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Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in North Africa. Algeria is bordered to the northeast by Tunisia; to the east by Libya; to the southeast by Niger; to the southwest by Mali, Mauritania, and Western Sahara; to the west by Morocco; and to the north by the Mediterranean Sea. It is considered part of the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has a semi-arid geography, with most of the population living in the fertile north and the Sahara dominating the geography of the south. Algeria covers an area of 2,381,741 square kilometres (919,595 sq mi), making it the world's tenth largest nation by area, and the largest nation in Africa, more than 200 times as large as the continent's smallest country, The Gambia. With a population of 44 million, Algeria is the tenth-most populous country in Africa, and the 32nd-most populous country in the world. The capital and largest city is Algiers, located in the far north on the Mediterranean coast.
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to the east, and the disputed territory of Western Sahara to the south. Morocco also claims the Spanish exclaves of Ceuta, Melilla and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, and several small Spanish-controlled islands off its coast. It spans an area of 446,550 km2 (172,410 sq mi) or 712,550 km2 (275,120 sq mi),, while 446,300 km2 (172,300 sq mi) and 710,850 km2 (274,460 sq mi), are of land, and with a population of roughly 37 million Citizens. Its official and predominant religion is Islam, and the official languages are Arabic and Berber (Tamazight); French and the Moroccan dialect of Arabic are also widely spoken. Moroccan identity and culture is a mix of Arab, Berber, African and European cultures. Its capital is Rabat, while its largest city is Casablanca.
North Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of the Western Sahara in the west, to Sudan's Red Sea coast in the east.
Berbers or the Berber peoples, also called by their contemporary self-name Amazigh or Imazighen, are a diverse grouping of distinct ethnic groups indigenous to North Africa who predate the arrival of Arabs in the Arab migrations to the Maghreb. Their main connections are identified by their usage of Berber languages, most of them mutually unintelligible, which are part of the Afroasiatic language family. They are indigenous to the Maghreb region of North Africa, where they live in scattered communities across parts of Morocco, Algeria, Libya, and to a lesser extent Tunisia, Mauritania, northern Mali and northern Niger. Smaller Berber communities are also found in Burkina Faso and Egypt's Siwa Oasis.
The Maghreb, also known as the Arab Maghreb and Northwest Africa, is the western part of the Arab world. The region comprises western and central North Africa, including Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. The Maghreb also includes the disputed territory of Western Sahara. As of 2018, the region had a population of over 100 million people.
Maghreb cuisine is the cooking of the Maghreb region, the northwesternmost part of Africa along the Mediterranean Sea, consisting of the countries of Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. Well-known dishes from the region include couscous, pastilla, tajine and shakshouka.
A zawiya or zaouia is a building and institution associated with Sufis in the Islamic world. It can serve a variety of functions such a place of worship, school, monastery and/or mausoleum. In some regions the term is interchangeable with the term khanqah, which serves a similar purpose. In the Maghreb, the term is often used for a place where the founder of a Sufi order or a local saint or holy man lived and was buried. In the Maghreb the word can also be used to refer to the wider tariqa and its membership.
Maghrebi Jews or North African Jews are ethnic Jews who had traditionally lived in the Maghreb region of North Africa under Arab rule during the Middle Ages. Established Jewish communities had existed in North Africa long before the arrival of Sephardi Jews, expelled from Portugal and Spain. Due to proximity, the term 'Maghrebi Jews' sometimes refers to Egyptian Jews as well, even though there are important cultural differences between the history of Egyptian and Maghrebi Jews. These Jews originating from North Africa constitute the second largest Jewish diaspora group.
The history of Jews in Algeria goes back to Antiquity, although it is not possible to trace with any certainty the time and circumstances of the arrival of the first Jews in what is now Algeria. In any case, several waves of immigration helped to increase the population. There may have been Jews in Carthage and present-day Algeria before the Roman conquest, but the development of Jewish communities is linked to the Roman presence. Jewish revolts in Israel and Cyrenaica in the 1st and 2nd centuries certainly led to the arrival of Jewish immigrants from these regions. Jewish proselytizing among the Berbers is an established historical fact, but its importance remains debated.
The Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) is a political union and economic union trade agreement aiming for economic and future political unity among Arab countries States that are located primarily in the Maghreb in North Africa. Its members are the nations of Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia. The Union has been unable to achieve tangible progress on its goals due to deep economic and political disagreements between Morocco and Algeria regarding, among others, the issue of Western Sahara. No high-level meetings have taken place since 3 July 2008, and commentators regard the Union as largely dormant.
The Grand Mosque of Paris, also known as the Great Mosque of Paris or simply the Paris Mosque, is located in the 5th arrondissement and is one of the largest mosques in France. There are prayer rooms, an outdoor garden, a small library, a gift shop, along with a cafe and restaurant. In all, the mosque plays an important role in promoting the visibility of Islam and Muslims in France. It is the oldest mosque in Metropolitan France.
Moorish architecture is a style within Islamic architecture which developed in the western Islamic world, including al-Andalus and what is now Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. Scholarly references on Islamic architecture often refer to this architectural tradition by a more geographic designation, such as architecture of the Islamic West or architecture of the Western Islamic lands. The use of the term "Moorish" comes from the historical Western European designation of the Muslim inhabitants of these regions as "Moors". Some references on Islamic art and architecture consider this term to be outdated or contested.
Little Maghreb is a neighbourhood in the borough of Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension in Montreal. The neighbourhood is centered on fifteen blocks of Jean Talon Street stretching from Saint-Michel Boulevard in the West to Pie-IX Boulevard in the East. Maghrebi merchants in the area, mainly from Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, have joined together to create a Little Maghreb identity for the neighbourhood, in the same way as Chinatown had become a symbol for Chinese Montrealers, and Little Italy had become the focal point of the city's Italian community.
Moroccan Americans are Americans citizens who are of Moroccan descent, either fully or partially. It is also applied to Americans who hold dual citizenship in America and Morocco.
North African Americans are Americans with origins in the region of North Africa. This group includes Americans of Algerian, Egyptian, Libyan, Moroccan, and Tunisian descent.
Abdelkader Ben Ghabrit, commonly known as Si Kaddour Benghabrit was an Algerian religious leader, translator and interpreter who worked for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was the first rector of the Great Mosque of Paris.
The Paris metropolitan area has a large Maghrebi population, in part as a result of French colonial ties to that region. As of 2012 the majority of those of African origin living in Paris come from the Maghreb, including Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. There were 30,000 people with Algerian nationality, 21,000 persons with Moroccan nationality, and 15,000 persons with Tunisian nationality in the city of Paris in 2009. In addition, there are thousands of Maghrebi Jews who immigrated from Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco during the 1960s.
North African Sephardim are a distinct sub-group of Sephardi Jews, who descend from exiled Iberian Jewish families of the late 15th century and North African Maghrebi Jewish communities.
Arabs in Switzerland are Swiss citizens or residents of Arab ethnic, cultural and linguistic heritage from Arab countries, particularly Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Egypt, also small groups from Palestine, Yemen, Libya, Jordan and Sudan, who emigrated from their native nations and currently reside in Switzerland.
Algerian Americans are Americans who are of Algerian descent or Algerians who have American citizenship. According to the 2000 United States Census, there are over 8,000 Americans of Algerian descent.
References
- 1 2 Stephen R. Porter (December 26, 2005). "Algerians". The Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago. Archived from the original on October 12, 2012. Retrieved December 8, 2010.
- 1 2 3 Encyclopedia of Chicago: Moroccans. Wrote by Stephen R. Porter.
- ↑ Linkedin: Maghreb Association of North America