Yahya Christian Bonaud (1957 – 26 August 2019),[1] also known as Yaḥyā ʿAlawī (or Yaḥyā Bonaud) was a French Islamologist, philosopher, writer, translator, commentator of the Qur'an in French, and a professor at the Jāmī Theological Center at Al-Mustafa International University in Iran.

[3] Influenced by the works of René Guénon, a French Sufi metaphysician, Bonaud converted to Islam in 1979.

Under the guidance of Amadou Hampâté Bâ (c. 1900/1901–1991), an African gnostic and spiritual leader of the Tijaniyyah, he re-converted to Shia Islam[7] and adopted the name Yahya Alawi (Arabic: يَحْيیٰ عَلَوِي, romanized: Yaḥyā ʿAlawī).

While writing his thesis, he spent seven years in Iran studying under the guidance of Sayyed Jalal-ed-Din Ashtiani.

He was making a visit to the African continent to address Muslims about the month of Muharram and the guiding principles of Husayn ibn Ali.