initiated in an elaborate ceremony by a spiritual
guide called a baba (father), who continues to
direct their spiritual progress by instructing them
in Bektashi beliefs through the use of poetry,
stories, and even jokes. Bektashis meet in a cer-
emony (closed to outsiders) known as meydan,
which is followed by a ritual meal in which food
is shared, poetry is sung to the accompaniment
of mUsic, and disciples are instructed by the baba.
The feast also includes the consumption of alco-
hol, which has symbolic significance. Because of
their use of alcohol and their lack of compliance
with Islamic practices such as prayer in mosqUes
and Fasting during ramadan, Bektashis have
often been condemned by orthodox authorities,
yet they are also known for their wisdom, humor
and tolerance.
See also ali ibn abi talib; imam; shiism; sUFism.
Mark Soileau
Further reading: John Kingsley Birge, The Bektashi
Order of Dervishes (London: Luzac & Co., 1937); F.
W. Hasluck, Christianity and Islam under the Sultans
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1929); Frances Trix,
Spiritual Discourse: Learning with an Islamic Master
(Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1993).
Berber
Berber is a term for the most ancient known
culture, people, and language in North Africa.
Berbers, or Imazighen, once lived from south of
the Sahara all the way from the Mediterranean and
from egypt in the east to the Canary Islands in the
far west. During their long history, Berber-speak-
ing peoples have been influenced by a number of
religious traditions, including paganism, Christi-
anity, and Judaism, but the most profound debt is
to islam. Today Berbers are overwhelmingly Sunni
Muslims.
Berbers were introduced to Islam in the eighth
century when some joined arab Muslims in
conquering Spain (andalUsia), but the conver-
sion of more remote Berbers took hundreds of
years. Relations between Arabs and Berbers were
not always harmonious, particularly when Arabs
treated Berber speakers as inferiors. In the 12th
century, Berber groups formed the core of the
Almoravid and then the almohad dynasty that
ruled much of Spain and North Africa, and Ber-
bers were central to the Marinid (1196–1464) and
Fatimid dynasties (909–1171) also. Today Berbers
continue to inhabit small communities in egypt,
libya, and tUnisia, but most live in algeria, Mau-
ritania, Niger, and especially morocco, where
they are thought to constitute 40 percent of the
population. There are also large communities of
migrant Berbers in Europe, especially in Belgium,
the Netherlands, and France.
The term Berber relates to the Greek and
Roman word for barbarian, and thus many con-
temporary scholars and activists prefer the terms
Amazigh (singular) or Imazighen (plural) to
describe what most English speakers know as Ber-
bers. One thing that makes Imazighen distinctive
is their language, which seems to be remarkably
similar over a vast territory and has persisted for
a very long time despite the political dominance
of written languages such as Latin, French, and
Arabic. Today Berber usually refers to someone
who speaks some variety of Berber (Tamazight)
as their first or only language, though there are
Imazighen who do not speak the language but
remain passionately attached to Amazigh culture
and identity.
See also almoravid dynasty; Fatimid dynasty.
David CrawfordFurther reading: Michael Brett and Elizabeth Fentress,
The Berbers (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1996);
Ernest Gellner and Charles Micaud, Arabs and Berbers:
From Tribe to Nation in North Africa (Lexington, Mass.:
Heath, 1972).Bible See holy books.
K 100 Berber