Louis Massignon and islamic esotericism

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Islamic sciences, Montazeri Technical College, Mashhad

2 Member of Department of History and Islamic Civilization, Faculty of Theology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

3 Faculty member of Shahid Beheshti University

4 Department of History and Civilization of Muslim Nations, Faculty of Theology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.

10.22081/hiq.2022.63659.2250

Abstract

Louis Massignon (1883-1962) was one of the most prominent scholars of Islamic studies in the West, who looked at Islam more empathically than his contemporaries such as Goldziher and Noldeke. He, with a method which can be called phenomenological, tried to introduce other aspects of Islam and its civilization to the western audience. Looking at his scientific activities abut Islam, it can be argued that: religious background and awareness arising from reading the works of direct Christian theologians, socio-cultural tensions in France, understanding the political dilemmas between the Islamic world and the West, inner and personal feelings and "meeting" With the "Islamic world" as the "other," it led him to seek to understand the esoteric Dimensions of Islam, such as Sufism and Shi'ism. Undoubtedly, Massignon's focus on understanding the concepts of Islam that the Western scholar neglected in Islamic civilization, in the sense of redefining the relationship between Christianity and Islam, led to the formation of a tradition in Islamology, in France in particular and in the Western world in general. In addition to maintaining the independence of the vote in various socio-political situations, the difference encourages prominent thinkers such as Henry Corbin (1903-1978) to continue the path and pave the way for a deeper attention to the Shi'a and its teachings.

Keywords

Main Subjects

History of Islam

Articles in Press, Corrected Proof
Available Online from 14 May 2025

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