The national identity transformations in Morocco from national movement to Amazigh movement (1930-2011)

Abstract

This article tackles the evolution of the identity concept in Morocco, and the contexts in which the concept  was formulated by   the national movement .After the publication of " Berber Dahir " in 1930, the national movement will try to oppose  and contest it pretexting that it aims at  dividing  the Moroccans on the basis of the dichotomy  Arabs/Amazighs, and this was the starting point of the  national movement  to take its structural form, by prioritizing its struggle for the Arabic language and the  Islamic religion, and it formulated ,thus, the Moroccan identity on the basis of these two elements, which were,, then, embedded  in the Moroccans constitutions since 1962.After that and with the evolution of social and political contexts ,requests emerged over the redefinition of the Moroccan identity. Therefore, the Amazigh movement became one of the loud voices that required this identity, arguing that the Moroccan identity is a multidimensional one, not a unique identity. This movement succeeded in applying pressure on the State and constitutionalize multilinguism and cultural diversity in the constitution of 2011.

Key words: Identity, national movement, national identity, diversity.