Scholar of extra-ordinary calibre. Frithjof Schuon was born in a Catholic family in Basel, Switzerland. As a young man, he was a reader of the French metaphysician René Guènon (1886-1951) and through him knew about the Perennial Philosophy and Islam. While still in his twenties, Schuon travelled to Mostaghanem in order to meet the Shaykh Ahmed al-Alawi (d. 1933) and was initiated in Sufism by him. After his return to Europe, he started to write his 25 books on philosophy of religion and metaphysics, starting with his celebrated "The Transcendent Unity of Religions" (1948). His most important books are "Understanding Islam", "Forme and Substance in the Religions", "Esoterism as a principle and as way" and "Logic and Transcendance". Together with René Guénon he is the main spokesman of the "perennialist", or "traditionalist", school. As a master for the "transcendent unity of traditional religions", Schuon has disciples both in Islam and in Christianity. Frithjof Schuon is also known as Shaykh Issa Nureddin Ahmad al-Shadilli al-Darqawi al-Alawi al-Maryamiah.