Assignment 1
Tamara Almeghari
June 2021
How well does Ibn Khaldun’s concept of Asabiyyah explain the
social relations in the society you live in?
The concept of Asabiyyah from Ibn Khaldun’s point of view is the social
cohesion, solidarity, and loyalty to a specific group whether this group follows
a bad or good path. It is in particular what makes a specific society or group
stronger and powerful. In general, as civilization rises, asabiyyah declines. This
concept describes very well the social relations in our society. To illustrate this,
regardless of the development that has been taken place in different forms in
our society, discrimination based on skin color still occurs. In other words,
inequality based on skin tone which is also known as colorism is a form of
prejudice (Asabiyyah) in a manner that people who share similar ethnic traits
are treated differently based on cultural meanings that are attached to their
skin shade. To put it more simply, there is a strong cohesion, loyalty, and
relationship between humans who belongs to the same skin color group in a
way that bias could occur with another group with different skin color.
1
Tamara Almeghari
June 2021
How well does Ibn Khaldun’s concept of Asabiyyah explain the
social relations in the society you live in?
The concept of Asabiyyah from Ibn Khaldun’s point of view is the social
cohesion, solidarity, and loyalty to a specific group whether this group follows
a bad or good path. It is in particular what makes a specific society or group
stronger and powerful. In general, as civilization rises, asabiyyah declines. This
concept describes very well the social relations in our society. To illustrate this,
regardless of the development that has been taken place in different forms in
our society, discrimination based on skin color still occurs. In other words,
inequality based on skin tone which is also known as colorism is a form of
prejudice (Asabiyyah) in a manner that people who share similar ethnic traits
are treated differently based on cultural meanings that are attached to their
skin shade. To put it more simply, there is a strong cohesion, loyalty, and
relationship between humans who belongs to the same skin color group in a
way that bias could occur with another group with different skin color.
1
