French
Muslim-Christian Dialogue : the approach of the White Fathers
Involved in the Muslim world since its foundation by Bishop Charles Lavigerie in 1868, the Society of Missionaries of Africa, whose members are known as the White Fathers, has contributed to the emergence of Christian-Muslim dialogue. And the White Fathers are still today in many places actors in these practices of dialogue and meetings with Muslims.
What does this external, Christian, often friendly view of Islam say about it? What does it say in particular about this other Muslim and about these other Muslims? For in the course of their long-term commitments in various contexts, the White Fathers have often developed a nuanced approach to Islam which has also taken into account the otherness within Islam.
Starting from individual trajectories but also from documents issued by the Society of Missionaries of Africa, this paper will therefore aim to shed light on the White Fathers’ approach to Islam, what it tells us about otherness in Islam, how it supports efforts at dialogue and what forms of response it has been able to find or elicit among Muslims.
Lecture given at the 3rd International Congress of the PLURIEL network, 23-27 May 2022 in Beirut.
In partnership with Saint Joseph University of Beirut and La Sagesse University.
Engagée dans le monde musulman depuis sa fondation par Mgr Charles Lavigerie en 1868, la Société des Missionnaires d’Afrique dont les membres sont connus sous le nom de Pères Blancs a contribué à l’émergence du dialogue islamo-chrétien. Et les Pères Blancs sont encore aujourd’hui en bien des endroits acteurs de ces pratiques de dialogue et de rencontres avec des musulmans.
Qu’est-ce que ce regard extérieur, chrétien, souvent bienveillant dit-il de l’islam? Que dit-il en particulier de cet autre musulman et de ces autres musulmans? Car au cours de leurs engagements inscrits dans la durée et dans des contextes variés, les Pères Blancs ont souvent développé une approche nuancée de l’islam qui a pris aussi en compte l’altérité interne à l’islam.
En partant de trajectoires individuelles mais aussi de documents issus de la Société des Missionnaires d’Afrique, cette communication visera donc à mettre en lumière l’approche de l’islam par les Pères Blancs, ce qu’elle nous dit de l’altérité en islam, ce en quoi elle soutient les efforts de dialogue et quelles formes de réponses elle a pu trouver ou susciter parmi les musulmans.
Conférence donnée lors du 3è congrès international du réseau PLURIEL, du 23 au 27 mai 2022 à Beyrouth.
En partenariat avec l’Université Saint Joseph de Beyrouth et l’Université La Sagesse.
Resources of this researcher
videos
Muslim-Christian Dialogue : the approach of the White Fathers
Involved in the Muslim world since its foundation by Bishop Charles Lavigerie in 1868, the Society of Missionaries of Africa, whose members are known as the White Fathers, has contributed to the em...
publication
Jacques Lanfry. A lion, the Church and Islam
Jacques Lanfry (1910-2000) joined the White Fathers in 1933 and is one of the missionary figures whose commitment illustrates that of the Catholic Church in favour of a dialogue with Muslims. Passi...
Resources related to
Muslim-Christian Dialogue
article
Kenneth Cragg and the Event of the Qur’an
- Timo Güzelmansur
Article by Timo Güzelmansur published under the title Kenneth Cragg und das Ereignis des Koran on the theological portal feinschwarz.net (12 June 2026, open access). Timo Güzelmansur presents the A...
article
Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas and the Pluriel working group on AI-assisted interreligious dialogue
- Wael Saleh
Text by Wael Saleh, researcher at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) and member of the Pluriel coordination committee. The simultaneous appearance of Leo XIV's encyclical Magnifica Human...
publication
The Recognition of a Hummingbird. Essays on Interreligious Dialogue and Missionary Work (2007-2025)
- Rémi Caucanas
Published in May 2026 by PISAI (Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies, Rome), this collection brings together the essays of Rémi Caucanas on interreligious dialogue and missionary wor...
videos
From Lavigerie to PISAI: The Institutional History of the Missionaries of Africa’s Engagement with Islam
Delivered on 21 May 2026 at the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (PISAI) in Rome, this lecture opens the series of conferences marking the institute's centenary (1926-2026). Fr. ...
videos
Interreligious Dialogue and Ethnic Nationalisms in the Balkans
At the invitation of PISAI (Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies, Rome) and Georgetown University, Ahmet Alibašić, professor of Islamic civilization at the Faculty of Islamic Studies...
publication
For a Christian Theology of Religions
- Michel Younès
Faced with contemporary religious diversity, how can Christian theology make sense of the place that other religions occupy in God’s design? Michel Younès examines the three traditional ̶...
publication
Intercultural Theology
- Jean Patrick Nkolo Fanga
Because every theology is culturally situated, Christian theology is inevitably multicultural. Yet one step remains to be taken: to become intercultural. Crossing languages, contexts, origins, ages...
article
Bells and Muezzin in Harmony: Dialogue with Islam as a Spiritual Responsibility
- Timo Güzelmansur
Article by Timo Güzelmansur published under the title Glocken und Muezzin im Einklang. Der Dialog mit dem Islam als geistliche Verantwortung in Herder Korrespondenz (special issue devoted to Pope L...