Understanding the Society and Governance of Bangladesh through the Lens of Ibn Khaldun ()
ABSTRACT
This article attempts to
ground the relevance and importance of 14th century’s multifaceted social
scientist Ibn Khaldun in the context of the overall social, cultural, economic
and political journey of Bangladesh. The famous book of this eminent Muslim
thinker the Mukaddimah is considered as the conceptual basis of this study.
More precisely, from a sociological point of view, the article tries to examine
Khaldun’s concept of ‘Asabyyah (solidarity), Umran (the nation) and Madaniyyah (civilization) in the context of Bangladesh. Doing so, a historical
analysis of the society and culture of this delta will be portrayed first from
Khaldun’s framework of social interpretation. Then, the second part will focus
on the continuous formation and reformation of Bangladesh as a state and as a
unique society through its contemporary experiences at various social-cultural,
economic and political contexts on the basis of both from local and global
perspectives. The study gathers the nectar from the Muqadimmah, translation of
the original text by Ibn Khaldun along with various journal or research papers
by different scholars around the world. The study found that Khaldun’s idea of ‘Asabyyah
is extensively applicable in explaining the historical, social and political
process of Bangladesh. After discovering historical context, the study found that
Khaldun can be considered one of the prime philosophers to address the future
of the people of Bangladesh as a sustainable society and a proud nation through
creating self-ego that will boost up its citizens in cooperating morally and
intellectually from local to global.
Share and Cite:
Islam, S. and Hossain, A. (2017) Understanding the Society and Governance of Bangladesh through the Lens of Ibn Khaldun.
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
5, 194-215. doi:
10.4236/jss.2017.54018.