Pluriel

University platform for research on Islam

Initiated by
the Federation
of European
Catholic
Universities

Supported by
the International
Federation
of Catholic
Universities

Référence :

Islamochristiana N°46 (2020), 141-156, PISAI

English

2020

Lavigerie and Islam, an ambiguous legacy

In a recent article on the contribution of the White Fathers to the renewal of Catholic attitudes towards Islam, Rémi Caucanas rightly notes that their founder’s legacy “was not without ambiguity” in this regard and that this missionary society’s option for dialogue took place only in the first part of the twentieth century. After briefly recalling the biography of Cardinal Charles Lavigerie (1825- 1882), this article attempts to sketch his evolving views on Christian-Muslim relations as reflected in his vast personal correspondence, his pastoral letters and the detailed instructions he wrote for his missionaries.

Dans un article récent sur la contribution des Pères Blancs au renouvellement de l’approche chrétienne vers l’Islam, Rémi Caucanas note à juste titre que l’héritage de leur fondateur « n’est pas sans ambiguïté » à cet égard et que l’option de dialogue de cette société missionnaire ne s’opère en réalité que dans la première partie du XXe siècle. Après un bref rappel de la biographie du cardinal Charles Lavigerie (1825-1882), cet article esquisse l’évolution de sa pensée sur l’Islam et les relations entre chrétiens et musulmans, telle qu’elle se reflète dans sa correspondance personnelle, ses lettres pastorales et les instructions qu’il a écrites pour ses missionnaires.

في مقال حديث حول مساهمة الآباء البيض في تجديد المواقف الكاثوليكيّة تّجاه الإسلام، يشير ريمي كوكاناس عن حقّ بأنّ إرث مؤسّسهم “لا يخلو من الغموض” في هذا الصّدد، وأنّ خيار الحوار في هذا المجتمع الرّسولي لم يُعمل به سوى في الجزء الأوّل من القرن العشرين. وبعد عرض لمحة موجزة حول السيرة الذاتيّة للكاردينال لافيجري (1825-1882)، يرسم هذا المقال التطوّر الفكري الذي خاضه في ما يخص الإسلام والعلاقات بين المسيحيّين والمسلمين، الذي ظهر في مراسلاته الشخصيّة، ورسالاته الرعويّة، وفي التعليمات التي كتبها للإرساليّات.

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