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Join on Telegram Casablanca – The origins of the legendary military leader Tarik Ibn Ziyad is the hot new debate between Moroccans and Algerians, adding to long-running feuds over the origin of couscous, the caftan, the tbourida, and Moroccan tea (atay).
Although the question of Tariq bin Ziyad’s roots has been a long-standing debate among historians, the television series “Fath Al-Andalus,” which presents the Muslim leader’s biography, has sparked a revival of the discussion on social media.
About the series
“Fath Al-Andalus” is a series based on the story of Tariq Ibn Ziyad. Events take place in the run-up to the protagonist’s operation to cross the Mediterranean and capture Al-Andalus, depicting details of his journey from North Africa, specifically Tangier, to the Iberian Peninsula.
The series is shot in a variety of locations between Beirut and Turkey, and stars actors from a range of Arab countries. It is airing during Ramadan on Kuwait TV, MBC1, and Al Aoula channels.
The series is directed by Kuwaiti Muhammad Sami Al-Anzi. Syrian actor Suhail Jebai plays Tariq Ibn Ziyad, while Moroccan artist Hisham Bahloul shines in the role of Shaddad, Tariq Ibn Ziyad’s friend and leader of his army.
Tariq Ibn Ziyad: historical background
Tariq Ibn Ziyad’s name is connected with Al-Andalus since he was the commander who launched the movement to conquer the Iberian Peninsula in 92 AH / 711 AD, converting its people to Islam and changing its name to Al-Andalus.
Born in 670 AD, Tariq Ibn Ziyad, a Berber who grew up in a Muslim Arab environment, was a member of the Al-Sadaf tribe, originally an Amazigh clan in Morocco’s High Atlas Mountains that later converted to Islam.
He joined Musa Ibn Nusair’s army and became one of his best leaders. Regarded as one of the most prominent Umayyad military leaders in history, he is a symbol of strength in southern Spain. Gibraltar, a Spanish derivation of the Arabic term Jabal Tariq, was even named in his honor.
Tariq Ibn Ziyad assisted Musa Ibn Nusair in his Islamic conquests and demonstrated great skill and leadership in combat, which attracted Musa Ibn Nusair’s attention. As a result, Musa Ibn Nusair appointed him to command the vanguard of the army in Morocco.
Musa Ibn Nusair’s soldiers were able to reach the Atlantic Ocean and take control of the Far Maghreb. Tariq Ibn Ziyad pursued his conquests alongside Musa Ibn Nusair until they reached Morocco’s most significant cities.
Except for the walled city of Ceuta, Morocco was subject to Musa Ibn Nusair’s control, and Tariq Ibn Ziyad was assigned lead from Tangier so that he could watch the city of Ceuta.
Tariq Ibn Ziyad, the mujahid leader, died in the year 102 A.H.(721 A.D.) — his life was cut short after arriving in Damascus with Musa Ibn Nusair. Historians disagree on his fate, with some saying he was imprisoned in isolation in Damascus until Caliph Al-Walid intervened and freed him.
Social media debate
“Fath Al-Andalus” has sparked debate among Moroccans and Algerians on social media. Moroccans view the series as a deliberate distortion of their history, and Islamic scholar Muhammad Abdel Wahhab Rafiqi has described the series’ factual inaccuracies and contradictions in a post on his Facebook page, describing it as “poor, carrying huge historical inaccuracies.”
According to the Moroccan audience, the series essentially fails to offer an authentic portrayal of Tariq Ibn Ziyad’s real identity — who he was, where he came from, and what experiences equipped him to take on this monumental mission.
While the series portrays Tariq Ibn Ziyad as Moroccan, it has created great debate and indignation in Algeria concerning the military leader’s roots. Algerian commenters have linked their roots to Tariq Ibn Ziyad, although Algeria did not exist as a state during the military leader’s time.
In line with France’s announcement of the declassification of the archive of the so-called “judicial investigations” of the Algerian conflict, French President Emmanuel Macron stated last year that Algeria as a country was established after its independence in 1962 and that it was not a “nation” before the French invasion in 1830. Macron’s suggestion, backed by the interpretation of a significant number of historians, is that Algeria was created by France.
In remarks reported by Le Monde, Macron, referring to the existence of past colonization operations by the Ottoman Empire in present-day Algeria, noted: “Was there an Algerian nation before French colonialism? That is the question.”
The Algerian government was so outraged by Macron’s declaration that it withdrew its ambassador from Paris and barred French aircraft from flying over its airspace and canceled contracts with French firms operating in Algeria.
According to French historian John Siva, Algeria was a territory devoid of inhabitants on the day the French occupation troops arrived on Algiers’s western shores in July 1830.
In an interview with the French newspaper Le Figaro, Siva stated, “There was no Algerian people during the [French] invasion of Algeria.”
Amid the ongoing, raging social media debate since the airing of the television series “Fath Al-Andalus,” many Algerians have petitioned their country’s Minister of Culture Tariq bin Ziyad Jazairi to stand up for what they have described as Algerian culture and history.
Under the hashtag “Tariq bin Ziyad Algerian,” Algerian commenters have notably urged their culture minister to intervene and “defend [their] history from distortion… by foreign hands.”
Moroccan commenters, for their part, have responded to the Algerians with the hashtag “Tariq bin Ziyad Moroccan.” On Twitter, one Moroccan commenter challenged Algerians’ attempt to claim Tariq bin Ziyad by citing documents from one of the academic courses taught in Algeria in 1987 that describes him as Moroccan.
Other Moroccan activists also defended Tariq bin Ziyad’s Moroccan identity by pointing to a 1995 banknote of 5 pounds issued by the Government of Gibraltar of the United Kingdom, bearing the image of Queen Elizabeth II and a picture of Tariq Ibn Ziyad with the Moroccan star, as well as a lofty Moorish castle.
They have also backed their arguments with a European miniature from the book Portraits of Kings dating back to the eleventh century, featuring Don Rodrigo, the final monarch of the Visigothic Kingdom (671-671), and Tariq Ibn Ziyad, the leader of the moors.
The ongoing social media row over the origins of Tariq Ibn Ziyad is not surprising for Moroccan commenters, who have been quick to point out that is not the first time that Algeria has tried to appropriate Morocco’s history, culture, and heritage.
Algerians’ attempt to claim Tariq Ibn Ziyad by hiding historical facts that prove his Moroccan Amazigh identity adds to Algeria’s long history of misrepresentation and manipulation of historical facts, many Moroccans commented.
Cultural and historical appropriation has long been a defining feature of many Algerians’ (including Algerian authorities) attitude toward “authentic” Moroccan history and culture, they argued, explaining that Algeria has also been attempting to claim, among others, the Moroccan couscous, the caftan, and Moroccan tea.
