The Ilham Winter 2010

7THE ILHAM A Journal of Contemporary Digital Policy Khaldun, warns against assabiyyah. He writes that “partisanship toward a creed or opinion,” the very foundation of the principle of assabiyyah, by its nature, is “liable to error.” There are numerous forms of assabiyyah based on ethic descent, regionalism, racism and tribalism. Islam preaches against the limitations assabiyyah places on the growth and perpetuation of knowledge. However, assabiyyah remains a powerful, cultural influence. Ibn Khaldun recognizes the self-limiting aspect of assabiyyah in a variety of ways. He writes of “partisanship of creed,” over- confidence in sources of information and ignorance derived from the desire to gain favor of those in higher positions.The truth, if principles of assabiyyah are believed, will only be found within one’s own group, one’s own tribe, clan or nation. As such, some in the Muslim world view engagement with other nations and other peoples around the globe as impractical and unfruitful, thus excluding the possibility of learning from outside one’s tribe, clan, region, religion or nation. Khaldun, a man of science, logic and reason, warns against assabiyyah in the Muqqadimeh when this philosopher writes that “partisanship toward a creed or opinion,” the very foundation of the principle of assabiyyah, by its nature, is “liable to error.” In simpler terms, if you only believe what your clan, tribe or nation believes, by default you view other opinions as inferior to your own and for that reason you shut out what is best in others. WHAT ISTHE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT INTHE WORLD OF SOCIAL MEDIA? Engrained, cultural beliefs die hard and the principles of assabiyyah are still practiced at the local, national and regional levels throughout the World. Some Muslim governments ban the use of the social media site, Flickr. Skype, the popularVoIP used throughout the Western and Eastern worlds, is not available in many countries. This control of social media by governments is self-limiting, precluding citizens of the region to engage their counterparts around the globe. So, should government leaders throughout the Muslim world foster greater use of social media on theWorldWideWeb? Ibn Khaldun would strongly advocate it. HOW STRONG ISYOUR FOUNDATION? Assabiyyah is a belief that limits development and in engaging other global citizens (tribes) and listening with hearts and minds open and free of bias. What should we expect of our governments within our neighborhood of the ever-shrinking planet?