How does Dussel Help to Understand How Pre-Islamic Arab Tribes See “The Other”

Abstract

This paper is to examine the concept of “the other” in the pre-Islamic Arab tribes. To examine this concept, the paper focuses on “the same” as a concept that should be determined according to Dussel’s philosophy. Pre-Islamic Arab tribes had different cultures, but the concepts of “the same” and “the other” were not different and popular. The society at that time had several strata, freemen, slaves, released people, and dethroned people. “The same” has only one class, namely, freemen. The other classes are “the other.” “The other” does not have a choice to be “the other.” And their chance to be “the same” is not huge. The way to transform a self from “the other” into “ the same” is difficult and dangerous. “The same” is an ideology, not a person. If “the same” person acts against the ideology, he will find himself “the other.”