Ibn Khaldun and Contemporary Sociology

Abstract

This review is focused on a central question: why should a social thinker like Ibn Khaldu¯ n be excluded from the serious study of the history of sociology, sociological theory or historical sociology? A quick review of contemporary histories of social thought and social theory will reveal that very little attention is given to non-western precursors of sociology or non-western social thinkers who were contemporaneous with the European founders of the discipline. Nineteenth- and early 20th-century western sociologists, on the other hand, were more aware of the role of non-western thought in the development of western sociology as a discipline. This interest will be found to have waned in the last century. Nineteenth-century European founders of sociology such as Marx, Weber and Durkheim had such an impact on the development of sociology and the other social sciences that many theories and models derived from their works were applied to areas outside Europe, that is, to the non-western world. The same attitude was not applied to non-western social thinkers. Without suggesting that European or western ideas have no relevance to non-European realities, this article suggests that multicultural sources of sociological thought and theory should be considered. Ibn Khaldu¯ n died 600 years ago, but his ideas have endured. Nevertheless, there is a way in which he has been appropriated, resulting in his somewhat marginal status in contemporary sociology. This review provides an overview of Ibn Khaldu¯ n’s work and thought, discusses reasons for his marginality, and suggests ways to bring Ibn Khaldu¯ n into the mainstream.