Misconceptions About Moorish Nationality
Contrary to popular fiction, there has never ever been a nation of people who called themselves Moors. We Moors of North America are the first, in the history of the Earth, to use that word as a nationality. The word "moor" is derived from a Greek word. The first documented use is circa 46 B.C., when the Roman army entered West Africa where they encountered black Africans whom they called “maures” from the Greek adjective mauros, meaning dark skinned people.
Prior to Noble Drew Ali's teachings, the Europeans used the word "moor" as a general term to describe any of the heavily melanated indigenous people of Americas or any place else that they went. When the word "moor" appears in the older European literature, it must be kept in mind that it is being written from a Eurocentric standpoint. From their point of view, all heavily melanated people were considered "moors" if the Europeans did not know or care about their nationalities. All they knew is that they were writing about a dark skinned person or people. Yet, the people whom they were calling moors had nationalities.
The Africans who created Spain and educated Europe in 711 a.d., did not call themselves "moors". Instead, the stories about them are being told from a European viewpoint. The "moors" were nationals of different nations, but at that time all the Europeans seen were a bunch of dark skinned people invading their land and educating them.
A primarily major difference between the words "moor" and "black" is etymological. The word "moor" originated as a noun or a thing. Although the current spelling of the word has varied, it is still considered to be a noun. Etymologically, "black" originated as an adjective or a description of a thing. We cannot be adjectives, and therfore, we cannot be "blacks" within the European colonial context. There is no "Black" nation.
In Dr. Ivan Van Sertima's book, "Golden Age of the Moor", researcher Wayne B. Chandler describes the "original" ancient "moors". "At the heart of the history of the ancient Moors of the Sahara
is a tribe known as the Garamantes." "The origins of Garamante culture are not easily traced, Rock
engravings and paintings done by early Saharans, who in all
probability became the Garamantes, are difficult to date, but some
believe that the oldest were executed before 5000 B.C." "From this vantage point, they can be considered the ancestors of the
true Moors."
Noble Drew Ali came to understand the power of Nationality and that his people were in need of one. He took a word of generality and turned it into a word of specificity. Now, it applies to a specific group or nation of people.