Arab spring frees the Berbers
One consequence of the uprisings across North Africa is the new freedoms won by the Berber peoples. Authoritarian Arab regimes had suppressed Berber history and language, claiming they threatened ‘national unity’. Islamists supported Arabic-only laws. There are perhaps over 20 million Berbers, mainly in Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Mali and Niger. They share a common history and mainly speak variations of the Tamazight language. In Libya Qaddafi believed Berber culture was “colonialism’s poison” and banned their language. Many of the rebel fighters in the West of Libya are Berbers from their...