Amazigh manifesto

   Following the 1990s Berber protests and demands for recognition of the Amazigh/Berber language on 1 March 2001, the Amazigh Manifesto was adopted. The manifesto was written by intellectuals and activists under the leadership and guidance of Mohamed Chafik. About 229 intellectuals, professors, artists, activists, and bureaucrats signed the text. Similar to the Agadir Charter, it questioned the Arab-Islamic foundations and nationalist accounts of Moroccan official history. The text demands an inclusive approach and attitude to North African culture and history. One of its demands reads as follows: "Among the strangest things, in Morocco, is that the Amazighe language is not officially considered a language. One of the most embittering things for an Amazighe (Berber), in the 'independence era,' is to hear . . . 'the official or national language is Arabic . . . by virtue of the text of the Constitution!" The manifesto is believed to have led to the creation of the Institut Royal pour la Culture Amazigh (IRCAM) and the monarchy's choice of Tifinagh as the official script for Tamazight.

   See also Languages.