no, the Berber's were conquered by expanding Arab empires in the middle ages. Of course there are still ethnic Berbers, but the country is decidely Arab in terms of ethnicity and culture.
LOL you are so wrong. You should look up the early history of the area. If anything the Berbers conquered the Arab "empires" lol.
Algeria is a member of the Arab League...and a former province of the Ottoman Empire. Its official language is Arabic. Almost all of North Africa is either Arab or mix of Arab.
And? The only thing that binds the nations of the Arab league is a language and religion (and not totaly) pure and simple . Thier cultural and ethincal make ups are very diverse. The only nations who actually see themselvs as "arab" are Saudi Arabia and a few of the Gulf states and even they cant accept Yemen as "arab", dispite it being on the Arabian Peninsula.
I fully understand that the west, especially America, has one grand word for all the peoples of North Africa, Middle East and a few other places, and that word is Arab and that some how defines the whole area in the same culture and ethnicitiy.. but saddly that is another false "mirage" that many Americans have learnt over the years (and yes many Europeans also).
If we start in North Africa, its the Berbers who dominate quite a large area of that area and have for over 10.000 years, and their culture is VERY different than say the Saudis or Omanies. Take Yemen, one of the only "arab" countries where using drugs is a national passtime (Khat) and is frowned on by most other "arab" nations. In Mauritania it was "culture" to own slaves until very recently (and many claim it still goes on), and they too are Berbers, that are muslim and speak arabic. Lebanon? Are they arab? The christians, Druze and other minorites? Are the Kurds arabs, as quite a large number speak arabic and are muslims...
Everything is far from black and white, and putting the Algerians or Morrocans in the same "boat" as the Saudis, Iraqies, or Lebanese on anything but a very basic similar langauge (the dialects and local variations from country to country is huge.. especailly with North Africans) is just wrong. Are they "arabs", yes in language and in part in religion, but thats where the comparison stops.
Are Americans not just Englishmen then? Are the French (as offical langauge) speaking nations around the world, then suddenly French? Is half of South America suddenly Spanish? Is Brazil Portugeuse now?
This is not typical French angst, it's race riots. None of my sources have been American.
And non of your sources have even hinted of race riots or being "muslim" riots. The closest the links have gotten is youth riots, and last I read, "youth" was not a race.
As for not typical French? You should read up on French protesting since at least the 60s, but it goes back to the French revolution frankly. The French have always been one of the more passionate peoples of Europe when it comes to protesting, a passion that often went over into the violent. I understand how alien that is to most Americans, a people who rarely protest anything it seems and accept the status quo. Kudos to those in the 60s who dared protest the Vietnam war.
If you want to persist in the fantasy where there is a large rioting group of Christian blacks in French suburbs I can't stop you.
I have never denied that a large part of the rioters are most likely of north african orgin or even muslim, but thats far from calling them a "muslim or arab" riot. You are sensationlising a situation to meet some partisan anti French anti European views, by twisting facts and figures.
So the riots in L.A a decade or so ago, were black riots? Where the protesting turned rioting in Seattle a few years ago white riots or christian even though it started as a protest against globalisation? Why is it when some protests suddenly involve muslims or "arabs" as a large part (possibly as people were not counted or asked of thier religion or ethnicity), then its sensationlized to be "muslim riots" and as you posted also, that Europe is turning into a new Gaza.. I mean wtf, trying to feed the bashing hamster with anything you can think off?
