Originally Posted by
MsSPF
No you're absolutely right.
Egypt is first because of its historic proximity genetically/geographically/culturally with Arabs. They actually are a lot closer to Middle Easterns in most aspects than to NorthWest Africans.
About Greater Maghreb (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya), it's important to understand that the Arabs who settled there were a tiny elite settled in big cities who mixed eventually with the local population but in fact their number was so low that demographically, they had no impact on the population.
The Arabization of NorthWest Africa has been made culturally, especially religiously through madrasa/zaouia (religious schools) where Arabic was learned to understand the Qu'ran.
This Arabization has been very long (centuries) and Amazigh culture has been protected during many years with the reigns of many Berber kindoms in NorthWest Africa (Almoravids, Almohads, Zayannids etc) but it has been accelerated these late centuries with dynasties/kindgoms who favorized Arabic and had "orientated pro-Arabic" politics.
1/2 centuries ago, there were a lot more Berber speakers.
I hesitate between Tunisia and Libya in second
Libya because Arabs who settled there were a bit more numerous than in Western Maghreb but not enough to Arabize them demographically. Nonethless, the more you go to the east in North Africa, the more the EastMed component is high.
They remain Berbers genetically and culturally and they have many Berberophones (600 000 people speak Tamazight for a population of +6million inhabitants which is actually significifant) .
Tunisia doesn't have a lot of Berber speakers (Amazigh culture is completely abandoned in this country), they are disappearing (0,5% of the population) but paradoxically, they are closer to Algerians/Moroccans than Libyans are to them and Algeria/Morocco are the most preserved Berber countries.
In third, I would say Algeria.
30% of the population speak Tamazight and we are still very connected to Amazigh culture but our country is more opened geographically than Morocco. Plus, the colonization era + Boumediene (hard core pan Arabist) accelerated Arabization these late centuries.
The least Arabized : Morocco, half of the population speak Tamazight, extremely Amazigh connected people, Atlas moutains protected them during many centuries from foreign invasions + they have of one of the most isolated tribes genetically.
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