Louis Gardet (15 August 1905, in

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

– 17 July 1986) was a French

Roman Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

and

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

. As an author he was an expert in

Islamic culture Islamic culture and Muslim culture refer to cultural practices which are common to historically Islamic people. The early forms of Muslim culture, from the Rashidun Caliphate to the early Umayyad period and the early Abbasid period, were predomi ...

and

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

who had a sympathetic view of

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 ...

as a religion. He considered himself "a Christian philosopher of cultures". ''Islam's men, Mentality of Approaches'' is one of his best and most widely read works.

Biography

His real name was André Brottier and he is known under three identities that correspond to three phases of his life: *Under the name of André Hallaire, he published some texts in literary magazines. *As Frère André-Marie, he was one of the founders of the

Little Brothers of Jesus The Little Brothers of Jesus (; ; abbreviated PFJ) is a male religious congregation within the Catholic Church of pontifical right inspired by Charles de Foucauld. Founded in 1933 in France, the congregation first established itself in French ...

congregation, along with his friend

Louis Massignon Louis Massignon (25 July 1883 – 31 October 1962) was a Catholic scholar of Islam and a pioneer of Catholic-Muslim mutual understanding. He was an influential figure in the twentieth century with regard to the Catholic church's relationship w ...

, in 1933.Claude Gilliot, "Père Georges Chehata Anawati (1905-1994)", ''Revue du monde musulman et de la Méditerranée'', vol. 68-69, p. 279-288
/ref> *Under the name of Louis Gardet he devoted himself to the research of the Islamic religion in the last part of his life, becoming an authority on the subject. As a philosopher he espoused the

Thomist Thomism is the philosophical and theological school that arose as a legacy of the work and thought of Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), the Dominican philosopher, theologian, and Doctor of the Church. In philosophy, Aquinas' disputed questions a ...

thought.

Youakim Moubarac Youakim Moubarac (July 20, 1924 – May 24, 1995) was a Lebanese French scholar. He was an Islamologist, an Arabist and a disciple of the Orientalist Louis Massignon and of philosopher Louis Gardet. A Maronite priest, Moubarac dedicated his li ...

, Jacques Jomier and

Denise Masson Denise Masson (5 August 1901 – 10 November 1994), nicknamed "the Lady of Marrakech", was a 20th-century French islamologist who translated the Quran from Arabic into French, published in 1967. According to her colleague André Chouraqui, she m ...

were among his numerous disciples.

Published works

Louis Gardet wrote many books. His main works are: * ''Introduction à la théologie musulmane, essai de théologie comparée'', by Louis Gardet and Rev.

George Anawati George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

, with an introduction by Louis Massignon, Vrin, 1948 1946 * ''La pensée religieuse d'Avicenne'', Paris, Vrin, 1951. * ''Expériences mystiques en terres non chrétiennes'', Paris, Alsatia, 1953. * ''La cité musulmane, vie sociale et politique'', Paris, Vrin, 1954. * ''L'Islam,'' by Youakim Moubarac, Rev. Jacques Jomier, Louis Gardet and Rev. Anawati, Saint-Alban-Leysse (Savoie), Collège théologique dominicain, 1956. * ''Connaître l'islam'', Paris, Fayard, 1958. * ''Mystique musulmane. Aspects et tendances, expériences et techniques'', by Rev. Anawati & Louis Gardet, Paris, Vrin, 1961 * ''L'islam. Religion, et communauté'', Paris, Desclée De Brouwer, 1967. * ''Dieu et la destinée de l'homme'', Paris : J. Vrin, 1967 ("Les grands problèmes de la théologie musulmane") * ''Les hommes de l'islam, approche des mentalités'', Paris, Hachette, 1977 * ''L'Islam : hier, demain'', by

Mohammed Arkoun Mohammed Arkoun ( ar, محمد أركون; 1 February 1928 – 14 September 2010) was an Algerian scholar and thinker. He was considered to have been one of the most influential secular scholars in Islamic studies contributing to contemporary inte ...

& Louis Gardet, Paris, Buchet-Chastel, 1978 *Louis Gardet also took part in ''La passion de Hussayn Ibn Mansûr an-Hallâj'', the posthumous edition of Louis Massignon's work, 1975.

References

External links

Sociology of Islam and Muslim Societies - Portland State UniversityLouis Gardet : Philosophe chrétien des cultures et témoin du dialogue islamo-chrétien (1904-1986)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardet, Louis 20th-century French Roman Catholic priests French historians of religion French sociologists French Arabists Thomists French Roman Catholic writers 1986 deaths Clergy from Toulouse 1905 births Writers from Toulouse