Maghrebis or Maghrebians () are the inhabitants of the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is a modern Arabic term meaning "Westerners", denoting their location in the western part of the Arab world. Maghrebis are predominantly of Arabs and Berbers origins.
The Arabic term () was given by the first Muslim Arab settlers to the recently conquered region located west of the Umayyad capital of Damascus in the 7th century AD. It initially referred to the area extending from Alexandria in the east to the Atlantic Ocean in the west.
The domination of Christianity ended when Arab invasions brought Islam in 647. Carthage fell in 698 and the remainder of the region followed in subsequent decades. Gradual Islamization proceeded, although surviving letters showed correspondence from regional Christians to Rome up until the 9th century. Christianity was still a living faith. Christian bishoprics and dioceses continued to be active, with relations continuing with Rome. As late as Pope Benedict VII (974-983) reign, a new Archbishop of Carthage was consecrated. Evidence of Christianity in the region faded through the 10th century.
During the seventh century, the region's peoples began their nearly total conversion to Islam. There was a small but thriving Arab Jews community, as well as a small Arab Christians community. Most Muslims follow the Maliki school school of Sunni Islam. Small Ibadi Islam communities remain in some areas. A strong tradition of venerating and saints' tombs is found throughout regions inhabited by Berbers. Any map of the region demonstrates the tradition: the proliferation of " sidi"s show places named after the marabouts. Like some other religious traditions, this has substantially decreased over the 20th century. A network of zawiyas traditionally helped perpetuate basic literacy in Arabic and knowledge of Islam in rural regions.
Recently, the Christian community of Berber or Arab descent has allegedly grown significantly. Conversions to Christianity, especially to Evangelicalism, is common in Algeria,* Sadek Lekdja, Christianity in Kabylie, Radio France Internationale, 7 mai 2001 especially in the Kabylia,Lucien Oulahbib, Le monde arabe existe-t-il ?, page 12, 2005, Editions de Paris, Paris. Morocco, and Tunisia. International Religious Freedom Report 2007: Tunisia . United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (14 September 2007). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. A 2015 study estimates 380,000 Muslims converted to Christianity in Algeria.
According to Michel Tribalat, a researcher at INED, there were more than 4.6 million people of Maghrebi origin (with at least one Maghrebi grandparent from Algeria, Morocco or Tunisia) living in France in 2011 (3 million in 1999).Michèle Tribalat, « Mariages « mixtes » et immigration en France » , Espace populations sociétés En, 2009/2 | 2009, mis en ligne le 01 avril 2011Michèle Tribalat, « Une estimation des populations d'origine étrangère en France en 2011 », Espace populations sociétés, 2015/1-2, en ligne Below is a table of population of Maghrebi origin in France in 2011, numbers are in thousands:
Algeria | 737 | 1 170 | 563 | 2 470 |
Morocco | 679 | 698 | 130 | 1 507 |
Tunisia | 246 | 280 | 129 | 655 |
Total Maghreb | 1 662 | 2 148 | 821 | 4 631 |
According to Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques (the French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies), 16% of newborns in France between 2006 and 2008 have at least one Maghrebi grandparent born in the Greater Maghreb. Les immigrés, les descendants d'immigrés et leurs enfants , Pascale Breuil-Genier, Catherine Borrel, Bertrand Lhommeau, Insee 2011
In 2005, the percentage of young people under 18 of Maghrebi origin (at least one immigrant parent) were about 7% in Metropolitan France, 12% in Île-de-France, 13% in Lyon, 21% in Perpignan, 22% in the department of Seine-Saint-Denis, 37% in 18th arrondissement of Paris and 40% in several arrondissements of Marseille.Michèle Tribalat, Revue Commentaire, juin 2009, n°126, p.436Michèle Tribalat, Les yeux grands fermés, Denoël, 2010
Total Maghreb | 22.0% | 13.2% | 13.0% | 13.0% | 12.1% | 6.9% |
According to other sources between 5 and 8 million people of Maghrebin origin live in France, and between 150,000 and 300,000 people of Maghrebin origin live in Canada.Robert Castel, La discrimination négative, Paris, La République des idées/Seuil, 2007
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