North Africa: Arabs, Berbers, and Pirates (Lecture at University of Utah)

Visiting Lectures and Events : Middle East Center

Lecturing on Arabs, Berbers, and Pirates was very enjoyable. I’ve studied the Arabs, Arabic, and Islam for over 39 years. I enjoyed learning more about Berbers and 16^th and 17^th Century Pirates as I prepared for this Lecture.

For the information on Berbers, I owe much of the information I shared to Professor Fatima Sadiqi, Senior Professor of Linguistics and Gender Studies (MA, PhD), Co-Founder of the International Institute for Languages and Cultures (INLAC), Fez, Morocco, Director of the Isis Center for Women and Development, UN Gender Expert, and President of the National Union of Women's Organizations

Pictures are: Zaytuna Mosque, which I studied for my PhD Dissertation, and Pirates Khair ad-Din Barbarossa and Sir Henry Mainwaring

North Africa: Arabs, Berbers, and Pirates (Lecture at University of Utah)

On January 19, 2011, I will give a lecture for the University of Utah Middle East Center on The Arabs, Amazighs (Berbers), and Pirates.

Arabs: shortly after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, Muslim Arabs added Islam to the daily lives of North Africans.

The Amazighs (Berbers): Amazighs are the original inhabitants of North Africa. The majority of Amazighs live in Morocco and Algeria, but Berber communities are in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, and various countries throughout the world.

Pirates: Pirates protected the North African Barbary Coast (Libya to Morocco) from invading Europeans. They also committed non-noble acts, for which the word "Piracy" is synonymous. This lecture discusses the Turkish Barbarossa brothers, with a major focus on Khair ad-Din Barbarossa, and the British Sir Henry Mainwaring, who wrote an autobiography of his pirate adventures as part of his Pardon agreement with King James I. With his autobiography there is a Seaman Dictionary to help all use the same names for ship parts and seaman activities.

Egypt and Pyramids

Keith and Trisa in Turkey