Patterns of Humanization and Dehumanization and the Development of Trust: Unity and Divisions Within and Between the Muslim World
Abstract
The research was designed to identify and more fully understand humanizing and dehumanizing processes, and the association between these processes with trust and distrust within the Muslim World in different geohistorical contexts, namely, Malaysia, Philippines, Pakistan and the UK. The paucity of research on humanization was a major impetus in carrying the research because in contrast to work on dehumanization, little is known regarding the humanization construct. Combined results showed that dehumanization and distrust of the Other coincided and increased between conflicting groups after a contested event. In these studies, the conceptions of dehumanization varied depending on the geohistorical context. The nature of dehumanization also varied depending on the source and target. Humanization, while less often referenced, was also observed and it too, was dependent on geohistorical context. As in the case of dehumanization, the qualities of humanization did not conform to the binary conception as the opposite of animal or machine-like characteristics mostly found in Western research. Another important finding from these studies is the conflation between ethnic/racial groups with religion and identity, and this was observed in all the geohistorical context. While each study considered a particular salient difference between the conflicting groups, such as ethnicity or religion, how much of the (de)humanization or (dis)trust of the Other is really attributed to that individual marker as opposed to the complexity of identities as consisting of multiple differences, is something that needs more work. Taken together, the research calls for a new conception of the meaning of dehumanization and by implication, what it means to be human. While traditional research narrowly defines dehumanization in a rather static way, as lacking those qualities that are essentially or uniq
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 21, 2016
- Accession Number
- AD1025910
Entities
People
- Daniel J. Christie
- Noraini M. Noor
Organizations
- International Islamic University Malaysia