Moor, general

The Moors (Maures, Bidan) are the Hassaniyya Arabic-speaking peoples of mixed Arab and Berber ancestry whose homeland is Mauritania, with communities in Western Sahara and the surrounding Sahel. They are divided into the Bidan (White Moors, the noble tribes) and the Haratine (Black Moors, descendants of enslaved peoples). The Sahrawis of Western Sahara are themselves Hassaniyya-speaking Moors. In people-group databases 'Moor' names this Saharan people, not the historical European usage for North African Muslims generally.

JP's 'Moor, general' (PeopleID3 22638) is the label JP gives Moors outside the countries where it lists them as Bidan or Haratine: about 10 countries, among them Mali, Western Sahara, Spain, the United States, Saudi Arabia and Libya. In some of these the figure counts other Hassaniyya speakers (Sahrawis in Western Sahara) or a country's Mauritanian nationals of every people (Libya, Saudi Arabia); each presence says what it holds.

Moorish culture centers on pastoralism, Hassaniyya poetry, the tent (khaima) and the tea ritual, Qadiriyya and Tijaniyya Sufi practice, and a rigid social hierarchy: Hassan warrior tribes, Zwaya scholarly tribes, Znaga vassals and the Haratine. Women's dress is the melhfa and men's the daraa.

Moors are Sunni Muslims of the Maliki school. Sufi brotherhoods (Qadiriyya, Tijaniyya) are central to Moorish religious identity in Mauritania. Marabout veneration, baraka (spiritual blessing) beliefs and amulet use are common folk practices.

• Hassaniyya Scripture (New Testament and portions) and audio resources are available (Scripture App Builder, Bible.is, YouVersion)
• The JESUS Film is available in Hassaniyya Arabic (61 scenes)
• OneStory Scripture stories available
• JP Scale 1 (unreached); 0.3% Christian adherents, 0.2% evangelical (JP estimate)