Louis Massignon
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Louis Massignon (25 July 1883 – 31 October 1962) was a French Catholic scholar of
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
and a pioneer of Catholic-Muslim mutual understanding. He was an influential figure in the twentieth century with regard to the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
's relationship with Islam and played a role in Islam being accepted as an
Abrahamic The term Abrahamic religions is used to group together monotheistic religions revering the Biblical figure Abraham, namely Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The religions share doctrinal, historical, and geographic overlap that contrasts them wit ...
faith among Catholics. Although a
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
himself, he tried to understand Islam from within and thus had a great influence on the way Islam was seen in the West; among other things, he paved the way for a greater openness to dialogue inside the Catholic Church towards Islam. Some scholars maintain that his research, esteem for Islam and
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
s, and cultivation of key students in
Islamic studies Islamic studies is the academic study of Islam, which is analogous to related fields such as Jewish studies and Quranic studies. Islamic studies seeks to understand the past and the potential future of the Islamic world. In this multidiscipli ...
largely prepared the way for the positive vision of Islam articulated in the ''
Lumen gentium , the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is one of the principal documents of the Second Vatican Council. This dogmatic constitution was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on 21 November 1964, following approval by the assembled bishops by a vote of 2 ...
'' and the '' Nostra aetate'' at the
Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...
.


Life

Louis Massignon was born in Nogent-sur-Marne near
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, France. His father, Fernand Massignon (1855–1922), a
painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...
and a
sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
under the
pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...
Pierre Roche, was an intimate friend of novelist Joris-Karl Huysmans. Whereas his father was a sceptic, his mother, Marie Hovyn Massignon, had a deep prayer life and was his earliest and foremost religious influence. Huysmans' own conversion to
Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
was one of the first major inspirations of the young Louis in a friendly tutorial relationship that lasted from 1901 till Huysmans' death in 1907.


Studies

Louis Massignon started his studies at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris (1896) where he befriended his classmate Henri Maspero, later a renowned sinologist. Following his (1901) he went on a first trip to
Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
where his family had relations, and ties with high colonial officers: Henry de Vialar, Henry de Castries, and Alfred Le Chatelier, the founder of the Chair of Muslim
Sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...
at the Collège de France in Paris. In 1902, he continued his studies, graduating on an essay on Honoré d'Urfé and embarking on the first of his many Arab subjects: the corporations of Fez in the 15th century. Exploring the sources of his study in
Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
in 1904, he vowed to dedicate himself to the study of Arabic after a dangerous confrontation in the desert. In 1906, he received his on the strength of his study.


Conversion to Christianity

In 1907, he was sent on an archeological mission to
Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...
. In
Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
he was the guest of the great Muslim family of the Alusi, who introduced him to the brand of Arab hospitality he was to honour throughout his life. It was the Alusi who saved him from a very dangerous situation in the desert when in 1908—during the ferment of the Young Turk Revolution—he was captured as a "spy" and almost killed. (The Alusi also helped him gather the sources for his '' magnum opus'' on the 10th-century mystic al-Hallaj.) This situation of captivity, and the experience of Muslim
spirituality The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...
, also brought about his conversion to Christianity: In mortal danger, which filled him with extreme, physical anguish, he first felt remorse for his past life, made an abortive and tentative suicide attempt, fell into a delirium and a state of great agitation (later diagnosed as either
malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...
, or a stroke caused by sun and fatigue), and finally experienced the presence of God as a "visitation of a Stranger", who overwhelmed him, leaving him passive and helpless, feeling judged for having judged others harshly, and almost making him lose his very sense of identity. Yet he also experienced this visitation as a liberation from his (outer) captivity, and a promise that he was going to return to Paris. He himself interpreted the state of delirium as a "reaction of isbrain to the ''forced'' conversion of issoul". He recovered rapidly from his illness, had a second spiritual experience and travelled to
Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
accompanied by the Iraqi priest Anastase-Marie al-Karmali (Anastasius-Maria the Carmelite), with whom Massignon became friends. In Beirut, Massignon made a confession to Father Anastase-Marie, thus confirming his conversion to Catholicism. The priest eventually escorted Massignon all the way to Brittany and met his parents before returning to Baghdad. Louis and Father Anastase-Marie would maintain a correspondence until 1936. Massignon strongly felt that he was assisted in his encounter with God and in his conversion by the intercession of living and deceased friends, among them Joris-Karl Huysmans and Charles de Foucauld (1858–1916), who had also experienced God in a Muslim context. Thus, his conversion provided a firm basis for his lifelong association with the latter. He made Massignon the executor of his spiritual legacy: the —the Rule for the foundation of the Little Brothers of Jesus, which Louis Massignon duly saw to publication in 1928 after a long hesitation by the Church authorities over the imprimatur. However, Massignon did not follow Foucauld's invitation to join him in his life as a
hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...
among the Tuareg in Tamanrasset. Instead, in 27 January 1914, he married a cousin, Marcelle Dansaert-Testelin. His daughter was the
linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...
and ethnographer, Geneviève Massignon.


Activities in World War I

During
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
he was a translating officer for the (the French Intelligence) at the headquarters of the 17th French Colonial Division, in which capacity he was affected to the Sykes-Picot mission (1917) as a temporary captain acting on his experience as an Arabist and an Islamist, after a spell of his own volition as an infantry second lieutenant at the Macedonian front (1916), where he was twice mentioned in dispatches and awarded a medal for bravery. Within this mission, he became acquainted with T. E. Lawrence in August 1917 in Cairo and apparently there had been plans to attach Massignon to the Arab Legion, an Arab force who had rallied to Sharif Husain's revolt and were trained by the British and French. He had several friendly interviews with Lawrence, among others on the ''Handbook for Arabia'', which served as an example for his own ''Annuaire du Monde Musulman''. They both shared the same sense of honour and betrayal after the collapse of the Arab-Anglo-French relationship on the disclosure of the 1917 Balfour Declaration. Massignon does not figure among the friends in Lawrence's published letters, which does not mean that Lawrence did not take an
intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and Human self-reflection, reflection about the nature of reality, especially the nature of society and proposed solutions for its normative problems. Coming from the wor ...
interest in the subsequent contributions to Arabism by Massignon since, it will be remembered he had started his own career as a keen
Francophile A Francophile is a person who has a strong affinity towards any or all of the French language, History of France, French history, Culture of France, French culture and/or French people. That affinity may include France itself or its history, lang ...
.


Scholarly work after World War I

On June 15, 1919, Massignon was provisionally appointed to the Chair of
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
Sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...
and Sociography at the Collège de France in Paris. In January 1926, Massignon was finally given the chair in January 1926, when the creator of the chair and incumbent, Alfred le Chatelier retired. He conducted research on various subjects related to Islam, such as the lives of al-Hallaj, Muhammad's companion Salman Pak and the significance of
Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...
for the three
Abrahamic religions The term Abrahamic religions is used to group together monotheistic religions revering the Biblical figure Abraham, namely Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The religions share doctrinal, historical, and geographic overlap that contrasts them wit ...
. Since 1911, he had edited a journal on Islamic world, '' Revue du monde musulman''. His four-volume
doctoral thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...
on al-Hallaj, finished in 1914, was published in 1922. He continued to work on the life of the mystic for the rest of his life and showed the importance of al-Hallaj as figure in Muslim spirituality as reflected also in intellectual discussions, art, poetry and legends. It was criticized by many as giving prominence to a relatively marginal figure in Islam: especially sharp criticism appears in
Edward Said Edward Wadie Said (1 November 1935 – 24 September 2003) was a Palestinian-American academic, literary critic, and political activist. As a professor of literature at Columbia University, he was among the founders of Postcolonialism, post-co ...
's ''
Orientalism In art history, literature, and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects of the Eastern world (or "Orient") by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. Orientalist painting, particularly of the Middle ...
''. Likewise, his great openness for Islam was seen with skeptical eyes by many Catholics.


Religious commitments

In the 1930s,
Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone ( 1181 – 3 October 1226), known as Francis of Assisi, was an Italians, Italian Mysticism, mystic, poet and Friar, Catholic friar who founded the religious order of the Franciscans. Inspired to lead a Chris ...
played a great role in his life: In 1931, Massignon became a
Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...
tertiary Tertiary (from Latin, meaning 'third' or 'of the third degree/order..') may refer to: * Tertiary period, an obsolete geologic period spanning from 66 to 2.6 million years ago * Tertiary (chemistry), a term describing bonding patterns in organic ch ...
and took the name of "Ibrahim" (due to the hospitality of Abraham to the angels). On February 9, 1934, he and
Mary Kahil Mary Kahil (28 January 1889 – 28 June 1979) was an Egyptian feminist and Christian mystic. She was a member of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, a founder of the Egyptian Feminist Union along with Huda Sha'arawi, and promoted Christian-Musli ...
, a friend from his youth, prayed at the abandoned Franciscan church of
Damietta Damietta ( ' ) is a harbor, port city and the capital of the Damietta Governorate in Egypt. It is located at the Damietta branch, an eastern distributary of the Nile Delta, from the Mediterranean Sea, and about north of Cairo. It was a Cath ...
,
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
, where Francis of Assisi had met Sultan al-Malik al-Kamil in 1219. They took a vow of ('substitution'), offering their lives for the Muslims, "not so they would be converted, but so that the will of God might be accomplished in them and through them". This vow led to the formal foundation of the Badaliya prayer association in 1947, first in Cairo and then in Paris. Especially after the 9/11 attacks, Badaliya prayer groups were also established in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
and
Washington DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
. Encouraged by Mary Kahil and with the permission of Pope Pius XII, he became a Melkite
Greek Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Ea ...
on February 5, 1949, which meant he still remained in the Catholic Church, but was no longer affiliated with the
Roman Rite The Roman Rite () is the most common ritual family for performing the ecclesiastical services of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The Roman Rite governs Rite (Christianity) ...
. Instead the Melkite Church consists of Arab Catholics and its
Byzantine Rite The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, is a liturgical rite that is identified with the wide range of cultural, devotional, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christianity, Eastern Chri ...
liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...
is celebrated in Arabic. This indirectly allowed Massignon to be closer to Arab Christians and Muslims alike. As a Greek Catholic, he could be
ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...
as a
priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...
although he was married (yet it was not for this reason that he had had himself transferred to Greek Catholicism). He was ordained by Bishop Kamel Medawar on January 28, 1950, with the permission of
Patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Roman Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and ...
Maximos IV, despite some opposition from the
Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...
, which, however, finally accepted his priestly ordination. Being a priest meant for Massignon offering his life in substitution for others, especially for the Muslims.


Political commitment after World War II

After
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, while still remaining active as a scholar, his focus of attention shifted to political action to help Muslims and Arab Christians. In this he followed the model of
Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...
, whose work he studied later in his life and considered a
saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...
, and his principles of non-violent action (
ahimsa (, IAST: , ) is the ancient Indian principle of nonviolence which applies to actions towards all living beings. It is a key virtue in Indian religions like Jainism, Buddhism and Hinduism. (also spelled Ahinsa) is one of the cardinal vi ...
and
satyagraha Satyāgraha (from ; ''satya'': "truth", ''āgraha'': "insistence" or "holding firmly to"), or "holding firmly to truth",' or "truth force", is a particular form of nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. Someone who practises satyagraha is ...
). (He was also president of the Amis de Gandhi association.) He made it clear that he did not hope for success in all his areas of action, but that, first and foremost, he wanted to bear witness to Truth and Justice, just as
Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
had done. He committed himself to the following (in chronological order): *for the Arabs living in Palestine who were displaced by the foundation of the state of
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
in 1948; he believed in peaceful coexistence of Jews, Muslims, and Christians in Palestine *Against the French government's removal of the
Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...
Sidi Muhammad of
Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
in 1953, promoted by two self-styled Muslim religious leaders, El Glaoui and El Kittani; he was supported in this by two committees, France-Islam and the newly founded France-Maghreb, the latter having among its members
François Mitterrand François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was a French politician and statesman who served as President of France from 1981 to 1995, the longest holder of that position in the history of France. As a former First ...
,
François Mauriac François Charles Mauriac (; ; 11 October 1885 – 1 September 1970) was a French novelist, dramatist, critic, poet, and journalist, a member of the'' Académie française'' (from 1933), and laureate of the 1952 Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Pr ...
, André Julien *For the amnesty of political prisoners in
Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
, as president of the Comité pour l'amnistie aux condamnés politiques d'outre-mer. The committee finally reached this amnesty *For a peaceful solution of the colonial tensions in
Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
which culminated in the
Algerian War of Independence The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...
. As such, he set up during the war a Christian-Muslim pilgrimage to the chapel of the
Seven Sleepers The Seven Sleepers (; ), also known in Christendom as Seven Sleepers of Ephesus, and in Islam as Aṣḥāb al-Kahf (اصحاب الکهف, ''aṣḥāb al-kahf'', lit. Companions of the Cave), is a Late antiquity, late antique Christianity, ...
in Vieux-Marché due to the shared veneration of the saints by both religions.
Dialogue Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American and British English spelling differences, American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literature, literary and theatrical form that depicts suc ...
was very important for him; he also talked to the
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
ian religious sociologist Ali Shariati who would later become extremely influential as a
modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
Muslim thinker in Iran. Shariati had immense respect for Massignon and adored him as a teacher and a master in his book Kavir (book). In August 1957, Massignon participated in the ''International Meeting'' of the monastery of Toumliline, an inter-faith conference that focused that year on Education. At the end of the conference king Mohammed V invited the participants to his palace and awarded Massignon the Grand Cordon du Ouissam Alaoui, the equivalent of the French Legion of Honour for Morocco). Massignon died on October 31, 1962, and was buried on November 6 in Pordic,
Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
. Louis Gardet, his friend and colleague, assisted in the posthumous edition of Louis Massignon's work ''La passion de Hussayn Ibn Mansûr an-Hallâj'', published in 1975.


Teaching

Among his students were many scholarly luminaries: * Henry Corbin, whom he directed towards his major study of Suhrawardi (Shaykh Al-Ishraq) * Eva de Vitray-Meyerovitch, convert to Islam and scholar of Jalâl ud Dîn Rûmî * Abdel Rahman Badawi, the Egyptian scholar of Islamic philosophy * Abd al-Halim Mahmud, Grand Shaykh of Al-Azhar University * Vincent-Mansour Monteil *
George Makdisi George Abraham Makdisi was born in Detroit, Michigan, on May 15, 1920. He died in Media, Pennsylvania, on September 6, 2002. He was a professor of oriental studies. He studied first in the United States, and later in Lebanon. He then graduated in ...
* Eliezer Paul Kraus, discovered
Al-Farabi file:A21-133 grande.webp, thumbnail, 200px, Postage stamp of the USSR, issued on the 1100th anniversary of the birth of Al-Farabi (1975) Abu Nasr Muhammad al-Farabi (; – 14 December 950–12 January 951), known in the Greek East and Latin West ...
's commentaries ''The Philosophy of Plato and Aristotle,'' and the ''Commentary on Laws'' * Ali Shariati, sociologist, philosopher and Iranian political activist * Jean Mohamed Ben Abdejlil, convert from Islam and Franciscan friar, also a godson of Massignon


Religious views

While firmly rooted in Catholic faith, Massignon was also inspired by Islamic theology, which made him a very independent thinker in religious matters, while he avoided any kind of
heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Heresy in Christian ...
.


Religious beliefs

Massignon's faith can be characterized by the basic concepts of sacred
hospitality Hospitality is the relationship of a host towards a guest, wherein the host receives the guest with some amount of goodwill and welcome. This includes the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis de Jaucourt, Louis, ...
(), generosity (and), and mystical substitution ().


Sacred hospitality

Sacred hospitality, a concept that was inspired by the Islamic commandment of hospitality, demands, in Massignon's eyes to accept anyone and even serve him without wanting to change him or wishing him to be different. It is also rooted in the life of Jesus Christ, "who asked for hospitality and died on a cross", thereby accepting even the violence of his executioners. This concept also forms the basis for his strong belief in peaceful coexistence among different ethnicities, which made him speak out against the displacement of the Arabs from Palestine, as well as (at least initially) the decolonization of Algeria that implied the emigration of the French Algerians and Algerian Jews, the Pieds noirs, and the end of a multi-religious Algeria.


Substitution and intercession

The concept of mystical substitution was first suggested to Massignon by Huysmans' biography of Saint Lydwine of Schiedam, "whose life exemplified the writer's belief that one could atone for the sins of others by offering up one's suffering on their behalf." This is also, ultimately, a concept inspired by
Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
, whose suffering on the Cross, according to Saint Paul, redeemed mankind from sin. He also believed in the power of
intercession Intercession or intercessory prayer is the act of prayer, praying on behalf of others, or Intercession of saints, asking a saint in heaven to pray on behalf of oneself or for others. The Apostle Paul's exhortation to Saint Timothy, Timothy speci ...
—i.e., of praying for others—and had felt this power himself, especially during his conversion to Christianity. Following this idea, Massignon wanted to dedicate his whole life as a substitute for the Muslims, not necessarily so that they would be converted (not putting up with their difference for religion would have been against his idea of sacred hospitality) but that God's will would be fulfilled through them. He also saw his becoming a priest later in life as a way of offering up his life for others.


View of Islam

In Massignon's view, Islam is a religion based on Muhammad's genuine inspiration, which made him see the oneness (''
tawhid ''Tawhid'' () is the concept of monotheism in Islam, it is the religion's central and single most important concept upon which a Muslim's entire religious adherence rests. It unequivocally holds that God is indivisibly one (''ahad'') and s ...
'') of God. This inspiration was completed by research in which Muhammad found the origins of the Arab people in the Biblical person of Ismael. He thus sees the revelation in Islam as a "mysterious answer of (divine) grace to
Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...
's prayer for Ismael and the Arab race". Massignon believes revelation to occur in three stages, the first being that of the patriarchs, to whom natural religion was revealed, second the revelation of the Law to
Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...
and third, Christ and his revelation of Divine Love. Islam is, in his eyes, a return to the natural religion of the patriarchs, "where God's essence cannot be known" and where man only has to accept what has been revealed to him about God's qualities and follow His laws, without seeking union with Him through these laws. This model of different stages explains, according to Massignon, the differences in moral questions between Islam on the one hand and Judaism and Christianity on the other hand, such as Islam's permission of
polygamy Polygamy (from Late Greek , "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, it is called polygyny. When a woman is married to more tha ...
or its acceptance of war. It would therefore be absurd to criticize Muhammad for his polygamy, his warfare; there was just nothing bad about it for him. Furthermore, polygamy was well accepted and routinely practiced by Judaism before Islam, as per many wives of King David, King Solomon, and even Moses himself. Massignon often talks of Islam as a naive and primitive religion but far from looking at Muslim faith with disdain, he sees in its existence of Islam a protest of those excluded by the Alliances of God with the Jews and Christian, and a criticism of the infidelity of the Elected, the Jews and Christians. Christians should therefore see themselves challenged by the presence of Islam to live a life of a simple sainthood, which it is hard, yet not impossible, to attain from a Muslim background, and whose truth they can understand. Given their common origin in Abraham, Christians should always approach Muslims as brothers in Abraham "united by the same spirit of faith and sacrifice", and offer up their lives for the salvation of the Muslims in mystical substitution, "giving to Jesus Christ, in the name of their brothers, the faith, adoration and love that an imperfect knowledge of the Gospel does not permit them to give". He thus wants to integrate them into salvation given by Christ without them having to become Christians themselves; an external conversion does not seem necessary to him, he rather envisages an "internal conversion" of Muslims within Islam. He also sees some potential for further development of revelation within Islam: Islam saw it as its original mission, according to Massignon, to spread the message of the oneness of God even by means of violence so as to force all idol-worshippers to acknowledge it. Yet, there is also a tendency of Islam towards non-violence, to be recognized most clearly in the self-offering on
Mount Arafat Mount Arafat (, or ) is a granodiorite hill about southeast of Mecca, in the Makkah Province, province of the same name in Saudi Arabia. It is approximately in height, with its highest point sitting at an elevation of . The Prophet Muhammad, ...
during the
hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...
, the pilgrimage to
Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...
. Massignon believes that the self-offering of Muslim saints in substitution for their brothers can make Islam go ahead on the way of revelation. He even showed great admiration for some of Islam's saints, especially for al-Hallaj.


Political views

Massignon's political action was guided by a belief in peaceful coexistence of different peoples and religions (which ultimately derived from his religious concept of sacred hospitality), and by the Gandhian principles of non-violent actions (
satyagraha Satyāgraha (from ; ''satya'': "truth", ''āgraha'': "insistence" or "holding firmly to"), or "holding firmly to truth",' or "truth force", is a particular form of nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. Someone who practises satyagraha is ...
and
ahimsa (, IAST: , ) is the ancient Indian principle of nonviolence which applies to actions towards all living beings. It is a key virtue in Indian religions like Jainism, Buddhism and Hinduism. (also spelled Ahinsa) is one of the cardinal vi ...
).


Appraisal and criticism


Catholic view of Massignon

Although always remaining faithful to Catholicism and avoiding any suspicion of
syncretism Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various school of thought, schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or religious assimilation, assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the ...
, Massignon's views were seen critically by many Catholics who considered him a syncretist, a "Catholic Muslim", although this was also used as a compliment by Pope Pius XI. Massignon's appreciation of Islam was seminal for the change in Catholic view of Islam as it is reflected in the Vatican II declaration '' Nostra aetate'', which shows a greater appreciation of Islam and next to the traditional
missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...
approach also talks of respectful dialogue with other religions. He died shortly after the opening of Vatican II, but his contacts with popes Pius XI, Pius XII, and
John XXIII Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...
helped pave the way for this re-orientation.


Criticisms of Massignon's focus

Massignon was sometimes criticized by Muslims for giving too much importance to Muslim figures that are considered somewhat marginal by Islamic mainstream, such as al-Hallaj and for paying too much attention to Sufism, and too little to Islamic legalism.
Edward Said Edward Wadie Said (1 November 1935 – 24 September 2003) was a Palestinian-American academic, literary critic, and political activist. As a professor of literature at Columbia University, he was among the founders of Postcolonialism, post-co ...
, a non-Muslim Arab-American scholar, wrote Massignon used Hallaj "to embody, to incarnate, values essentially outlawed by the mainstream doctrinal system of Islam, a system that Massignon himself described mainly in order to circumvent it with al-Hallaj".


Views of his students

In his thesis ''L'Islam dans le Miroir de l'Occident'' (1963), his Dutch student J. J. Waardenburg gave the following synthesis of Massignon's precepts: "1°- God is free to reveal Himself when and how He wants. 2°- The action of God is exercised in the world of grace that may also be outside Christianity; it can be found in Islam, in the mystical vocations. 3°- The religious discovery has an existential character, the religious object has a significance for the seeker. 4°- Religious science is a religious study in the proper sense of the word: it is a discovery of grace (i.e., the work of the Saint-Esprit, Rûh Allah, Holy Ghost)." A "Catholic, scholar, Islamicist, and mystic" is how
Seyyed Hossein Nasr Seyyed Hossein Nasr (born April 7, 1933) is an Iranian Americans, Iranian-American academic, philosophy, philosopher, theology, theologian, and Ulama, Islamic scholar. He is University Professor of Islamic studies at George Washington University. ...
describes him in his homage at the 1983 commemoration of the 100th birthday of Louis Massignon. * Catholic: He played a key role in the acceptance by religious authority of the Rule for the Little Brothers of Jesus as dictated by Blessed Charles de Foucauld (1858–1916). * Scholar: At the age of 29 (1912–1913) he delivered a series of 40 lectures in Arabic on the history of philosophy at the Egyptian University of Cairo; from 1922 till 1954 he was entitled the Chair of Muslim Sociology created in 1902 by Alfred Le Chatelier at the Collège de France with support of
Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
,
Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...
, and Morocco. * Islamicist: He pioneered the studies of early
Sufism Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...
in the west in two major contributions; 1°- ''Essay sur les origines du lexique technique de la mystique musulmane'' (Guenther ed., Paris 1922). 2°- ''La Passion d'al Hallâj'' (Guenther ed., Paris 1922.Translated by his student Herbert Mason as ''The Passion of al-Hallâj'', Princeton University Press, 1982. * Mystic: He truly lived the deep spirituality of his faith in the inter-religious dialogue between
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
and
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
; in a state described by
Seyyed Hossein Nasr Seyyed Hossein Nasr (born April 7, 1933) is an Iranian Americans, Iranian-American academic, philosophy, philosopher, theology, theologian, and Ulama, Islamic scholar. He is University Professor of Islamic studies at George Washington University. ...
as manifesting "al-barakat al-isawiyyah".


See also

* Our Lady of La Salette * Lycée Louis-Massignon (disambiguation)


References


Sources

* * * * * * * *''Mémorial Louis Massignon, Sous la direction de Youakim Moubarac et des textes arabes de Ibrahim Madkour, Abd al-Rahman Badawi, Taha Hussein, etc.'', Dar el-Salam, Imprimerie de l'
Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes c ...
, Cairo, 1963. * Morillon, Jean. ''Massignon''. Classiques du XXième Siècle, Editions Universitaires, Paris, 1964. * Moubarac, Youakim: ''Bibliographie de Louis Massignon. Réunie et classée par Y. Moubarac'', Institut Français de Damas, Damascus, 1956. *––. ''Pentalogie Islamo-chrétienne, Volume 1: ''L'œuvre de Louis Massignon'', Editions du Cénacle Libanais, Beirut, 1972. * Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. ''In commemoration of Louis Massignon: Catholic, Scholar, Islamist and Mystic''. University of Boston, November 18, 1983 in: ''Présence de Louis Massignon-Hommages et témoinages'' Maisonneuve et Larose ed. Paris 1987 *


Further reading

*


External links


Official website about Louis Massignon launched in July 2021The Gnostic Cultus of Fatima in Shiite Islam
* James Kritzeck {{DEFAULTSORT:Massignon, Louis 1883 births 1962 deaths People from Nogent-sur-Marne Academic staff of the Collège de France Academic staff of the École pratique des hautes études 20th-century French Roman Catholic priests French Arabists French scholars of Islam Melkite Greek Catholics Christian scholars of Islam Lycée Louis-le-Grand alumni Our Lady of La Salette French military personnel of World War I Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Members of the Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo