It’s an impressive story that comes straight from Tetouan, where a Russian expatriate markets a craft beer under the name “Amazigh Brewing Company”. A few months after the Adidas jersey controversy, cultural appropriation is once again the topic of the moment, except this time it’s happening at the very level of the country whose culture is appropriated. We explain to you.
On Instagram, you will see a page called “Amazigh Brewing Company”. Judging by the logo, you can imagine a Moroccan person behind this brand. Except that by looking a little more, we come across a supposedly Russian expatriate (he mentions that he is from Moscow on his networks) and who is at the origin of this brand. But why is this problematic? Just imagine that a non-Moroccan uses a name and a Moroccan cultural identity to sell a product, without any relation to the appropriate culture (we are talking about alcohol) to sell it in Morocco when it is apparently made in Spain!
The brand’s website also comes with a problematic domain name: amazigh.beer. Communication is focused on promoting Amazigh culture and taking pride in having Amazigh people working to produce authentic and unique craft beer, with all communication and visual elements based on Amazigh symbols. The Yaz, which is the Amazigh symbol par excellence, is even its logo!
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The Amazigh culture has nothing to do with beer, so why pretend that it is about promoting this culture when the founder is from Eastern Europe and the whole team as mentioned on Linkedin is it too? In addition, the majority of Amazighs living in North Africa are Muslims. They are therefore prohibited from selling or drinking alcohol. The product is therefore not intended for use or consumption by Amazighs. These are also the reproaches put forward by the Amazighs on the web, who have come together under a campaign: “My culture is not a brand”, to denounce this blatant and above all insolent cultural appropriation.
Several questions arise in this case:
-If the creator of the brand was Amazigh, would he have had permission to market the concept of an alcoholic beverage in a Muslim country? We imagine that the answer is no!
-Who could have authorized such brand appropriation? Isn’t it high time that we initiate a preliminary verification at the very moment of trademark registration?
-Is it not really the time to pass clear laws on cultural appropriation, and finally proceed to deposit and register all the attributes of Moroccan culture to avoid such overruns? The company is well registered in the Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceïma region, so the founder was able to go through all the stages without any questions being raised, while the main activity of the company is the sale of ‘alcohol.
This story is not yet clear, but it is to be followed closely, to know the ins and outs of this affair.
