Louis Massignon: The Crucible of Compassion [Hardcover]

Mary L. Gude (Author)

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From Library Journal

Gude (romance languages, Univ. of Notre Dame) relies heavily on secondary sources for this biography of one of the pioneers of orientalism. Louis Massignon (1883-1962) played a major role in shaping Western interest in Islamic studies during the early 20th century. A contemporary of the famous orientalist adventurer Lawrence of Arabia, Massignon, by virtue of his conversion to Islam, put himself on a path to understanding Islam on its own terms and explored the religion and culture at his own risk. Massignon's major work deals with Islamic mystical poetry. Although it is not widely known in the English-speaking world, his diligent attempts to build bridges of understanding between Islam and the West were recognized with the Second Vatican Council's modification of the church's stand vis-a-vis Islam. The author uses primary sources, including Massignon's own writings, but draws primarily on accounts of people who knew him personally. Recommended for academic and large public libraries with interest in Islamic studies.?Ali Houissa, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N.Y.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 283 pages
• Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press (January 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 026801308X
• ISBN-13: 978-0268013080
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,456,620 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Louis Massignon: The Crucible of Compassion., July 31, 2001

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Daniel Pipes, Middle East Forum, Philadelphia (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Louis Massignon: The Crucible of Compassion (Hardcover)

Massignon's name rings familiar to few English speakers but this French scholar of Islam who lived from 1883 to 1962 was perhaps the most influential Western scholar of Islam in this century. His far-reaching impact can be seen not just in today's university classrooms but also in American foreign policy.

Massignon had a most active life for a scholar, as Gude shows in her well-written and judicious biography. It included the excavation of an Iraqi fort, near-execution on a Turkish steamer, a passionate homosexual love affair, military combat in the first world war and a refusal to hand over the keys to a Bordeaux town in the second. Massignon experienced a dramatic conversion from secularism to Catholicism at age 24, ordination as a married Catholic priest at the age of 66, and arrest for political activities at the age of 75. He enjoyed friendships with such figures as Martin Buber, Paul Claudel, Charles de Foucauld, T. E. Lawrence, and François Mauriac.

Massignon forwarded too many eccentric ideas to found a school of thought or have his views accepted in their totality, but his deeply-held sympathy for Islam had immense influence both among fellow specialists (thanks to his unique scholarly accomplishments) and more broadly among the French intellectual elite (thanks to his long history of political activism). Massignon's writings and organizing won almost no practical victories, but his passionate determination to find common ground for Christians and Muslims have profoundly shaped the way several generations of sophisticated Westerners respond to that faith. Current American policy toward Islam bears the clear impress of his thinking.

Middle East Quarterly, Sept 1997