Maghreb was subject to the Islamic conquests of the 7th century, bringing Islam to what had been, predominantly, a Christian region until then. Even among the Berber tribes, the indigenous people of the region. Being separated from the rest of the African continent by the Atlas Mountains and the Sahara Desert, they looked towards Europe’s Iberian Peninsula for trade and further conquest, invading the neighbouring continent in 711 and moving into what is now Gibraltar, Spain, Portugal and parts of the south of France. It was at this time, Maghrebis became known as Moors, so called by Europeans. The term ‘Moor’ became a generic term used by Europeans for any Arab landing in Europe, and so it is still considered by some to be an almost pejorative term, although it is widely used to describe the Arab cultural influences in design, architecture, food and so on.

The religious differences brought with them over 700 years of conflict on the Iberian Peninsula, a period in history known as the Reconquista, which ended in 1492 in Granada. This was also the end of Muslim rule in Iberia. After this period, large populations of refugees fled back to Morocco, contributing to the massive growth of the Arab population in a country where Berbers were still holding on tight to their culture and lands, mostly in the mountainous regions. There are still an equal number of Arabs and Berbers in Morocco today, although some Berbers are referred to as Arab Berbers, influenced by both cultures. For many Berbers, however, cultural identity plays a fundamental role in their everyday lives, and you will see this as you travel around Morocco.

The beginning of the 20th Century saw France and Spain carving their way into Morocco with France finally gaining control in 1912, when the Treaty of Fez made Morocco a French protectorate, although the coastal areas were still controlled by the Spanish. The Moroccan Sultan still played a role, but a figurehead one really.

Between tribal rebellions, and the eventual creation of an Independence Party in 1943, Morocco gained independence from France and Spain in 1956, although the region known as the Spanish Sahara was still a territory of Spain. In 1975 Spain agreed to leave Spanish Sahara and to transfer it to joint Moroccan-Mauritanian control. Algeria objected to this and threatened military intervention, leading to Morocco annexing the area and naming it Moroccan Western Sahara. This is still a disputed territory, and the cause of many years of dispute between Algeria and Morocco.

This dispute was also one of the main reasons for the collapse of the Maghreb Union in 1989, which had been created with a view to forming an economic union and common market between Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya. Consequently, combined with other political tensions in North Africa, this union is now inactive, but it reminds us that the Maghreb family has historically strong bonds, even if, at present some members are still slightly estranged. Moroccan Arabic is, for example, a dialect of Maghreb Arabic, also known as Moroccan Darija. The language is extremely different from Standard Arabic and is also still influenced by French or Spanish.

There is still a UN peacekeeping presence in the Western Sahara, while the country and disputed territory seek to agree on its future, and in 2011 the US supported a new UN monitoring of human rights in Western Sahara. Morocco called this the proposed monitoring “an attack on its sovereignty”. Despite a Truth Commission, put in place by the current King, Mohammed VI, during 2004-5, to investigate human rights abuses during the reign of his father, which also led to reparations of wounded parties, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights urged Morocco to do more to improve its human rights record as recently as 2014. This was particularly with regards to the use of torture, police brutality, freedom of expression for journalists and activists, a lack of gender equality, and a proliferation of gender-based violence.