I have almost reached the end of Albert Hourani's History of the Arab Peoples. Not only is the separate history of Morocco fascinating, but also the ruthless colonization of the Maghreb as a whole by the European powers. The situation in Algeria today is much easier to comprehend once one understands the extent to which the French colonizers completely subjugated the Algerian people, reserving land, wealth, education and power to themselves. My friend Rachid once said to me in Morocco: "Nous somme les indiens." At the time, I did not really see the parallel to the American frontier, but the parallel is a little clearer after reading Hourani's account of the colonization of Algeria and its cataclysmic war of independence.
Cowboys and Indians
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