muwallads
Muwallads (Arabic: مُوَلَّد) is a term used in Arabic and North African contexts to refer to individuals of mixed heritage, usually combining Arab or Islamic lineage with another ethnic group such as indigenous, Berber, Black African, or European ancestry. The word derives from the Arabic root “w-l-d,” meaning “to give birth” or “to be born.” The prefix “mu-” indicates a person, so the literal meaning is “one who is born to a mixed pair.” In societies where a Muslim father marries a non‑Muslim mother, the offspring are also often called muwallads.
Historically, the term appears in early Islamic epigraphic and legal literature to signify a distinct social
In contemporary North Africa, muwallads constitute a sizeable portion of the population in countries such as
Politically and socially, the category has been used both positively, to celebrate diversity, and negatively, occasionally