ʿAsabīya

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ʿAsabīya ( Arabic عصبية, DMG asabiyyah or 'aṣabiyya in the Arab tribal society) refers to the emotional bond between members of a family , a clan or tribal association and their readiness to hold in any case to outsiders.

During the Arab conquests after the Prophet's death in AD 632, euphemistically called futūḥ ("openings"), the asabiyya played an essential role as a unifying element among the Islamic religious warriors.

Theories

Ibn Khaldun

In the 14th century, the historian Ibn Chaldun extended the meaning to the common value orientation of a society (existing in addition to the economic constitution) and made the term not only an instrument for analyzing the state of societies, but also a key term for the idea of ​​a civilization (not necessarily Islamic) united by common values.

In his monumental work "al-Muqaddima" Ibn Chaldun describes with "asabiyya" a form of social cohesion that establishes political power. He assumes that the rise and fall of a dynasty encompasses four generations, each of which emphasizes different aspects of asabiyya. An asabiyya is initially nothing more than a protective association of blood relatives who are in competition with comparable asabiyyen. One wages war with one another: “The wars have their origins in the desire of some people to take revenge on others. For each of the two parties, members of their `asabiya party are taken up, 'writes Ibn Khaldun. Such a dispute is not about right or wrong, but rather about having the strongest asabiyya at hand in order to use it to get right. Solidarity results from togetherness.

Ibn Khaldun assumes that the most radical form of cohesion in the asabiyya prevails among the nomads , who do not hesitate to always defend their asabiyya to the utmost. If an asabiyya succeeds in gaining supraregional influence, other groups join it. A great asabiyya arises. Its influence can go so far that it conquers whole kingdoms and empires with the help of its new "members". Since nothing makes you more successful than success, more and more groups and individuals join the growing asabiyya and thereby enrich it personally, culturally and politically. Their personal overstretching also leads to the asabiyya increasingly losing energy. Their leaders no longer live in the desert, which hardens people, but in soft cities. The asabiyya is becoming less dangerous, and its followers are looking for more dignified and stronger asabiyyen with whom they would rather join. It only takes four generations from the rise of an Assabiya to an empire to its downfall.

literature

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