'Asabiyya (of Beduin, pre-Islamic, secular origin: from 'asaba, to bind, to fold, to wind, and 'asâba, the group of male relatives) is one of the most important concepts of the social history of the Arabs and of Islam. Meaning a basic form of social and material human relations, it is a concept which integrates biological, geographical, social, and cultural terms. It is central to Ibn Khaldun's (1332–1406) theory of civilization ('umran), as discussed in his famous Muqaddima (Ibn Khaldun 1967, I: 269–8, 313–27). 'Asabiyya became one of the most daring sociological concepts. Today, it is of importance with respect to global issues and intracultural discourse between Islam and the West and about the “heritage” of political structures in Muslim societies.