Massignon prized the Muslim mystic who sought Christian-style crucifixion against Islam

Evidence

The exemplary figure for Massignon was al-Hallaj, who sought liberation for himself outside the orthodox community by asking for, and finally getting, the very crucifixion refused by Islam as a whole; Mohammed, according to Massignon, had deliberately rejected the opportunity offered him to bridge the gap separating him from God. Al-Hallaj’s achievement was therefore to have achieved a mystical union with God against the grain of Islam. — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 688

Categorization

• XREF: A concrete instance of Orientalism projecting Christian categories (crucifixion, redemption) onto Islam — a core representational mechanism.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 688