created the world’s finest rock art, as documented in the famous books of Henri Lhote and Malika Hachid [3].
To close, I would like to offer a small piece of advice to my friend Prince Moulay Hicham, who has inherited nearly 50% Amazigh genes from his father and 50% Arab genes from his mother. If he has invested heavily, intellectually and financially, in promoting the Arab culture inherited from his mother, I believe the time has come to devote the same energy and resources to promoting his Amazigh culture—one inherited from his late father, Moulay Abdellah.
Rachid RAHA
* translation of the article: https://amadalpresse.com/RAHA/Origines.html
Notes:
[1]- https://rachidraha.com/estudios-amazighes/
Or www.amadalpresse.com/RAHA/PDF/Estudios%20Amaziges.pdf
[2]- www.agoravox.fr/tribune-libre/article/les-maghrebins-ne-sont-pas-des-141092
[3]- Malika Hachid, Les Premiers Berbères, Edisud, Aix-En-provence 2000
