The acceptance of Islam and the adoption of Arabic ways never completely erased Berber culture. Although they are nominally Sunni Muslims, some of the Berbers have little knowledge of the practices of the Koran and other influences of Middle Eastern Islam. .
About 12 million people speak Berber languages. In fact, "Tamazight was first spoken in North Africa about 10,000 years ago and seems to be the original language of the present-day Berbers- (Hart23). There have been no attempts to teach or use Tamazight within the official education system. The oral tradition of Tamazight is guaranteed to the extent that the majority of parents use it to talk to their children. The very high percentage of marriages between Berbers reinforces this state of affairs. As for the social status of Tamazight speakers, they generally seem to be regarded as socially inferior. With regard to the vitality of the language, most Tamazight speakers believe that their language will decline in future as a medium of communication within society. They also consider that young people have less knowledge of Tamazight than their parents' generation.
The absence of an institutional and official presence, of the means of social reproduction of the language (education, mass media) and the lack of a solid network of local cultural associations that could use Tamazight and support its position within the community mean that its survival is in jeopardy. In addition, mention must be made of the language's total lack of prestige in the business world. The presence of a large number of Berbers in the areas close to the town has done nothing to improve the situation, because the Berbers are in a fishy situation wherever they live (no schools, no mass media, no official recognition of their language, etc.). The only factor in favor of Tamazight is the fact that families are still passing on the language to their children.
Politics and Government: In classical times the Berbers formed such states as Mauretania and Numidia.