From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

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-	[[Image:The Sphinx by Maxime Du Camp, 1849.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[The Great Sphinx of Giza (photo by Maxime Du Camp)]], [[1849]]]]	+	#REDIRECT [[Coptic Rite]]
-	[[Image:Silk Road.jpg|thumb|left|200px|The [[Silk Road]], [[Silk Road transmission of art|transmitter]] of [[Western culture]]]]	+
-	{{Template}}	+
-	'''North Africa''' or '''Northern Africa''' is the [[north|northernmost]] [[region]] of the [[Africa]]n [[continent]], separated by the [[Sahara]] from [[Sub-Saharan Africa]].	+
-	Geopolitically, the [[United Nations|UN]] definition of Northern Africa.	+
-	==Culture==	+
-	The people of the [[Maghreb]] and the Sahara regions speak various dialects of [[Berber languages|Berber]] and [[Arabic]] and almost exclusively follow [[Islam]]. The [[Arabic]] and [[Berber languages|Berber]] groups of languages are distantly related, both being members of the [[Afro-Asiatic languages|Afro-Asiatic family]]. The Sahara dialects are notably more conservative than those of coastal cities (see [[Tuareg languages]]). Over the years, [[Berber people]]s have been influenced by contact with other cultures. [[Nubians]], [[Greeks]], [[Phoenicians]], [[Egyptians]], [[Ancient Rome|Romans]], [[Vandals]], [[Arabs]], and lately [[European ethnic groups|European]]s. The cultures of the Maghreb and the Sahara therefore combine indigenous Berber, Arab and elements from neighboring parts of Africa and beyond. In the Sahara, the distinction between sedentary [[oasis]] inhabitants and nomadic [[Bedouin]] and [[Tuareg people|Tuareg]] is particularly marked.	+
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-	The diverse peoples of the Sahara are usually categorized along ethno-linguistic lines. In the Maghreb, where Arab and Berber identities are often integrated, these lines can be blurred. Some [[Berber languages|Berber]]-speaking North Africans may identify as "Arab" depending on the social and political circumstances, although substantial numbers of [[Berber people|Berbers]] (or '''Imazighen''') have retained a distinct cultural identity which in the 20th century has been expressed as a clear ethnic identification with Berber history and language. Arabic-speaking [[Northwest Africa]]ns, regardless of ethnic background, often identify with Arab history and culture and may share a common vision with other [[Arabs]]. This, however, may or may not exclude pride in and identification with Berber and/or other parts of their heritage. Berber political and cultural activists for their part, often referred to as [[Berberist]]s, may view all [[Northwest Africa]]ns as principally Berber, whether they are primarily Berber- or Arabic-speaking (see also [[Arabized Berber]]).	+
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-	The Nile Valley through northern [[Sudan]] traces its origins to the ancient civilizations of [[ancient Egypt|Egypt]] and [[Kingdom of Kush|Kush]]. The [[Egyptians]] over the centuries have shifted their language from [[Egyptian language|Egyptian]] to modern [[Egyptian Arabic]], while retaining a sense of national identity that has historically set them apart from other people in the region. Most Egyptians are [[Sunni]] Muslim and a significant [[Copts|minority]] adheres to [[Coptic Christianity]]. In [[Nubia]], straddling Egypt and Sudan, a significant population retains the ancient [[Nubian language]] but has adopted [[Islam]]. The [[Republic of the Sudan]] is home to a largely Arab Muslim population, although there remains significant non-Arab (through Muslim) populations in the far north ([[Nubians]]), far west ([[Fur]], [[Masalit people|Masalit]] and [[Zaghawa people|Zaghawa]]) and far south ([[Nuba]]) of [[Sudan]].	+
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-	North Africa formerly had a large [[Judaism|Jewish]] population, almost all of whom emigrated to France or Israel when the North African nations gained independence. A smaller number went to Canada. Prior to the modern establishment of [[Israel]], there were about 600,000-700,000 Jews in Northern Africa, including both [[Sephardic|Sfardīm]] (refugees from France, Spain and Portugal from the Renaissance era) as well as indigenous [[Mizrahi Jew|Mizrāḥîm]]. Today, less than fifteen thousand remain in the region, almost all in Morocco and Tunisia, and are mostly part of a French-speaking urban elite. (See [[Jewish exodus from Arab lands]].)	+
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-	{{GFDL}}	+

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Current revision

1. REDIRECT Coptic Rite