Hakim

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The Moors were the medieval Muslim inhabitants of al-Andalus (the Iberian Peninsula including the present day Spain and Portugal) and the Maghreb and western Africa, whose culture is often called Moorish. A frequent misconception is to relate them to the inhabitants of modern day Mauritania to which they are only related by a historic and therefore ambiguous name. In general, a Moor was an Islamic conqueror in Europe. The name of Maure was applied by the Romans to all non-romanized natives of North Africa still ruled by their own chiefs, until the 3rd century. The Moors were mainly comprised of Ethiopians, West Africans Sub Saharan Africans, Arabs, and Berbers.Since the Mauri were a dark-skinned people in comparison to Europeans, 'Moor' came to be applied indiscriminately by Europeans to Africans, Muslims, Saracens, Persians, or Indians. Shakespeare's Othello was 'the Moor of Venice.'According to Historians, Moors were all one class and culture. Although African Moors made up the majority of this group, race and ethnic division did not exist amongst Moors and there was no distinction in regards to race. This has been proven by J.A Rogers book "Nature Knows No Color Lines". Further Dr. Yosef A.A. ben-Jochannan author of "Africa: Mother of Western Civilization" goes on to prove this group is from Ethiopic origins that migrated to northwest and northeast regions of Africa, and the only thing Arabic about the Moors was the fact that they were Moslem. This happened after adopting Islam upon the Arab invasion of North Africa during the year 640. Moors did not and currently do not identify themselves with black nor white.Since the Arabs and Berbers were darker skinned relative to Europeans, Maure or 'Moor' came to be applied indiscriminately by Europeans to Muslims, North Africans, Saracens, Persians, or Indians. This signifies that the term became known as a culture which would later include various ethnic groups. Shakespeare's Othello was 'the Moor of Venice.'