Louis Massignon was a renowned French Orientalist and diplomat who was a professor of the Sociology of Islam at the Collège de France in Paris and an expert on Middle Eastern culture and languages. He was a member of numerous international institutions, notably the Academy of Arab Language in Cairo, Egypt.. Massignon was also a spiritual seeker whose depth of Catholic Christian thought led many to call him a mystic and even a saint.By the end of his life he had completed a fifty year exploration of the life and mystical philosophy of a tenth century Islamic Sufi saint called the Passion of al-Hallaj, published hundreds of articles in many languages, and lectured world-wide. In 1934 he established a prayer group in Cairo with an Egyptian Melkite Christian woman named Mary Kahil dedicated to praying with and for the Muslim community. They also promoted an educational center sponsoring lectures and discussions on Islamic and Christian philosophical and cultural subjects. In a small town in Brittany, France Massignon discovered a Chapel dedicated to seven 2nd century Christian martyrs that is a story found in Eastern Christian traditions and in the Qur'an. With the local Bishop's permission he transformed their ancient traditional July feast day of the Chapelle des Sept Dormants into a shared Muslim/Christian pilgrimage that celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in July 2004.
Louis Massignon's faith experience led him to a deep commitment to social justice that called him to march in the streets of Paris at the age of 75 protesting against the colonial French position during the Algerian struggle for independence in the 1950's. His experience of "crossing over" to those of other faith traditions allowed him to embrace Muslims, Jews and Chrsitians in life-long friendships. He was intensely affected by the non-violent resolution to political and religious disputes by Gandhi in India and remains a prophetic voice today for a viable means to successfully building bridges between faiths and furthering mutual respect and world peace.
Information about The Association of Friends of Louis Massignon
Web site with further information about Louis Massignon (in French) Alternate link