New genetic research has reignited debate over unfounded narratives that trace the origins of Amazigh people in Morocco and North Africa to Yemen or other Arabist-inspired myths.

At a symposium titled “Morocco in the Mirror of New Archaeological Discoveries,” held as part of the 20th edition of the Tawiza cultural festival in Tangier, geneticist Aouragh Zineddine argued that science can now settle the question definitively. He pointed to comparisons of remains discovered on Socotra around 2024, which showed no genetic link to Yemen whatsoever.

The researcher highlighted a long, unbroken pattern of settlement in North Africa, citing Numidian remains from Sétif and others from the Canary Islands that carry the Amazigh E-M81 lineage—a marker he connects to the Mauretanian king Bogud, who reigned around 49 BCE. According to Zineddine, this evidence disproves theories tracing the Mauretanians to sub-Saharan origins. At the same time, he noted that the presence of migration and outside influences does not undermine the predominance of the local Amazigh component in the region’s genetic makeup.

Detailing the major paternal lineages found worldwide, he explained that E-M81 predominates among most Amazighs in North Africa, compared with E-M78 among Egyptians, E-M2 in sub-Saharan Africa, R1b in Europe, and J1 among most Arabs in the Middle East. He cautioned, however, that this classification reflects only the most common lineage in each region and does not imply absolute genetic purity.

He also addressed the role of maternal lineages in explaining differences among individuals who share the same paternal ancestry, citing a 2013 study by Bekada et al. that found roughly 84% of Moroccans belong to an Amazigh lineage—a finding he described as evidence of the local stock’s dominance in the population’s current makeup. He added that the E-Z5009 sub-lineage, derived from E-M81, links Amazighs from the Rif, the Atlas, and the Souss to a common ancestor he places around 300 BCE.

For his part, Youssef Boukbout, a researcher at the National Institute of Archaeology and Heritage Sciences in Rabat, noted that questions of identity remain unresolved across North Africa, from Libya to Mauritania. Part of the population still does not know its true origins, he said, while some embrace stories of Kuwaiti or Yemeni descent that are difficult to verify historically. He pointed out that no documented family tree in Morocco extends back more than three or four centuries, even as some claims of ancestry stretch back two thousand years—an assertion he considers historically impossible to substantiate.

Researchers describe the narrative of a Yemeni origin for the Amazigh people as historically unsubstantiated and lacking any scientific basis. Given that no documented Moroccan family tree extends beyond three or four centuries, Boukbout said, a claim of Yemeni ancestry going back two thousand years is “historically impossible.” Researchers argue that the persistence of this narrative, despite the spread of genetic analyses that contradict it, reflects the grip of a ready-made identity discourse that proves hard to abandon even in the face of scientific evidence.

Boukbout stressed that genetics offers a tool for resolving these questions away from populist rhetoric, pointing to the creation of a new laboratory near Tangier expected to draw strong interest from people eager to verify their origins through genetic testing.

Recent photos of the two smart police patrol vehicles “Aman” and “Madar,” put into service on the streets of Rabat in early July 2026, reveal that the Amazigh language, in Tifinagh script, has been incorporated into the vehicles’ new design. The move builds on an effort the General Directorate of National Security has pursued since 2025, when Tifinagh was first adopted on certain vehicles and on the official logo of the National Security Open House event in El Jadida.

According to figures within the Amazigh movement, the change forms part of the implementation of Organic Law No. 26.16, which sets out the stages for enforcing the official status of the Amazigh language, and in particular its Article 28, which governs how the language is to be integrated into priority public services. In May 2025, the World Amazigh Congress sent a letter to National Security Director General Abdellatif Hammouchi, describing the adoption of Tifinagh on police vehicles as a “concrete translation” of the law’s provisions. The organization renewed its call to extend the language’s use to all National Security vehicles, buildings and uniforms, as well as to official documents and border crossings—starting with Guerguerat.

On the technical side, the “Aman” patrol vehicle was designed entirely by National Security engineers. It is equipped with surveillance cameras, automatic license plate recognition, facial recognition technology, and artificial intelligence models that enable instant verification and a direct link to command centers and field units. “Madar,” meanwhile, is a mobile surveillance platform that turns ordinary vehicles into high-tech security units. It features a 3D-printed light bar with cameras capable of tracking six traffic lanes simultaneously, along with a fast-rotating central panoramic camera that covers blind spots.

Both patrol vehicles are expected to be rolled out in Casablanca and Tangier in the coming days, ahead of a gradual expansion to other major cities across the kingdom, as Morocco prepares to host major international events, including the 2030 World Cup. Several Amazigh observers see the appearance of Tifinagh on this new security tool as carrying symbolic weight well beyond its technical function, at a time when calls to extend the Amazigh language to official documents and other public services remain a live demand.

Amazigh emigration is no longer simply a matter of leaving in search of better living conditions — it has become a genuine cultural issue. While thousands of Amazigh people have successfully built stable lives in countries around the world, one essential question remains: what will become of the Amazigh language and culture among their children and grandchildren?

The reality speaks for itself. Many young people from the second and third generations no longer speak the Amazigh language, and some know very little about their ancestors’ history and traditions. This is not a rejection of identity, but a natural consequence of the pressures of integrating into societies with different languages and cultures. Still, integration should not mean dilution or the loss of one’s roots — cultural identity is what preserves a people’s memory and ensures their continuity.

Preserving Amazigh identity in the diaspora cannot be discussed without examining the state’s role. While Morocco regularly holds recruitment exams for Arabic teachers for the children of Moroccans living abroad, and runs programs that allow them to learn Arabic and maintain their ties to it, no comparable initiative exists for teaching the Amazigh language — even though it is an official language of the Kingdom under the Constitution and one of the core components of Moroccan national identity.

This gap denies many children in the diaspora — particularly those from Amazigh families — the chance to learn their mother tongue through formal institutions. As a result, the burden of preserving the language falls largely on families and associations, which often have limited resources. Since the state has recognized the official status of the Amazigh language, that recognition should also be reflected in policies aimed at the Moroccan community abroad: holding recruitment exams for teachers specialized in the Amazigh language, creating educational programs on par with those offered for Arabic, developing appropriate curricula and teaching materials, and supporting Amazigh cultural associations in host countries.

True equality between Morocco’s two official languages will only be achieved when children of the diaspora have the same right to learn both Arabic and the Amazigh language — two inseparable pillars of Moroccan national identity.

The family remains the first link in passing down language and culture, but it cannot face the challenges of integration and generational change alone. Preserving the Amazigh language in the diaspora therefore requires families, associations, and public institutions to work together, so that the language does not become a mere memory but remains alive, passed down from one generation to the next.

Preserving Amazigh identity is not a nostalgic attachment to the past — it is an investment in the future, and a mark of respect for the cultural diversity that defines Morocco. Cultures that are not passed on to new generations risk disappearing, while those that receive care and attention remain alive and continue to evolve.

Guaranteeing the diaspora’s children the right to learn the Amazigh language does not serve Amazigh people alone. It strengthens the unity of Moroccan national identity in all its components, and gives concrete meaning to the constitutional status the Amazigh language holds, both in Morocco and abroad.

By Al Houssine Mohamed – researcher in toponymy and Amazigh heritage