Shriners, Freemasons, and Islam Connection

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http://part2.isawthelightministries.com/shriners.html

Freemasonry, The Shriners and Their Islamic Assyrian Origin

The Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, abbreviated A.A.O.N.M.S., commonly known as "the Shriners" is a islamic organization founded in Mecca, Saudi Arabia in 644 A.D. by the family of Muhammad. 

It is an organization of Freemasonry. 

Freemasonry originates from ancient Assyria. Members of the Shriners are called "Mohammedans". 

A "Shrine" is a tomb of a muslim that is worshipped by other muslims. Perhaps because he was a martyr for the islamic cause. 

The Alawi sect of Bashar Assad does not believe in mosques. Therefore they lift up the shrines as being the most holy buildings of islam. 

A Shriner is therefore a person who honors the holy buildings of Assad's Alawi sect of islam. 

The organization is best-known for the Shriners Hospitals for Children they administer & the red fezzes that members wear. 

There are at least 350,000 members from 191 islamic temples (charters) in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Republic of Panama & Europe. 

To join the Shiners or any other organization of Freemasonry, you must swear alliance to Allah (the islamic moon god) & you must do so on the Koran which says that Christians & Jews must be killed. 

The Shiners symbols on their cars/trucks include the islamic sword in the shape of a crescent moon with a star which are very clearly islamic symbols. 

Another symbol on their vehicles is the "Eastern Star" which is the symbol of the satanic goat god called by different names such as "Pan, Yah, Baphomet, Allah, Mendez". 

You can very clearly see that it's the same symbol of a 2 horned star worn by admitted satanists. 

The Shriners & other Freemasons believe in ALL religions as a path to Allah. 

So although they may at first embrace anyone of any religion, they will always ultimately point that person to Allah & to islam. 

They place a great deal of importance on secret knowledge which they refuse to share with the little people of the world. 

They believe that only "the better", more intelligent people have a right to the truth. 

There are a LOT of Baptist preachers who are Freemasons & Shriners. 

Many members do not reveal that they are secretly Freemasons. 

They swear allegiance to help all other Freemasons over and above non-members even if it's not the right thing to do. 

For example, a judge in a courtroom is required to give the favor in the verdict to the fellow Freemason even if that Freemason has committed a crime. 

The only exception is in a murder trial, but I believe that many Freemasons would give that special favor even in that case.

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Shriners are taught that Lucifer is the true God and is not evil. They are therefore Luciferians, a class of satanist. Their symbols are the same as the Church of Satan. 

The first 94 Pages of the Freemason bible are quotes from Albert Pike. All Masons are encouraged to read the writings of Albert Pike. He was a Luciferian & said "Lucifer is the True god of Good and Light".

Candidates for induction into the Shriners are greeted by a High Priest, who says:
“By the existence of Allah and the creed of Mohammed; by the legendary sanctity of our Tabernacle at Mecca, we greet you.” 

The inductees then swear on the Bible and the Koran, in the name of Mohammed, and invoke Masonry's usual gruesome penalties upon themselves:
“I do hereby, upon this Bible, and on the mysterious legend of the Koran, and its dedication to the Mohammedan faith, promise and swear and vow … that I will never reveal any secret part or portion whatsoever of the ceremonies … and now upon this sacred book, by the sincerity of a Moslem's oath I here register this irrevocable vow … in willful violation whereof may I incur the fearful penalty of having my eyeballs pierced to the center with a three-edged blade, my feet flayed and I be forced to walk the hot sands upon the sterile shores of the Red Sea until the flaming sun shall strike me with livid plague, and may Allah, the god of Arab, Moslem and Mohammedan, the god of our fathers, support me to the entire fulfillment of the same. Amen. Amen. Amen."

The following are quotations from a book: A.-.A.-.O.-.N.-.M.-.S.- THE PARENT TEMPLE. THE FOUNDERS OF THE SHRINE IN AMERICA, AND FIRST OFFICIALS OF THE ORDER. MECCA TEMPLE.INC IE ARABIC ORDER OF THE NOBLES OF THE MYSTIC SHRINE ITS HISTORY AND PLEASURES TOGETHER WITH THE Origin and History of the Order New York, N". Y. : PRESS OF ANDREW H. KELLOGG 1894 SECOND COPY, COPYRIGHT, 1894, BY ANDREW H. KELLOGG. https://archive.org/stream/meccatempleancie00anci/meccatempleancie00anci_djvu.txt "The Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine was instituted by the Mohammedan Kalif Alee (whose name be praised!), the cousin-german and son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammed (God favor and preserve him !), in the year of the Hegira 25 (a. d. 644), at Mecca, in Arabia, as an Inquisition, or Vigilance Committee, to dispense justice and execute punishment upon criminals who escaped their just deserts through the tardiness of the courts, and also to promote religious toleration among cultured men of all nations. The original intention was to form a band of men of sterling worth, who would, without fear or favor, upon a valid accusation, try, judge, and execute, if need be, within the hour, having taken precautions as to secrecy and security. The "Nobles " perfected their organization, and did such prompt and efficient work that they excited alarm and even consternation in the hearts of the evil doers in all countries under the Star and Crescent. The Order is yet one of the most highly favored among the many secret societies which abound in Oriental countries, and gathers around its shrines a select few of the best educated and cultured classes. Their ostensible object is to increase the faith and fidelity of all true believers in Allah (whose name be exalted!). The secret and real purpose can only be made known to those who have encircled the Mystic Shrine according to the instructions in "The Book of the Constitution and the Regulations of the Imperial Council." In the year A.D. 804, during a warlike expedition against the Byzantine emperor Nikephorus, the most famous Arabian Kalif, Haroon al-Rasheed, deputed a renowned scholar, Abd el-Kader el-Bagdadee, to proceed to Aleppo, Syria, and found a college there for the propagation of the religion of the Prophet Mohammed (God favor and preserve him!). The work and college arose, and the Order of Nobles was revived there as a part of the means of civilization. Nearly three centuries after the death of the great Kalif and patron of learning, the Order of Nobles was revived at Bagdad by Abd el-Kader Ghilanee, a noted Persian, an eminent doctor of the Soofi sect, A. H. 555 (A.D. 1160). The famous Arab known as Bektash, from a peculiar high white hat or cap which he made from a sleeve of his gown, the founder of the sect named in his honor, was an imam in the army of the Sultan Amurath I., the first Mohammedan who led an army into Europe, a. d. 1360 (in the year of the Hegira, 761). This Sultan was the founder of the military order of the Janizaries (so called because they were freed captives who were adopted into the faith and the army), although his father, Orkhan, began the work. Bektash adopted a white robe and cap, and instituted the ceremony of kissing the sleeve. The Bektash Dervishes are numbered by many hundred thousands, and they have several branches or offshoots, which are named after the founder of each. Among the most noted are those which have their headquarters in Cairo, in Egypt; Damascus and Jerusalem, in Palestine; Smyrna and Broosa, in Asia Minor; Constantinople and Adrianople, in Turkey in Europe; Teheran and Shiraz, in Persia; Benares and many other cities in India; Tangier, in Morocco; Oran, in Algeria, and at Mecca, in Arabia, at which latter city all branches and sects of Dervishes are represented at the annual meeting, which is held during the month of pilgrimage. The Bektasheeyeh's representative at Mecca is a Noble of the Mystic Shrine, is the chief officer of the Alee Temple of Nobles, and in 1877 was the Chief of the Order in Arabia. The Chief must reside either at Mecca or Medinah, and in either case must be present in person or by deputy at Mecca during the month of pilgrimage. The Egyptian Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine has been independent of the Arabian, excepting the yearly presence of the Deputy in Mecca, since the expedition of Ibraheem Pasha, the son of Mohammed Alee, the great Pasha of Egypt in 1818, when the Wahabees were conquered. The "Wahabees were a fanatical sect who threatened to override all other power in Arabia. Since Ibraheem's conquest they have continued only as a religious sect, without direct interference with the government. They are haters and persecutors of all other sects, and are especially bitter against all dervishes, whom they denounce as heretics and the very essence ot heresy and abomination. In this conduct they violate a strict and oft-repeated saying of the Prophet Mohammed (God favor and protect him!), which is, " He who casts on a believer the slur of infidelity is himself an infidel." All Mohammedans respect every one who has made a pilgrimage to Mecca, and who will repeat the formula of the creed, "There is no Deity but Allah," without reference to what his private belief may be, for they have a maxim, " The interior belongs to God alone." The Nobles of the Mystic Shrine are eminent for their broad and Catholic toleration. Among the modern promoters of the principles of the Order in Europe, one of the most noted was Herr Adam Weishaupt, a Rosicrucian (Rosy Cross Mystic), and professor of law in the University of Ingolstadt, in Bavaria, who revived the Order in that city on May i, 1776. Its members exercised a profound influence before and during the French Revolution, when they were known as the Illuminati, and they professed to be teachers of philosophy ; to ray forth from their secret society the light of science over all mankind without fear or favor ; to diffuse the purest principles of virtue ; in short, restating the teachings of Aristotle, Pythagoras, Plato, Confucius, and other philosophers. From the central society at Ingolstadt branches spread out through all Europe. The Ritual now in use is a translation from the original Arabic, found preserved in the archives of the Order at Aleppo, Syria, whence it was brought, in 1860, to London, England, by Rizk Allah Hassoon Effendee, who was the author of several important works in Arabic, one of which was a metrical version of the Book of Job. His "History of Islam" offended the Turkish government because of its humanitarian principles, and he was forced to leave his native country. He was a ripe scholar in Arabic poetry and the general literature of the age, and his improvements in the diction of certain parts of the ritual of the Shrine are of great beauty and value. The crescent has been a favorite religious emblem in all ages in the Orient, and also a political ensign in some countries, such as in modern Turkey and Persia. The ancient Greeks used the crescent as an emblem of the universal Mother of all living things, the Virgin Mother of all souls, who was known as Diana, Artemis, Phoebe, Cynthia, and other names, varying with the character of her attributes in different localities. The chief seat of the Diana cult and worship was at Ephesus, and the great temple built in her honor at that city was the pride and glory of the Greeks. On June 6, 1876, "The Imperial Council for North America" was formed, and the first officers were elected, as in Arabia, for the term of three years. Walter M. Fleming became Imperial Potentate, and W. S. Paterson, Imperial Recorder. (For particulars see "The Constitution of the Imperial Council " and the Annual Proceedings.) The prerequisite for membership in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America jsthe32° A.-. A.'. S. \ Rite (18 in England), or a Knight Templar, in good standing. The generous proposition to make the Order of Nobles an organization for the exercise of charity, the improvement of the mind, and an ally of the Fraternity of Freemasonry in the United States, was primarily adopted by the Imperial Council. Subordinate Temples have been chartered in nearly every State of the Union, by dispensation or in other constitutional manner, under the authority of the Imperial Council." END QUOTATION FROM BOOK

Back in the 7th century, there was a Christian city in Morocco named Fez. The Muhammedans attacked it, and after a lengthy siege, captured the city. The invaders gathered the 20,000-50,000 Christian defenders into the city square, made them dig a ditch, and put them to the sword there. When the blood of those Christian martyrs filled the ditch, the Muslims dipped their conical white hats in the blood. The Muslims then named their red hats (which includes the Islamic star & crescent emblem), the Red Fez, & that same Red Fez is worn by Shriners today.

The first meeting of Mecca Shriners, the first temple (chapter) established in the United States, was held September 26, 1872. However the Shriners actually stated in 644 A.D. in Mecca, Saudi Arabic. But their parent organization of Freemasonry actually started even thousands of years before that by Nimrod, Asshur and their family, the founders of ancient Assyria and the Towel of Babel which was in Syria. According to the Encyclopedia of Freemasonry: The legend of the Craft in the Old Constitutions refers to Nimrod as one of the founders of Masonry. Thus in the York MS., No. 1, we read: "At ye making of ye toure of Babell there was a Masonrie first much esteemed of, and the King of Babilon yt called Nimrod was a Mason himself and loved well Masons." In some forms of Freemasonry, new perspective members are required to take the "Oath of Nimrod". (Source: The Spring 2006 issue of Freemasonry Today). 

The following is a quote from the Masonic website 

http://www.lafayettemason123.org/pages/education.htm :
"The universal sentiment of the Freemasons of the present day is to confer upon Solomon, the King of Israel, the honor of being their first Grand Master. But the legend of the Craft had long before, though there was a tradition of the Temple in existence, given, at least by suggestion, that title to Nimrod, the King of Babylonia and Assyria. It had credited the first organization of the fraternity of craftsmen to him, in saying that he gave a charge to the workmen whom he sent to assist the King of Nineveh in building his cities. 

That is to say, he framed for them a Constitution, and, in the words of the legend, this was the first time that ever Masons had any charge of his science. It was the first time that the Craft was organized into a fraternity working under a Constitution of body of laws. As Nimrod was the autocratic maker of these laws, it necessarily resulted that their first legislator, creating laws with his unlimited and absolute governing power, was also their first Grand Master." END QUOTE.

The Muslim immigrants to this country are now joining the Masonic order by the droves, seeing the order as an extension of the Allah in whom they already believe. Since the Masonic oath demands that a member place his loyalty to a fellow Mason above his loyalty to anything else, so-called Masonic "Christians" are the sworn allies of the murderers of our brethren worldwide -- past, present and future. 

Source: http://www.demonbuster.com/shriner.html

http://www.theforbiddenknowledge.com/hardtruth/symbols3_index.htm

http://prophetofdoom.net/Islamic_Clubs_De_Fez.Islam

Freemasonry Symbols: 
These are just a very few of their symbols. There are many more and some of them are very demonic & is easily discerned as demonic at first glance but I'm having trouble finding a copy on the internet of what I see on their local cars. It's a emblem of a sword & a female demon. It's very clearly a demon. If I ever find a copy of it on the internet, I will post it.

SPHINX: Ancient Egyptian & Babylonian guardian of sacred places, an idol with human head and a lion's body. The Greek sphinx would devour travelers who failed to answer her riddle. According to A New Encyclopedia of Freemasonry (by Arthur Waite, xii) the masonic sphinx "is the guardian of the Mysteries and is the Mysteries summarized in a symbol. Their secret is the answer to her question. The initiate must know it or lose the life of the Mysteries. If he can and does answer, the Sphinx dies for him, because in his respect the Mysteries have given up their meaning." (An occult, counterfeit view of redemption)

The Letter "G":
Ex-33 degree Mason Jim Shaw says; "The Blue Lodge Mason is taught that the "G" in the basic Masonic symbol represents God. Later on, he is told that it represents "deity". Later still, he is told that it represents "geometry". In reality, this letter represents the "generative principle," the Sun-god and, thus, the worshipped phallus, the male "generative principle..." In its position (along with the square and compass) on the east wall over the chair (throne) of the Worshipful Master, it is the representation of the Sun, thus of the Sun-god, Osiris. Its earthly meaning, then, is of the sacred phallus; its cosmic meaning is of the Sun, worshipped since antiquity by pagans while facing the East. 

Reference, book: The Deadly Deception", page 144.

The Fatal demonic two horned star, Pentagram

The same demonic star as used by the "Church of Satan"

A Freemason/Shriners Symbol of Islamic Jihad.

Objection: "But the Shriners do a lot of good. They have the children's hospitals."

Answer: Even the devil can do good things. Wicked, lost people can give you a car ride, a job, money, a relationship, a smile or a laugh. The devil CAN smile at you and give you things. Wicked people can do good things. It is a ploy to get you acceptable and trust. 2 Cor.11:14 says "And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light".

The fact is that a very large portion of the money collected via fundraising for the children's hospitals go toward OTHER Shriner interest such as islamic temples, cars, buildings, wages, advertisement, etc.

 In June, 1986, a daily newspaper in Florida, the Orlando Sentinel reported that less than 2% of the circus money raised actually went to the hospitals and that, by 1982, the Shriners had become the richest charity in America, amassing $1.2 billion in assets. 

Of the $17.5 million raised in 1984, $17.3 million went into their own pockets while only $182,051 went to support the hospitals. 

As of 9-30-04, Forbes reports that the Shriners had assets of $8.62 billion. Of the $948 mil. raised, the Shriners retained $412 mil with only a slight more than half, $505 mil. going to charitable services! 

Top Shriner, Ralph Semb, was paid $406,659 in salaries. 

As of 12-31-06, Forbes magazine reports the Shriners have amassed a $9.54 billion empire retaining $636 million of the money raised that same year. 

Top Shriner, James Full, collected a healthy $1,207,369 in salaries this same year.

The fact is that the devil has always attacked the children first. It's in the bible that the wicked pagan people sacrificed their own children. We see how that the devil uses several pagan holidays such as Halloween to target children via candy & gifts. Children are vulnerable & easy targets. Who knows what kind of spiritual curses & in some cases perhaps molestation that could have occurred in these hospitals? There ARE other children hospitals that are NOT run by the islamic Freemasons. If my child was in desperate need of medical attention, knowing what I know now, there is absolutely no way that I would allow my child to come under their demonic "care". The safety of our soul is the most important thing.

http://www.hickoryhammockbaptist.org/quick%20answers/shrineislam.html

An "Ask the Preacher" article as it has appeared in the Santa Rosa Press Gazette (Milton, Florida). The author is Pastor Carl Gallups of Hickory Hammock Baptist Church in Milton, Florida. Click HERE to go to the Main Index page of Hickory Hammock Baptist Church to read many more such articles. This article is copyrighted by Carl Gallups and may be reproduced provided that copyright notice is given.

Dear Pastor Gallups, " I have heard you make a connection between the Muslim faith and the order of Freemasonry. Can you explain that here for me?" G.H. Milton 

Dear G..H., After a man passes through the "Blue Lodge" or the first 3 degrees of Masonry and has achieved the status of Master Mason he can petition to become a member of the Shrine or the "Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine." Until 2000, one had to complete the Scottish Rite or York Rite degrees of Masonry to be eligible for Shrine membership, but now any Master Mason can join. 

One of the most distinguishing marks of a Shriner is the Fez hat that he wears. So named after the city of Fez, Morocco...which by the way has been the site of numerous documented massacres of both Jews and Christians by various Muslim conquerors. The Fez is a distinctly Muslim symbol and, at least indirectly, celebrates the Muslim conquest of the area.

The emblem found on the fez is that of Muslim origin. It contains the Arabic pagan god symbols of the Crescent Moon and Star found on every flag of Islam. The symbols are hung under a "scimitar" or an Arabic sword of war. This is the sword that has killed the "infidels" down through the ages under Muslim conquest.

It is often reported on many Christian websites that the color red represents the blood of Christians and Jews spilled by the Muslim conquerors. I can find no hard facts to back this claim, but it is a fact that the FEZ is a Muslim symbol, invented in Fez, Morocco - the undisputed site of many Muslim atrocities leveled against Christians and Jews.

The Shriner meets in TEMPLE - most of which have distinctly Arabic names. They are often built to resemble a Mosque. He wears his fez with the Muslim symbols on it. He takes his oaths and says his prayers in the name of ALLAH. Many of his secret passwords and code phrases are in Arabic, which he is required to memorize in order to be in the "order". 

I could go on and on but I think you see the obvious connection. If you have a Shriner friend or relative he will probably deny what I am saying. However, I can refer you to several men in this community who have come out of Masonry and the Shriners and who have committed their life to Jesus Christ as Lord who can verify all that I have written here. This is why I have long contended that a person cannot be both a Mason and a Christian. Please read Joshua 24:14-15 

READERS OF THIS ARTICLE - A short time after the above letter appeared in the Newspaper, Mr. Gregory Smith of the Hadji Shrine of Pensacola, paid for and took out a quarter page space to refute all that I had said above. Below is my response to his rebutal. 

Dear Readers, 

In order to dispel the inaccuracies of Mr. Gregory Smith's (General Counsel of Hadji Shrine Temple) response to one of my recent "Ask the Preacher" articles, I find it necessary to write this. If you read that article, you will remember that I "predicted" such a response from the Shrine. But, I also assured my readers that I did indeed know what I was speaking of. 

Mr. Smith states that "he (Pastor Gallups) has little or no knowledge of Freemasonry�he knows nothing about�the fundamental teachings of the Christian faith." 

My well-read library of Freemasonry's own materials is extensive. I have spoken, preached, written and conducted conferences on this topic for many years around the United States and Canada. My writings and tapes on this subject have been distributed around the country. I was invited by the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention some years back to come and speak to this issue to the Board of Directors. 

I have often found that I have more knowledge of this subject than most Masons themselves. Particularly regarding the theological aspects and implications of Freemasonry. It is not that I am so wise, it is simply that I have read and studied THEIR material profusely. Many Masons have not. As for me knowing "nothing" about the Christian faith, well, the ridiculousness of that statement requires no comment. 

Mr. Smith says that the ruling principle of Freemasonry is " The brotherhood of man, under the Fatherhood of God." My point precisely! If Mr. Smith truly knew his Bible, he would also know that the New Testament is VERY clear that God is the Creator of all but the "Father" of those ALONE who are born again through His Son, Jesus Christ. Men are Creations of God but are "brothers" ONLY in Jesus Christ. So�Biblically speaking, the very "ruling principle" of Freemasonry is totally UNBIBLICAL. 

Mr. Smith also erroneously would have his readers believe that Freemasonry requires members to believe in the "one everlasting and true God." Not so. Page 5, paragraph 4, of the Florida Masonic Monitor under Qualifications of Candidates, states, "a Mason must be a man believing in the existence of a Supreme Being". 

Believing in the existence of "A Supreme Being" is a far cry from believing in THE ONE EVERLASTING AND TRUE GOD. I have always found it hypocritical of the Masonic Order that they require definitive religious beliefs in order to join, yet when they are questioned on the accuracy of their theology they proclaim, "we are not a religious organization." 

Mr. Smith's observation that Baptist Hospital has some professional association with the Scottish Rite, I suppose, was an attempt to imply that Baptists support Freemasonry. They do NOT. The Southern Baptist Convention has published much literature condemning the Order of Freemasonry and its affiliate organizations as "universalist" and "heretical". 

Baptist Hospital was incorporated in 1951. Some wonderful people from the First Baptist Church of Pensacola conceived it in the 1930's. Thus, it derives its name from this history. Since its opening in 1951 it has not been affiliated with ANY Baptist denomination. 

As to Mr. Smith's denial that the wearing of Fez has no connection to the city of Fez Morocco. He was either being purposely deceitful to his readers or he simply does not know the truth. There are scores of SHRINER websites that attest to the fact that the Fez is DIRECTLY connected to the city of FEZ, Morocco. 

Mr. Smith quoted John 7:24 "Stop judging by mere appearances and make a right judgment." He has taken the passage grossly out of context. Ironically the words contained in the passage are the very words of Jesus himself in regards to those who REJECTED him as the only Messiah and Savior! The very thing that Freemasonry does. . I have also read Ephesians 5:8-14. So� now that the readers know the TRUTH� I will let THEM make a "right judgment. 

Islam-Inspired Masonic Cult That Inlufenced US for years: The Shriner

Here is the strange story of the Shriners organization, members of which include very significant people ranging from ex-US presidents to celebrities for 145 years.

In 1870, William Florence, a world-renowned actor, while on tour in Marseille, was invited to a party given by an Arabian diplomat.

https://onedio.co/content/the-islam-inspired-cult-that-inlufenced-us-for-years-shriners-13754

The entertainment was something in the nature of an elaborately staged musical comedy. At its conclusion, the guests became members of a secret society. Florence took copious notes and drawings at his initial viewing and on two other occasions, once in Algiers and once in Cairo. When he returned to New York in 1870, he showed his material to Fleming.

Fleming took the ideas supplied by Florence and converted them into what would become the "Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (A.A.O.N.M.S.)." Fleming created the ritual, emblem, and costumes.

The group adopted a Middle Eastern theme and soon established Temples. The first Temple established was the Mecca Temple established at the New York City Masonic Hall.

In 1875, there were only 43 Shriners in the organization. Fleming was elected the first Imperial Potentate. After some other reworking, in 1900, there were 55,000 members and 82 Temples.

Mecca Temple, New York

Despite its Orientalist theme, the Shriners is a men's fraternity, not connected to either Arab culture or Islam. To further minimize confusion with religion, the use of the words "temple" and "mosque" to describe Shriners' buildings has been replaced by "Shrine Center," although some individual local chapters are still called Temples.

Shriners often participate in local parades, an "Oriental Band" dressed in cartoonish versions of Middle Eastern dress; pipe bands, drummers, motorcycle units, Drum and Bugle Corps, and even traditional brass bands.

They even gathered in the White House many times.

Director Harold Clayton Lloyd and former FBI Director (he was on duty for 48 years) Edgar Hoover.

On May 9, 1921, two months after taking office, Harding reviewed a Shriner’s parade in Washington DC.

In August of that same year, he officiated at the laying of the cornerstone for the new Masonic Temple in Birmingham, Alabama.

US Presidents Truman, Franklin Roosevelt, Gerald Ford, and Chiefs of Defense such as Omar Bradley, Douglas MacArthur were known to be affiliated with the Shriners.

By 1938 there were about 340,000 members in the United States. That year Life published photographs of its rites for the first time. It described the Shriners as "among secret lodges the No. 1 in prestige, wealth, and show," and stated that "in the typical city, especially in the Middle West, the Shriners will include most of the prominent citizens."

Buzz Aldrin, Clark Gable, John Wayne, Nat King Cole, Irving Berlin, and Johnny Cash were some of its celebrity members.

While there are plenty of activities for Shriners and their wives, there are two organizations tied to the Shrine that are for women only: The Ladies' Oriental Shrine and the Daughters of the Nile.

They both support the Shriners Hospitals and promote sociability, and membership in either organization is open to any woman 18 years of age and older who is related to a Shriner or Master Mason by birth, marriage, or adoption.

Architecturally notable Shriners Temples include the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, the former Mecca Temple, now called New York City Center, Newark Symphony Hall, the Landmark Theater (formerly The Mosque) in Richmond, Virginia, the Tripoli Shrine Temple in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the Helena Civic Center in Montana (formerly the Algeria Shrine Temple).

The Academy Awards were held at the Shrine Auditorium in LA, from 1947 to 1948 and eight times between 1988 and 2001. This Shrine also hosted several Grammy ceremonies until 2000 when the Grammys moved to the nearby Staples Center.

Especially after 9/11, Shriners, that had already been distancing from Islamic symbols, rapidly abandoned Islam influenced elements.

The rise of anti-Islam movements in the US and the accusations of proselytizing Islam also contributed to this.

But Shriners still salute each other in Arabic-Islamic way and use the word "Allah" in their ceremonies.

Medinah Country Club is a private country club in Medinah, Illinois, where modern day Shriners, who are mostly middle class men gather for fun, charity, and networking.

The biggest lake in the club is called Lake Kadijah.

The Shriner's charitable arm is the Shriners Hospitals for Children, a network of twenty-two hospitals in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Kaynak

Kaynak

See full article:: https://onedio.com/haber/islam-dan-etkil...

On Freemasons & Sufis

Posted by Dorje Norbu on April 24, 2015 at 11:23pm

The Crescent and The Compass: Islam, Freemasonry, Esotericism, and Revolution in the Modern Age is a brief but engrossing history of the previously-unexplored relationship between Islam, often of a politically radical stripe after Western colonization, and Freemasonry, showing how the founding fathers of political Islam utilized the teachings of Freemasonry to wage their struggles. However it also exposes a basis for mutual understanding and spiritual growth.

While in many ways esotericism of the Islamic or Freemasonic variety can act as force for subversion, it begs the question of what is being subverted? These forms of spirituality have influenced a wide array of radical movements, political Islam, Black Nationalism, and even the Templar-inspired anti-Islamic violence of the Freemason Anders Behring Breivik, yet they have also rallied people like René Guénon and Prince Charles, who seek a world governed by spiritual values rather than cold rationality and modern materialism, who stress the universal nature of the Divine in all the faiths of the world.

From Sufism to Shriners

Millar begins with a short introduction to the more esoterically inclined variants of Islam, namely Shi’a Islam and Sufism, the former of which sees ‘Ali, Muhammed’s son-in-law and cousin, as the Imam, who leads believers to the inner truth of Islam, batin. The importance of introducing Islamic gnosticism is, besides familiarizing the reader with many, generally little-known, details, it also gives the reader a foundation for understanding Islamic interpretation and, later on, why various authors and activists have seen a similarity between Freemasonry and Islamic esotericism.

One concept shared between Sufism and Freemasonry is that of fraternity, a shared bond of brotherhood between the disciples of a particular school. Like Freemasonry, the Sufi Orders emulated craft guilds in their divisions between Grand Masters, Master Craftsmen, Companions, and Apprentices. Islamic Scholar Sayyed Hossein Nasr stated that the,Islamic guilds “remained closely wed to Sufism and the spiritual practices of the Islamic religion.” One could point out that there is a certain religious meaning to craftsmanship found throughout many of the world’s cultures, which in the West later found expression in Freemasonry.

Black Shriners.

Freemasonry arose several centuries after the fall of Constantinople and the subsequent first infusions of “orientalist” thought into Europe. The generally accepted version of its origins comes from the stonemasons guilds of England. The first Freemasonic fraternity was formed in 1717 with a general non-denominational Christian spiritual orientation. In rituals, a Bible was placed on the lodge altar, and like the architecture of churches, the Lodge room was laid out in an east to west plan.

Later on pseudo-Islamic trappings were added to Freemasonry through the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, founded around 1870, commonly known as the Shriners. Their general focus tends to be charitable and fraternal, however their founding myth claims that the actor William J. Florence was a Bektashi Sufi initate, indeed the shrine’s nomenclature emulates the Arabic translations for the titles of “potentate” and “high priest and prophet.”

Probably Aleister Crowley’s lest-known work, The Scented Garden of Abdullah (left) and Aleister Crowley in Masonic regalia (right)

As Millar elucidates, more serious interest in Sufism came from the fringes of Freemasonry. Irregular Freemason Aleister Crowley wrote a Sufi inspired book of erotic verse The Scented Garden of Abdullah The Satirist of Shiraz, printed in both Persian and Roman script. Masonic scholar Kenneth MacKenzie organized a Sufi-inspired Order, whose degrees of initiation claimed an Arab origin — the final one being “submission,” the literal translation of the word Islam.

Freemasonry, Islam, and Radical Spirituality

In addition to Westerners taking an interest in the traditions of Islam, the native inhabitants of Western colonies began to take interest in the practices their colonizers imported, including Freemasonry. As Freemasonry liberalized, people saw it as a way transcending divisions of class, race, and culture. No matter where the lodge was, all members were brothers. In addition to high-minded concerns, practical diplomatic issues encouraged non-Europeans involved in or with the various colonial administrations to join. Habibollah Khan, the emir of Afghanistan, became a Freemason, as did Askeri-Khan, ambassador of the Persian Shah to France. However, as in the West, the secret nature of Freemason lodges also attracted radicals and revolutionaries.

One of the most notable Islamic figures initiated into Freemasonry, as Millar notes, was the Persian born Sayyid Jamal ad-Din al-Afghani. While he had a reputation as a freethinker, associating with teachers of many faiths, he wanted to see progress in Islamic society in order to throw off the rule of the colonial powers. Another voice for Islamic rights under colonialism and pan-Islamic thought was the founder of England’s first mosque, William Henry Quilliam, an English convert also deeply involved with various esoteric societies. As Millar demonstrates, besides being a regular Freemason, Quilliam was involved in the mystically-inclined fringe groups influenced by the Craft. He was initiated into a group called the “Masonic Royal Oriental Order of the Sat Bhai,” a Hindu influenced group allegedly founded by the Freemason Captain James Henry Lawrence Archer, and connected to John Yarker, who headed the Swedenborgian Rite of Phremasonry, influenced by Emmanuel Swedenborg’s esoteric interpretations of the Bible. Millar also demonstrates that Quilliam was created his own fringe Masonic Order, which, though little-known today, may have helped Islam to be accepted by the underground spiritual scenes of Britain and Australia.

Sayyid Jamal ad-Din al-Afghani (left) and Rene Guenon (right).

In France, René Guénon — who would later convert to Islam — founded the school of spiritual “Traditionalism.” Millar succinctly captures the essence of this school, “Tradition refers to the authentic revelations of Deity and way of life that was in accord with Divinity, cosmic laws, and so on, that preceded contemporary religions. According to the Traditionalist doctrine, knowledge (gnosis) of Divinity is acquired through stages of esoteric learning, which is, necessarily then, structured hierarchically, as is the case in initiatic organizations, whether Sufism, Hindu Tantra, Freemasonry, etc.”

Guénon was initiated into Freemasonry. However he soon soured on what he saw as their spiritual deficiencies, believing that it was an active force of subversion against legitimate religion, eventually writing for French anti-Masonic publications. Then, wearying of the French Catholic anti-Masonic circles, and developing an increasing interest in Islam via the writings Clarin de Rive on North African secret societies, he moved to Cairo and adopted Sufism, becoming an initiate of the Shadhilites. Guénon, in contrast to other Egyptian Muslims, believed that involvement in politics was antithetical to a spiritual life.

“Traditionalism”

His philosophy was universalist, stressing a unity of Tradition, and he maintained an interest in Hinduism as well. Indeed he found parallels to Islamic doctrine in the various world religions, stating that while the exoteric forms may vary, the esoteric meaning is the same.

Guénon’s Traditionalism inspired several notable disciples, including Titus Burckhardt, Frithjof Schuon, and Charles, Prince of Wales. Burckhardt, of German-Swiss ancestry, converted to Islam after studying in Morocco. After his conversion he wrote prolifically on Islamic thought for a Western audience. Frithjof Schuon, another Swiss convert, was initially drawn to Hinduism however a mystical experience drew him to Sufism. He wrote Guénon, hoping to get his advice on t he selection of a proper shaykh to begin studies with, however he was introduced to Shaykh Ahmad al-Alawi by sailors, and he took up residence in his mosque, yet his contact with al-Alawi was limited by the latter’s ill health. He was inspired a certain ecumenism in the Shaykh’s teachings, who impressed the French authorities with is emphasis of the similarities between Islam and Christianity.

Rene Guenon and Frithjof Schuon (left) and Schuon (right).

He was initiated into the Alawiyya Sufi Order, taking the name ‘Isa, meaning Jesus. He departed for Europe, with a certificate of authorization to spread Islam. While Schuon took this to mean that he had the right to start a branch of the Alawiyya Order, technically it only allowed him to act as a witness to conversion to Islam. He eventually broke with the Algerian branch of Alawiyya, and he failed to enforce standard Islamic discipline among his disciple’s, allowing them to drink alcohol and such. As he continued his order became progressively un-Islamic, to the displeasure of Guénon, eventually advocating a universalist esotericism. He finally moved to the United States, to become closer to the practitioners of Native American religions, which he regarded as primordial faith.

Perhaps the most famous disciple of Guénon is Charles, Prince of Wales. In 2010 he published a  book called Harmony: A New Way of Looking at Our World. This work held that the problems of the modern world resulted from our ignorance of sacred principles, embodied in religious art and architecture, such as cathedrals and mosques, in many ways echoing many of the criticisms made in Guénon’s The Crisis of the Modern World. His sympathy for Islam alarmed many nationalistic and neoconservative commentators at the time.

Like Guénon, Charles sees Islam as something closer to the primordial divine that has been lost by Western rationalism, industrialism, and progress.  As Millar observes in The Crescent and The Compass, he has stated that the “oneness and trusteeship of the vital sacramental and spiritual character of the world about us is surely something important we can re-learn from Islam.”

Anti-Freemasonry

While the Traditionalist School has, perhaps, emphasized as Islam as a key to universal understanding of the sacred in the West, Guénon was critical of Western modernity. While Millar deals with Islamic spirituality (especially of a more gnostic type), he does not shy away from the more troubled areas of the meeting of religion, spirituality, Freemasonry, and politics. As such, The Crescent and The Compass is not only the first book to uncover the many significant connections between Freemasonry and Islam, and Eastern and Western radical thought and spirituality, during the last two centuries, it is probably the only book to examine contemporary Islamist anti-Freemasonry.

Contemporary Islamists, Millar demonstrates, associate “Freemasonry” with Western corruption. For the most part, the anti-Masonic rhetoric of these fundamentalists is cribbed from the European anti-Masonic tradition going back to the French and American Revolutions, where Freemasons played a role in subverting the monarchies in those conflicts. Yet, besides producing a wealth of propaganda, in March of 2004, Jihadists attacked a Turkish Freemason’s Lodge, killing a waiter and injuring six.

Black Nationalism

Following the American revolution, there emerged a convergence between Freemasonry and racial politics that would eventually influence the direction of Black Nationalist Islam in America. In 1792, Prince Hall, the founder of Black Freemasonry spoke in favor of racial equality in a Freemasonic context, emphasizing African figures in the mythology of the Craft and appealing to its professed ideal of brotherhood. A truly radical message at a time where slavery was integral to the economy and barely beginning to be opposed in the northern states of the country.

Hall had been initiated into Freemasonry in 1775 as part of the traveling lodge attached to an Irish regiment in the British Army along with 14 other blacks, when the regiment left they were granted their own charter to form a Lodge. Eventually other Black lodges would arise, inspired by Hall, giving rise to what is now called Prince Hall Freemasonry. Prince Hall Freemasonry would influence the Black community greatly over the years, attracting its elites and opposing racial discrimination.

Some Black Freemasons such as John Edward Bruce and Arthur Alfonso Schomburg influenced Marcus Garvey’s The Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities’ League (UNIA-ACL), founded in 1914, with an American branch based in New York City emerging in 1917. UNIA-ACL advocated from Black self-improvement and self-sufficiency, much like the charters of the Prince Hall Lodges. The uniforms of the UNIA-ACL resembled ones worn by American Knights Templar Freemasonic order, and the titles of the officers were influenced by the nomenclature of Prince Hall Freemasonry as well.

Moorish Science gathering. Noble Drew Ali stands in the foreground.

Another Freemasonry-influenced Black nationalist thinker was Noble Drew Ali, who formulated the doctrine of “Moorish Science,” a mixture of Islamic, Freemasonic, Rosicrucian, and anti-colonial schools of thought. Noble Drew Ali, who was probably born as Timothy Drew in 1866, moved from the Southern United States to Newark, New Jersey and founded the Canaanite Temple of Moorish Science, which eventually spread throughout the country, garnering perhaps as many as 30,000 members. From the Shriners, Noble Drew Ali derived some of Moorish Science’s terminology, such as calling members “Noble” and referring to the “temple.” The aim of Moorish Science was to uplift the Blacks in America and throughout the world.

This unique syncretic religion influenced the founder of the Nation of Islam, W. D. Fard Muhammad. W. D. Fard Muhammad’s origins are quite mysterious and Millar suggests Pakistan, home of the esoteric Islamic Ahmadiyya sect, or Syria, where the Druze minority practices a religion influenced by Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Hellenistic philosophy, as possible birthplaces, due to the similarity between his doctrines and the doctrines of those faiths.

Prince Hall (left) and a Shriner fez (right)

In addition, Muhammad incorporated Theosophy into his religion and developed a racial doctrine of Black superiority. In Detroit in the 1930s, Muhammad began telling Blacks that their original religion was Islam and that slavery had stripped them of their true heritage. Among the followers he attracted were Freemasons and sensing the connection between the esoteric symbolism of Freemasonry and Islam, the Nation of Islam actively drew more members from the Freemason community. Among the Freemasons who joined the Nation of Islam was Elijah Muhammad, who mentored prominent civil right’s activist Malcolm X.

Source :http://peopleofshambhala.com/freemasonry-islam-revolution-a-review-of-the-crescent-and-the-compass/

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