Jean Mohamed Ben Abdeljlil, O.F.M. ( ar, جون محمد بن عبد الجليل) (alternative transcripts: Benabdeljlil or Abd al-Jalil; 1904 – 24 November 1979) was a Moroccan

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

priest and a convert from

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

.François Pouillon ''Dictionnaire des orientalistes de langue française'' (2008, pg. 4), "ABDELJELIL Jean-Mohamed (Fès, 1904 – Paris, 1979) Arabisant islamologue. Issu d'une notable famille d'origine andalouse de Fès, où il est formé à la mosquée-université Karawiyyîn et à l'école Charles de ..."

Biography

Ben Abdeljlil was born in Fez, the spiritual city of Morocco, and begins by learning the Quran at the University of al-Karaouine and accompanied his parents at the age of 9 years old on a pilgrimage to

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...

. In 1922, he entered at Gouraud High School, where he graduated in 1925, while a resident of the Foucault school run by

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

fathers in

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ar, الرِّبَاط, er-Ribât; ber, ⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ, ṛṛbaṭ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan populati ...

. It was at this time that Mohamed developed an interest in Christian religion. Born into a family of Muslim notables of Fez, Mohamed Ben Abdejlil, who had made the

Hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...

to Mecca with his father, converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and was baptized on 7 April 1928 in the chapel of Franciscan college of Fontenay-sous-bois, taking the Christian name Jean, with sponsor of French orientalist Louis Massignon. This conversion caused at the time the sending to Paris of a confidential note from French intelligence services in Morocco, who feared the move would cause problems in the Protectorate. In 1929, Jean Abdejlil entered in the Franciscan Order. In 1930, he published anonymously in the journal ''En terre d’Islam'', calls "offering the faithful to devote Friday to pray for our distant brothers", originally a "League for Friday prayers to the conversion of Muslims." Later, he also writes a "

Novena A novena (from Latin: ''novem'', "nine") is an ancient tradition of devotional praying in Christianity, consisting of private or public prayers repeated for nine successive days or weeks. The nine days between the Feast of the Ascension and Pen ...

for the conversion of Muslims". In 1935, Abdejlil was ordained a priest. In 1936 he was named professor at Catholic Institute of Paris. Abdejlil resigned in 1964, already hit by

tongue cancer Oral cancer, also known as mouth cancer, is cancer of the lining of the lips, mouth, or upper throat. In the mouth, it most commonly starts as a painless white patch, that thickens, develops red patches, an ulcer, and continues to grow. When on ...

and retired to the Saint Mary-Rose convent. In 1966, he was received by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

. He died on 24 November 1979.

Bibliography

* Borrmans Maurice, Jean-Mohammed Abd el-Jalil, Witness of the Qur'an and the Gospel, Paris, Editions du Cerf, 2005; . * Francoise Jacquin (ed.), Massignon – Abdel Jalil: Godfather and godson. Correspondence, 1926–1962, Paris, Editions du Cerf, "History", 2007; . * Alain Messaoudi, François Pouillon (ed.), "Dictionary of French Orientalist language" IISMM-Karthala, 2008; . * Moroccan Vatican Jean Mohamed Ben Abdejlil (1904–1979), in MEH, Evangelicalism: Missionaries among us, The Gazette, Morocco, 9 May 2008. * Dominique Avon, Recension of the book edited by Francoise Jacquin

archive An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...

Institute for the Study of Islam and Muslim societies (IEISM-EHESS), Paris, 6 November 2008.

References

External links

"Evangélisme : Des missionnaires parmi nous", M.E.H
lagazettedumaroc.com, 9 May 2008.
Profile
franciscains-paris.org. Accessed 26 February 2024. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ben Abdejlil, Jean Mohamed 1904 births 1979 deaths Converts to Roman Catholicism from Sunni Islam Moroccan Roman Catholics Moroccan former Muslims Franciscan missionaries Date of birth missing Religious leaders from Fez, Morocco 20th-century Moroccan people