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Originally Posted by Lyve SCIENCE
Everyone gets Moors mixed up. Too much disinformation.
Moors were multiple races. Predominantly Arabs which mixed with Berbers.
The reason Moors are thought of as being black is because many converts were and when Arabs lost their stronghold in Europe black Moor horsemen, some of the greatest warriors of the time (forget their name) went to reclaim the lands. Which they did. But these Moors were new converts and extreme in their beliefs. They looked down on the Arabs who ruled in Europe because they lived extravagantly. They were brutal and devout Muslims.
I've studied Islamic history, the crusades and the overall time period quite a bit. Also, my wife's north African (Kabyle) she's mixed with Berber and Arab. She's white and has cousins who are north African and look 100% European with blonde hair. Fine af too. Because they have Vandal ancestry. That part of Africa has tons of mixing going on and had for thousands of years.
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I'll admit it's hard to distinguish Moors from Arabs because even the term "Arab" is often used to describe people who would be considered black in today's perspective. North Sudanese and Somalians, for example, are people who are sometimes included under "Arab." Somalia is even a member of the Arab League. But the average Somalian today would be considered black, and the average North Sudanese looks no different from an Ethiopian, who would also be considered black. Let's put it this way. Moors of today are like so-called "Latinos" in the sense that they are of mixed ancestry but may phenotypically resemble one of their ancestors more than the others depending on which region they're from. An Argentinian and a Dominican are both Latinos, but the average Dominican looks a lot more African while the average Argentinian looks a lot more European. There are Tuaregs (a Berber group) living all across North Africa and even some Sub-Saharan countries like Nigeria, Burkina Faso and The Gambia. A Tuareg from Burkina Faso looks a lot different than one from Libya. With that being said, I think it's worth noting that Africans who are very dark-skinned or who may be considered "black" aren't limited to sub-Saharan regions. There are many Sahelian people who are very dark-skinned. Fulanis, another Berber people, live in countries like Nigeria and Senegal, and they look no different than the average Somalian. Going back to the Moors who ruled Spain and much of southern Europe at a certain period, they were specifically from Mauretania, a state that spanned modern Morocco, Mauritania, Niger, and parts of Chad. Going back to that time period, people from that region would more so resemble what today we'd call black even though a lot of them look more Arab or mixed today. It's just like if you asked what did a Mexican look like 500 years ago. They'd look a lot more Native and Azteca than Spanish, because the Spanish admixture hadn't taken place with as much force as is present today. The Arab conquest of North Africa can be dated, so even though your wife who is Kabyle may look "white" , that doesn't necessarily mean her ancestors from 2,000 years ago, or 1,400 years ago, or 600 years looked the same. Many of the indigenous people who inhabited North Africa pre-Arab conquest did not look Arab. The final clue as to the identity of the Moors of Spain was their religion. Believe it or not, it wasn't Islam. The Moors practiced what is called Maraboutism, a syncretic religion based on Islam and traditional West African beliefs. It has a similar relationship to Islam as the Santeria or Lukumi practiced in Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Brazil has to Catholicism. The slave masters were forcing the African slaves they brought to Puerto Rico to convert to Catholicism, so the slaves found an ingenious way to practice their traditional religion under the guise of Christianity. The various African gods became the different Catholic saints. They were practicing voodoo while appearing to practice Christianity. The same thing happened during the Arab conquest of North Africa. They were often being forced to convert to Islam, so they hid traditional beliefs under Maraboutism. How do I know the Moors were Marabouts? They actually went as far as to name themselves after their religion! There were two dynasties of Moors in Spain and southern Europe, the Almoravids and the Almohads. Almoravid comes from Arabic مُرابِط (al murabit), a term which the Marabout Moors used to denote their syncretic religion. They were burned at the stake during the Inquisitions along with Sephardi Jews for practicing "witchcraft." If the Moors of Spain were Arabs, why would Arabs be practicing a syncretic religion rather than the original Islam itself? Also, if you look at the depictions of Moors in Medieval art, it is almost always of a black person. Shakesperes Othello, for example, is almost always played by a black actor. Research some images of the Moor Head in Medieval and Renaissance art. Till today, the Spanish word "Moreno", which is derived from "moor" is used to describe blacks in endearing terms as opposed to "negro" which has a more negative connotation. I have never heard of Spanish speakers referring to Arabs as "Morenos."