Better late than never (updated)

[picture: a non-tamazight copy, presumably]

The "Berber question" remains a touchy subject in a North Africa still marked by the Arabization frenzy of the 1960s, 70s and 80s, which in a sort of post-colonial backlash went far beyond cultural self-assertion to tilt over in intolerance for non-Arab minorities. Berber (or Amazigh) identity was not just ignored, but sometimes harshly repressed by the governments. It remains so in some quarters -- yes, Libya, we're looking at you -- but fortunately, both Algeria and Morocco have by now both come a long way since the 70s. Much work remains to be done, however, and here's a hint of how much:

Holy Qu’ran translated into Tamazight
Tizi-Ouzou – The Berber-speaking Muslims will shortly be able to read the Holy Qu’ran in their mother tongue, Tamazight, in its Kabylian variant transcribed in Arabic characters, thanks to the translation carried out by Si Hadj Mohand Mohand Tayeb, a member of the Religious Affairs’ Scientific Council in the province of Tizi- Ouzou (103-km east of Algiers). The author said, while presenting his work to APS, that it was the complete translation of the Meanings of Qu’ran, entirely completed in its 60 parts (ahzab), of which a copy to be edited was deposited, through the Religious Affairs Ministry, at King Fahd's complex for the "Mashaf Echarif" edition, in Saudi Arabia. [APS]

Now to be exact, it's not the first Tamazight Qur'an, but the first one in the Kabyle dialect. But since Berbers have been in Kabylie for a couple of thousand years, and have been Muslims since the 7th century, I'd say that was about damned time.

UPDATE 22/9: Bouba makes an interesting point in comments, namely that the translation is from Arabic into
Kabyle Tamazight with Arabic letters -- so is it just arabization in sheep's clothing? You decide.
UPDATE 2/10: Linguist Lameen Souag finally sets the record straight at his blog, Jabal al-Lughat. Read!