The label "Western Arabic numerals" is a deliberate erasure. These digits — the very ones on your keyboard — were refined and transmitted to Europe from Vgayeth (Béjaïa), deep in Kabylia, the heartland of Amazigh civilization. Fibonacci learned them there in the 12th century, yet historians slap an "Arabic" label on them because they passed through Arabic-language scholarly networks. This is like calling pizza "American cuisine" because it became popular in New York. Béjaïa was not some anonymous Arab outpost — it was a Kabyle city, an Amazigh powerhouse of trade and learning where Indian mathematics met North African innovation. Calling them "Western Arabic" strips Kabylia of its rightful place in history and feeds the myth that Arab culture alone carried the torch of knowledge from East to West. The truth is simpler and more powerful: these are Kabyle Amazigh numbers, born from Indian roots, forged in the North Africa, and launched into Europe from the shores of Kabylia.
