Louis Gardet (15 August 1904,[1] in Toulouse – 17 July 1986) was a French Roman Catholic priest and historian. As an author he was an expert in Islamic culture and sociology who had a sympathetic view of Islam as a religion. He considered himself "a Christian philosopher of cultures".[2] Islam's men, Mentality of Approaches is one of his best and most widely read works.[3]

Biography

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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 congregation, along with his friend Louis Massignon, in 1933.[4]
  • 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 thought. Youakim Moubarac, Jacques Jomier and Denise Masson were among his numerous disciples.

Published works

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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, 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 & 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

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  1. ^ "LOUIS GARDET (1904-1986) - Encyclopædia Universalis". www.universalis.fr. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
  2. ^ Louis Gardet: A Catholic Thomist takes up Islamic Studies
  3. ^ Islamism Between the Political Dialectic and the Societal
  4. ^ Claude Gilliot, "Père Georges Chehata Anawati (1905-1994)", Revue du monde musulman et de la Méditerranée, vol. 68-69, p. 279-288
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