Mohamed Chafik's historical and linguistic ideology and its influence on the Amazigh cultural movement in Morocco

Mohamed Chafik (1926–), an Amazigh scholar and educator with close ties to the Moroccan authorities, as well as a well-known figure in Amazigh activism, played a significant role in shaping the history of the Moroccan Amazigh cultural movement. This article, following an introduction to the history of Amazigh nationalism and the development of the Amazigh cultural movement in Morocco, situates the life of Mohamed Chafik within its historical context. It examines his historical and linguistic ideology through his works, specifically Thirty-Three Centuries of Amazigh History, Forty-Four Lessons in the Amazigh Language, and Arabic-Amazigh Dictionary, to understand how his ideology significantly altered the trajectory of the Amazigh cultural movement in Morocco, steering it away from ethnic-based politicisation and towards the significant developments of the ‘culturalist’ trends that eventually led to the standardisation, education, and officialization of the Amazigh language in the country.