Brahim Akhiat (c. 1941 – 7 February 2018) was a Moroccan author and poet, and a

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

activist.

Early life

Brahim Akhiat was born in 1941 in Akhiaten, Morocco.

Career

Akhiat began his career as a mathematics teacher in

Kenitra Kenitra (, , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is a port on the Sebou River with a population of 507,736 as of 2024. It is one of the three main cities of the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region and the capital of the similarly named Kénitra ...

and

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...

. Meanwhile, he became an Amazigh, or Berber, activist. In Rabat in 1967 he co-founded the ''Association marocaine de recherches et d'échanges culturelles'', an Amazigh cultural organization which rose to prominence, alongside

Abdellah Bounfour Abdellah Bounfour (born 1946) is a Moroccan linguist and philologist specialized in Berber languages, literature and culture. He is an Emeritus University Professor at Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales (INALCO) in Paris. ...

, Ahmed Akouaou, Omar El Khalfaoui and Ali El Jaoui. He served as its secretary general until his death. He joined the board of the

Royal Institute of the Amazigh Culture The Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture ( (IRCAM); (SGSM); ) is an academic institute of the Moroccan government in charge with the promotion of the Berber languages and culture, and of the development of Standard Moroccan Amazigh and its instru ...

in 2002. Akhiat was the author of four books. He wrote both prose and poetry in Arabic and in French. His main theme was the relationship between Berber culture and Moroccan national identity. He was also the editor-in-chief of ''Amud'' and ''Tamunt''. A conference was held in his honor near

in 2009.

Death

Akhiat died on 7 February 2018.

Selected works

* * * *

References

1940s births 2018 deaths People from Souss-Massa 20th-century Moroccan writers 21st-century Moroccan writers Berber activists Berber poets Moroccan male writers 20th-century Moroccan poets Shilha people 21st-century Moroccan poets {{Morocco-bio-stub