Ibn Khaldun’s (1332-1406) concept of al-Assabiyya – Obsolete notion or enduring reality?

The concept of al-Assabiyya which can be translated as kinship, tribal solidarity, commitment, loyalty, blood relationship and identification with one’s own tribe, was coined by Ibn Khaldun during his study of nomadic Arab Bedouin tribes, particularly the Berbers of North Africa. Ibn Khaldun noted t...

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Main Author: Yousif, Ahmad
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences 2009
Subjects:
Online Access:http://irep.iium.edu.my/32287/
http://irep.iium.edu.my/32287/1/ahmad_yousif.pdf
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author Yousif, Ahmad
author_facet Yousif, Ahmad
author_sort Yousif, Ahmad
building IIUM Repository
collection Online Access
description The concept of al-Assabiyya which can be translated as kinship, tribal solidarity, commitment, loyalty, blood relationship and identification with one’s own tribe, was coined by Ibn Khaldun during his study of nomadic Arab Bedouin tribes, particularly the Berbers of North Africa. Ibn Khaldun noted that for the Arabs under observation, loyalty to the tribe was of paramount importance, while religious ties were secondary. Nevertheless a change in environment had the potential of generating tyrannical tendencies among those who rule, because they become less dependent on their biological or even ideological kinsmen. After more than six hundred years of the death of Abdu-ar-Rahman Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406), it is important to reexamine his ideas on al-Assabiyya, discover why loyalty to the group took priority over religious ties, and whether The paper will begin with a brief introduction to Ibn Khaldun’s concept of al-Assabiyya as found in al-Muqqadimah (Introduction), whether or not the concept is rooted in the Islamic tradition, and the extent to which it is relevant today. In order to determine whether it continues to be a relevant concept, sociological observation on a number of traditional Muslim organizations in Canada will be made.
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spelling iium-322872013-10-17T06:33:42Z http://irep.iium.edu.my/32287/ Ibn Khaldun’s (1332-1406) concept of al-Assabiyya – Obsolete notion or enduring reality? Yousif, Ahmad BP1 Islam HM Sociology The concept of al-Assabiyya which can be translated as kinship, tribal solidarity, commitment, loyalty, blood relationship and identification with one’s own tribe, was coined by Ibn Khaldun during his study of nomadic Arab Bedouin tribes, particularly the Berbers of North Africa. Ibn Khaldun noted that for the Arabs under observation, loyalty to the tribe was of paramount importance, while religious ties were secondary. Nevertheless a change in environment had the potential of generating tyrannical tendencies among those who rule, because they become less dependent on their biological or even ideological kinsmen. After more than six hundred years of the death of Abdu-ar-Rahman Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406), it is important to reexamine his ideas on al-Assabiyya, discover why loyalty to the group took priority over religious ties, and whether The paper will begin with a brief introduction to Ibn Khaldun’s concept of al-Assabiyya as found in al-Muqqadimah (Introduction), whether or not the concept is rooted in the Islamic tradition, and the extent to which it is relevant today. In order to determine whether it continues to be a relevant concept, sociological observation on a number of traditional Muslim organizations in Canada will be made. Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences 2009 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/32287/1/ahmad_yousif.pdf Yousif, Ahmad (2009) Ibn Khaldun’s (1332-1406) concept of al-Assabiyya – Obsolete notion or enduring reality? Bulletin of Canadian Society for the Study of Religion, XXXII (2). p. 36. ISSN 0708-952X http://www.cssrscer.ca http://www.cssrscer.ca/sites/default/files/Fall_2002.pdf
spellingShingle BP1 Islam
HM Sociology
Yousif, Ahmad
Ibn Khaldun’s (1332-1406) concept of al-Assabiyya – Obsolete notion or enduring reality?
title Ibn Khaldun’s (1332-1406) concept of al-Assabiyya – Obsolete notion or enduring reality?
title_full Ibn Khaldun’s (1332-1406) concept of al-Assabiyya – Obsolete notion or enduring reality?
title_fullStr Ibn Khaldun’s (1332-1406) concept of al-Assabiyya – Obsolete notion or enduring reality?
title_full_unstemmed Ibn Khaldun’s (1332-1406) concept of al-Assabiyya – Obsolete notion or enduring reality?
title_short Ibn Khaldun’s (1332-1406) concept of al-Assabiyya – Obsolete notion or enduring reality?
title_sort ibn khaldun’s (1332-1406) concept of al-assabiyya – obsolete notion or enduring reality?
topic BP1 Islam
HM Sociology
url http://irep.iium.edu.my/32287/
http://irep.iium.edu.my/32287/
http://irep.iium.edu.my/32287/
http://irep.iium.edu.my/32287/1/ahmad_yousif.pdf