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82 CHAPTER 2present-day Sudan. 23 The general claim that slaves do not have lineage, and aretherefore inferior, is still of importance in most West African societies. It is notsurprising that the Malian association in promotion of the social emancipationof former Tamasheq slaves founded in 2006 is called Temedt, ‘lineage’ or‘heritage’.A second historical strand of racial discourse, linked to the previous one, isbased in local and North African histories of slavery. Chouki El Hamel hasdeveloped the connection between Islam, race and slavery in North Africa. 24Describing the creation of the so called Jaish ‘abîd al-Bukharî, an army of partlyexpropriated slaves created by Moulay Isma’îl in 1705, El Hamel argues that allblack inhabitants of Morocco were included in this army, regardless of theirjuridical status, while slaves of other origins were not included. Skin colour wasthe main, if not only, criterion for inclusion as the equation between Africanorigins and servile status had already been firmly rooted in early 18 th centuryMoroccan society. This equation stems from the interpretation of Islamic lawregarding slavery and a local historical context.Only ‘infidels’ were legally allowed to be enslaved. Therefore, the best place toobtain slaves was across the closest borders of the infidels, in the Sudan. Thisborderline, with the contrast in physical type, contributed to the connection of skincolour with slavery. So, the ancient rivalry between nomadic Berbers and sedentaryBlacks that led towards cultural and racial prejudice took an Islamic form after theconversion of the Berbers to Islam since the seventh century. 25This argument is developed by many scholars dealing with slavery in NorthAfrica and the Sahara and Sahel, but El Hamel argues further that the connectionbetween ‘black’ and slave status can be traced through the etymology ofthe term haratin: The present-day inhabitants of Oasis towns of servile origins.Contrary to the consensus that this word comes either from the Arabic hurrthânî (the second [generation is] free, i.e. manumitted) or the Berber haratha(gardening, from the Latin hortus), El Hamel argues that haratin is derivedfrom the Berber root HRD or SHRD, denoting a dark colour – black or red –connected to skin colour and descent. 26 The word eshardan indeed meansmulatto in Tamasheq, while ehardan indeed means a reddish or black darkcolour. 27This brings us to the complex link between colour and race in Saharan racialdiscourse. With hard-to-measure historical depth, the word for black, koual inTamasheq, is in use as a term to denote people of a dark complexion and low2324252627Sharkey, H. 2008.El Hamel, C. 2002.Ibid.: 44.Ibid.: 38.ag Alojaly, G. 1980: 185.