The Moors of Al-Andalus intermarried heavily with the native Spaniards (Mozarabs), not to mention their
Slavic slaves. But there have been suggestions that the possible genetic imprint on southern Spain by the
Muslim conquests was minor (as marginal as the Visigothic legacy). The following study from
href="http://www26.brinkster.com/archived/viewnews.asp?newsID=942745387554">The Human Races
Archive (which you should visit at least once a week if you have an interest in archaeogenetics and its
affiliated fields) might seem to negate that position:
The highest frequency of haplotype 5 (68.9%) was previously observed in Berbers from Morocco, and it
has been established that this haplotype is a characteristic Berber haplotype in North Africa. The relative
frequencies of haplotype 5 distribution show a geographical gradient of decreasing frequency according to
latitude in Iberia: 40.8% in Andalusia, 36.2% in Portugal, 12.1% in Catalonia, and 11.3% in the Basque
Country; such a cline of decreasing frequency of haplotype 5 from the south to the north in Iberia clearly
establishes a gene flow from North Africa towards Iberia.
look this site:
http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/AJHG/journal/issues/v68n4/002582/002582.html
"bidirectional gene flow across the Strait of Gibraltar has been detected: the genetic contribution of
European Y chromosomes to the NW African gene pool is estimated at 4%, and NW African populations
may have contributed 7% of Iberian Y chromosomes."
"The Islamic rule of Spain, which began in A.D. 711 and lasted almost 8 centuries, left only a minor
contribution to the current Iberian Y-chromosome pool. The high-resolution analysis of the Y
chromosome allows us to separate successive migratory components and to precisely quantify each
historical layer."
The contribution from "Moors" (berbers and islamic spaniards) to the Spanish gene pool was very little
and Banderas is swarthy due to the action of the sunbeams.
On the other hand, there were not many visible and genetic differences among the Berber invaders and
Spaniards.
The modern Berbers I've met are much darker than most white Spaniards. To my mind they look more
like gypsies or middle-eastern Arabs.
Somebody tell me why so many Muslims look at the conquest of Spain with a sense of pride (extolling all
the scientific achievements, tolerance of other faiths...etc) yet the Crusades were always looked at as
totally evil. Is there a great difference between the two?
Instead of conquest of Spain, I could have substituted conquest of India, conquest of Pakistan, conquest of
North Africa, conquest of Turkey...
Also, maybe Juan could answer, were the Moors more "Black" featured or more "Caucasoid" featured like
most Algerians.
Finally, what is the general sentiment of Spaniards to Muslims today- or let me guess, like so many in the
EU they are too busy having fun to preoccupy themsleves with this stuff? Is it like Imam Ocasio who
seems to be very sympathetic to the Moors:
http://www.islamfortoday.com/ole.htm
"R" the "moors" were not negroid-i believe they are called "harratin" in north africa and they exist in
oases in the sahara fringe. many of the moors were converts from christianity. also, many of these
"moriscos" later converted back to christianity.
(Flashing back to the Christopher Walken - Dennis Hopper scene in True Romance...)
Posted by: jimbo at January 7, 2003 05:34 PMA bunch of bullcrap!
Posted by: Darkstar at January 26, 2003 06:18 PMHarratin are predominantly negroid. Berbers are mixed as well, but are predominantly Caucasoid. The
ancient population of the Sahara was Negroid, as their rock art clearly shows. The Moors were
Berber/Arab with Negroid admixture. Some had Negroid features, most did not - similar to the
populations of Dominican Republic and Cuba.
The Moors are an extant ethnic group in North Western Africa. The Moors are a seperate group from the
Haratin, though they may share an affinity. It seems that the Moors today do have a predominant "black"
African presence amongst their group. From my evalution, the Moors are definitely an amalgamation of
berber, "black" African, and Hassaniya Arab (of Yemen origin). The Moors themselves trace their
ancestry to the Hassaniya Arabs of Yemen. Although the Hassaniya have had a major influence on the
Moors, the Moors are probably more berber and "black" than they are Arab.