"...the Imagination (or love, or sympathy, or any other sentiment) induces knowledge, and knowledge of an 'object' which is proper to it..."
Henry Corbin (1903-1978) was a scholar, philosopher and theologian. He was a champion of the transformative power of the Imagination and of the transcendent reality of the individual in a world threatened by totalitarianisms of all kinds. One of the 20th century’s most prolific scholars of Islamic mysticism, Corbin was Professor of Islam & Islamic Philosophy at the Sorbonne in Paris and at the University of Teheran. He was a major figure at the Eranos Conferences in Switzerland. He introduced the concept of the mundus imaginalis into contemporary thought. His work has provided a foundation for archetypal psychology as developed by James Hillman and influenced countless poets and artists worldwide. But Corbin’s central project was to provide a framework for understanding the unity of the religions of the Book: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. His great work Alone with the Alone: Creative Imagination in the Sufism of Ibn ‘Arabi is a classic initiatory text of visionary spirituality that transcends the tragic divisions among the three great monotheisms. Corbin’s life was devoted to the struggle to free the religious imagination from fundamentalisms of every kind. His work marks a watershed in our understanding of the religions of the West and makes a profound contribution to the study of the place of the imagination in human life.

Search The Legacy of Henry Corbin: Over 800 Posts

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Christology Symposium

On Thursday, March 15, 2012, the University of Toronto and St. Michael’s College hosted

The Christology Symposium
Multiple Perspectives within Christianity and Islam

 – an academic forum featuring presentations on Jesus from multiple Christian and Muslim perspectives followed by a panel discussion. The presentations in the video below are as follows:

“Roman Catholic Christology” (at 5:50 in the video) – Greg Rupik (PhD Candidate, University of Toronto)
“Sunni Muslim Christology” (at 22:00) – Shabir Ally (PhD Candidate, University of Toronto)
“Evangelical Christology” (at 39:15) – Dr. Tony Costa (PhD)
“Shi‘a Isma‘ili Muslim Christology” (at 57:30) – Khalil Andani (Master of Theological Studies Candidate, Harvard University)



Andani's talk is of interest here as it discusses concepts Henry Corbin stressed, such as a Christology based on epiphany, the transcendence of the Divine Principle, the concept of the primordial or Divine Intellect, and the esoteric symbolism of the Cross. Corbin is quoted at the beginning:

“…the conditions of the dialogue between Christianity and Islam change completely as soon as the interlocutor represents not legalistic Islam but this spiritual Islam, whether it be that of Sufism or of Shi‘ite gnosis.”

Andani's talk is here:



More information on this talk is available at Ismailimail. Also see the following articles:
Khalil Andani, “They Killed Him Not”: The Crucifixion in Shi‘a Isma‘ili Islam
Khalil Andani, “The Common Word”: Reflections on Muslim-Christian Dialogue


Posted by Tom Cheetham at 12:00 AM

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