Freemasonry in the Mind of the Islamist

by A. Millar
March 23, 2009 at 6:30 am

http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/421/freemasonry-in-the-mind-of-the-islamist

At the center of contemporary Islamism is an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory, the roots of which lead back to Europe at least a century ago. The basic theme (i.e., that the Jews control, or are attempting to control, the world’s governments and media, and generally work to promote Zioism, Israel, etc.) is well known, and is often referenced in regard to the statements and actions of Hamas as well as other Islamist organizations. However, that the Jews are linked to the Freemasons (often regarded as a “secret society”) [i] in this conspiracy has gone largely unexplored by observers of Islamism, even if this connection has long been noted. In an article entitled ‘The New Islamic Fascism’ published in November 2001 The Jerusalem Post, for example, Neuberger Professor of Modern European and Jewish History at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Robert S. Wistrich, observed that:

 

“This Middle Eastern radicalism is a distinctly modern movement, though it also has indigenous Islamic roots. The conspiracy theory at its heart, which links plutocratic capitalism, international freemasonry, Zionism, and Marxist Communism, is almost identical with the mythical structure of Nazi anti-Semitism. For contemporary jihadists, a "Judaized" America and Israel, together with heretical, secular Muslim regimes are the godless spearhead of these dark occult forces that seek to destroy Islam and undermine the cultural identity of Muslim believers.” [ii]

 

The Islamist conception of Freemasonry, and its place in the Zionist conspiracy theory, deserves to be examined at this time when Islamism is becoming more emboldened in the West. One Islamist terrorist group has already attacked a Masonic Lodge in Turkey, and there are some significant signs that “Freemasonry” has become a larger part of the vocabulary of Islamism, particularly in Britain, in the last few years. Nevertheless, Islamists, we should note, rarely have any actual knowledge or understanding of Freemasonry, and the term is almost never used in its correct, historical sense. The purpose of this article is thus to elucidate what Islamists mean by this term, to demonstrate its importance to Islamism, and, lastly, to suggest what implications this has for the West, and the struggle against extremist Islamism.

 

We should state at the beginning, however, that, through the Islamist prism in essence, the Zionist-Masonic “conspiracy” is the narrative that explains the relationship of Israel (signified by the Jews of the conspiracy) to Western governments and agencies, especially those of the US, (signified by the Freemasons of the conspiracy).

 

Like all “conspiracies,” that of the Islamists provides an alternative history that can be invoked whenever a crisis occurs in the Islamists’ society or when the individual Islamist is confronted by data that contradict deeply held socio-political beliefs. It asserts that Muslims, especially in the Middle East, are victims of overwhelming, immoral, secretive, and even literally satanic, forces. Moral corruption, the defeat of a Muslim country’s army, etc., where the Jews or Israel cannot be easily blamed, is automatically framed as the work of Freemasons (portrayed as the invisible lackeys of the Jews). Moreover, the surreptitious nature of the Freemasons, in the Islamist’s conspiracy theory, brings the influence of the West into Muslim countries, and even into Muslim homes, for example via children’s television programs. Yet, conversely, in a certain sense, the Zionist-Masonic conspiracy theory also helps to extend the Islamists’ political-religion into the largely secular West, and, arguably, to characterize it as Dar al-Harb (‘House of War’). Notably, for example, the Hamas Charter directly attributes to Freemasons the spread of alcohol and immorality in non-Muslim countries.

 

Although its roots run further back, the Zionist-Masonic conspiracy theory was given concrete form as Protocols of the Elders of Zion, of which Nazi Germany’s propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels, once remarked, “I believe that the Protocols of the Elders of Zion are a forgery [however] I believe in the intrinsic but not the factual truth of the Protocols.” It is difficult for those of us who consider ourselves to be reasonable, and who believe in democracy, to understand the importance of mythology, or fantasy, to totalitarian regimes - or, perhaps more especially, to those striving to establish one. It would seem to us that mythology could have no part in politics. Yet, as Goebbels’ statement implies, mythology was an essential component to Nazism. The Protocols has circulated throughout the Middle East since the Second World War, and its mythology appears to be becoming more important to the spreading of Islamism in the West. As Steven Simon observed in Britain’s House of Commons, in 2002:

 

“The texts that are very influential among al-Qaeda types and recruits to the organization, texts that can be found on the Internet or in broadsheets or in bookstores in the Middle East, already postulate a world-wide infidel conspiracy against Islam. The United States may bear the brunt of responsibility, but it is seen as part of a larger challenge, consisting of, depending on what you read, the UN, the EU, NATO and the Freemasons for that matter. As odd as that sounds, they have a prominent role in much of this conspiracy thinking.” [iii]

 

It was inevitable that a mythology of such importance to Islamists in the Middle East would be re-exported to the West, where they have gained such a foothold in recent years and decades. Yet, being of Western origin, the Zionist-Masonic mythology is far more suited to Islamist propaganda here than elsewhere. Freemasonry, for example is outlawed in almost every Middle Eastern country, but is often regarded as a significant aspect of modern Western - and particularly American - history. And, pertinently, as Edward Rothstein remarked in the New York Times, the Jews of the Protocols, “sound as if they could confirm Al Qaeda or Islamist movements in their indictments against the West.”[i][iv]      

 

The mythology of the Protocols has, however, been expanded within the Islamist realm, with ‘Freemasonry’ often being used as a generic term for a whole host of organizations that are supposed to be secretly in league with, or working for, Zionists, Israel, etc. These supposedly Freemasonic organizations are nearly always secular in nature, often having some governmental, financial, military, or even scientific function. National governments and banks are most often cited, but there are others, some of which are striking for their banality.

 

Based loosely on the Protocols, the Islamic Jurisdictional College’s declaration of July 15, 1978, (and reprinted in the Saudi Gazette in 1995)[ii][v] has significantly influenced the Islamist’s concept of Freemasonry, and appears to be influencing it still. The declaration articulates its opposition to Freemasonry through ten points. Number seven reads, “It is a Jewish Organization in its roots. Its secret higher international administrative board are Jews and it promotes Zionist activities,” while the last point includes the suggestion that, “There is a clear relationship between Freemasonry, Judaism, and International Zionism. It has controlled the activities of high Arab Officials in the Palestinian Problem. It has limited their duties, obligations and activities for the benefit of the Judaism and International Zionism.” It is also suggested in this last point that the “ Lions, Rotary and others” are “hidden branches” of Freemasonry, that have “wicked principles.”

 

It is notable, then, that at the beginning of February 2009, that Atian Ali Mohammad Da'i, chairman of the People's Ulema Forum (FUU) of Indonesia, called on president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to ban the Rotary and Lions clubs. Mohammad Da'i told The Jakata Globe that, “They gather funds and give them to America and the Israeli Zionists.”[iii][vi] Again, though written more than two decades earlier, the Hamas Charter[iv][vii] (or Covenant) of 1988 makes the same assertions. Articles 17, 22, and 28 of the charter assert that the Freemasons are working for the Jews, while it is stated specifically in article 32 that, “their plan is embodied in The Protocols of the Elders of Zion”. Article 22 declares:

 

“They [the Jews] were behind the French Revolution, the Communist revolution and most of the revolutions… With their money they formed secret societies, such as Freemasons, Rotary Clubs, the Lions and others in different parts of the world for the purpose of sabotaging societies and achieving Zionist interests.”

 

Articles 17 and 28, however, portray the main purpose of Freemasonry, the Rotary and Lions clubs as degrading the mind of Muslims. Thus, article 28 says, “They aim at undermining societies, destroying values, corrupting consciences, deteriorating character and annihilating Islam. It is behind the drug trade and alcoholism in all its kinds so as to facilitate its control and expansion,” while article 17 cites “information campaigns, films, and the school curriculum” as the weapons for propagating the supposed Zionist-Masonic campaign.

 

However, significantly, while Freemasonry is cited in the Hamas charter, it states that, “Zionist organizations […] such as [the] Freemasons, Rotary Clubs, espionage groups and others […] operate in the absence of Islam.” That is to say, an essential element of Islamist mythology, is that Freemasonry is present and active only - or mainly - in non-Muslim countries. As such, it is easy to see why, as Islamism advances in the West, opposition to Freemasonry will become an increasingly important part of its propaganda. And it should be mentioned here, that Turkey does have a small though fairly significant Masonic presence, as well as a significant Islamist opposition to it.

 

The depth of the Islamist’s paranoia about Freemasonry, and their dedication to this conspiracy theory, would be difficult to overstate. One lesson on the “Zionist Movement” included in a Saudi Arabian schoolbook on Hadith and Islamic Culture for tenth grade boys, has been described as “[…] a curious blend of wild conspiracy theories about Masonic Lodges, Rotary Clubs, and Lions Clubs with anti-Semitic invective. It asserts that the Protocols of the Elders of Zion is an authentic document and teaches students that it reveals what Jews really believe.”[v][viii] 

 

The teaching of the Jewish-Masonic conspiracy theory to teenage boys should help us to understand why the Hamas charter regards the “school curriculum” as so important to Zionism, and, indeed, why the religious authorities of Middle Eastern countries have sort to limit the access of Muslim children to non-Islamic popular culture. A few months before the September 11 attacks, for example, the Research and Fatwa Administration in Dubai was reported to be considering following Saudi Arabia and Qatar in issuing a fatwa against the Japanese children’s cartoon Pokemon because, this administration believed, the cartoon’s characters displayed symbols on their bodies promoting the entirely implausible mix of Zionism, Freemasonry, Christianity, Darwinism, Shintoism, and gambling.[vi][ix] In March, Saudi Arabia’s senior cleric, Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah, had claimed that the characters’ symbols included, “crosses, sacred for Christians and triangles, significant for Freemasons,” as well as the Star of David.[vii][x]

 

Despite an essentially secular or political character in the Islamist’s Zionist-Masonic conspiracy theory, Freemasonry is often linked to the Dajjal (‘false messiah’ or ‘anti-Christ’) who, according to Islamic tradition, will supposedly appear before Yawm al-Qiyamah (‘judgment day’), and will claim to be God, thus seducing Muslims of weak faith. According to the Koran, the Dajjal has one eye, and Islamists today point to the eye in the triangle on the US dollar bill as supposed proof that the country or US government is under its control. A web search for ‘Dajjal’ and ‘Freemasonry’ together will bring up numerous websites dedicated to this mythology. Several videos - including a 50 part series - on this theme can also been seen on YouTube and Liveleak, and purchased from online Islamic shops. The supposed connection between Freemasonry and the Dajjal is also discussed in Islamist internet chat rooms and forums, and has even been talked about on Yahoo Answers, the latter of which is known for trivia.

 

One of the top sites to come up in a web search is antimasons.8m.com. This site calls Freemasonry the “dajjal-system” and states that it is “the most evil and most corrupt satanic, kaffir[viii][xi] force in history.” The website goes on to suggest that “every position” in the United Nations, EEC, and the British parliament is filled by a Freemason, and that Muslims should examine the stained glass windows and architecture of churches to see if it is being used as a Masonic Lodge. It mentions one Roman Catholic cathedral in England, which “has many Pyramids,” as an example, but also suggests that Greek architecture or symbols such as a snake also indicate that the building is a Masonic Lodge. 

 

A related website, missionislam.com, greets its visitors with an image of the pyramid and eye in the triangle of the US dollar bill, and inscription, “Novus Ordo Seclorum,” in a black background. Over the top of the image, in red font, are the words: “Freemasonry,” “Zionism” and “[New World Order].” Running below is a list of articles on such subjects as the Dajjal, the Gulf War, Zionism, and the “Free Mason Invasion,” the last of which gives the basic Islamist mythology, and incorrectly translates “Novus Ordo Seclorum” as “New Secret Order.” These sections are nevertheless listed with others, such as concerning the Muslim family, health and wellbeing, and a section for “Muslim Kids,” where visitors can download a coloring book to learn about Hadith, the bee in Islam, etc.

 

Internet posts concerning the nature of Freemasonry also appear on the internet forum of the British-based, and supposedly moderate, Muslim Public Affairs Committee (MPACUK), though not in relation to the Dajjal. One posting on the latter forum, for example, though blaming “[…] the dynastic families who own the Bank of England, the US Federal Reserve and associated cartels [as well as] the World Bank and IMF and most of the world's Intelligence agencies,” nevertheless sees Freemasonry as part of a “[…] vampire-like clique [that] directs the world.”[ix][xii] Another posting entitled ‘The King James or Masonic Bible!’ is a fusion of history and fantasy based partly on the writing of Freemason and occultist Manly P. Hall (1901-1990), though infused with Islamist notions. Unusually, the posting also has a racial slant, and is clearly meant to appeal to Blacks in the US. Thus, for example, it states that:

 

[…] Many Black so-called Christians don’t know that 80% of the Africans that were brought here by the [Free]Masons were Muslims.

 

They don’t know that […] King James was a [Free]Mason and that he took over the Slave Trade for the Queen Elizabeth I - as a fight to remove Islam out of the way so that they could rule in a NEW ORDER OF THE AGES (WHITE SUPREMACY).[x][xiii]

 

However, as unpalatable as it may be, the Zionist-Masonic conspiracy theory is not confined to internet sites, chat rooms, etc., in the West. Radical cleric and al-Qaeda sympathizer Abu Hamza - then resident in Britain - told The Independent newspaper[xi][xiv] only shortly after the September 11 attacks that these had been the work of Zionists and Freemasons. Far more significantly, in 2005 The Telegraph newspaper ran an article on Ahmad Thomson, an advisor to Tony Blair and a member of the Association of Muslim Lawyers, because of his then recent claims that a group of Jews and Freemasons had pressured the Prime Minister to go to war against Saddam Hussein, so that troops “including thousands of Jews” could be stationed in Saudi Arabia.

 

Thomson has also authored several books, including Dajjal: the Anti-Christ - a conspiracy theory about Jews and Freemasons, the cover of which depicts the eye in the triangle of the dollar bill - which is sold by high-profile book retailers such as Amazon.com, and numerous Islamic internet stores, including Ta-Ha publishers in the UK (which, notably, the Conservative Party’s little known Conservative Muslim Forum linked to until late 2008). Moreover, despite being an advisor to the British government, he had, in 1994, published a book that implied that the holocaust was a fiction.

 

According to The Telegraph report, a spokesperson for the British government acknowledged that ministers and officials consulted Thomson on the issues of importance to Muslims, but played down the connection, claiming that it sort a broad range of opinion, which it did not necessarily agree with.[xii][xv]

 

Though adapted to current events, the Zionist-Masonic conspiracy theory made its first uncritical appearance in mainstream British media recently. Yasmin Alibhai-Brown’s op-ed piece entitled ‘Those who seek justice do so in vain,’ written in response to the Gaza conflict of January 2009, and published in The Independent newspaper, inveighs against Israel, Western governments, injustice, money, and “freemasons.” And despite its neurotic tone and conspiratorial mindset, Brown’s article has also been reproduced on MPACUK’s website.[xiii][xvi] In regard to governments and Freemasons, Brown states:

 

[…] People of real of power or influence in the west or Israel, or Russia, now China and India, know they will never be dragged off to The Hague.

 

Corrupt individuals with the kind of money that makes western politicians salivate are always safe and clean. Accountability will not come knocking at their doors. The freemasons making torture equipment and arms thrive, protected in perpetuity by official secrecy.[xiv][xvii]

 

As the Zionist-Masonic conspiracy theory is used to spread Islamism in the Muslim communities of the West, so with the movement’s growth and development is there undoubtedly an increasing likelihood of terrorist attacks on Masonic Lodges, as well as government institutions, banks, churches, etc., believed to be Freemasonic.

 

In March 2004 Islamic militants attacked a Masonic Lodge in Istanbul, Turkey. However, it is not clear which “jurisdiction” this Lodge was a part of. There is at present a “regular” Masonic jurisdiction (called the “Free and Accepted Masons”) in Turkey, with about 12,000 members. A separate jurisdiction under the Grand Orient, with about 3,000 members, is also established in the country, and this, apparently, has a relationship with a Turkish women’s Grand Lodge.[xv][xviii] The Grand Orient, which is located mainly in France and Italy, adopted an anti-clerical - especially anti-Catholic - position fairly early on in its history, and, more recently, appears to have promoted atheism, in contradistinction to other Masonic jurisdictions, which requires members to believe in God, and, in some cases (e.g., in Sweden), to be specifically of the Christian faith.

 

In Turkey the association of Freemasonry with atheism is particularly acute, perhaps because of the presence of the Grand Orient. However, the country is home to charismatic anti-Masonic and anti-Zionist writer, Adnan Oktar (whose nom de plume is Harun Yahya), who claims that Freemasonry is derived from the ideology of Darwinism. Interviewed on Al-Jazeera,[xvi][xix] he suggested that Freemasons are trying to influence the Turkish government, and that he has been arrested - and temporarily placed in a mental institution - as a warning not to publish books on Freemasonry.

 

Nevertheless, Harun Yahya’s Global Freemasonry: The Masonic Philosophy Unveiled and Refuted is available free online.[xvii][xx] This work includes chapters on Freemasonry’s supposed links to ancient Egypt and the medieval Crusader order the Knights Templar, the Jewish mystical system of the Kabbalah, Humanism, “The Theory of Evolution Revisited,” and “The Masonic War on Religion,” the last of which concentrates to a large extent on the Grand Orient. The author draws on a fairly extensive list of popular Masonic books, as well as periodicals produced specifically for Freemasons, such as the Turkish Mimar Sinan. Although many of these books may lack proper scholarship, Oktar is nonetheless highly unusual in having made a fairly in-depth study of Freemasonry. Undoubtedly for this reason, Oktar has some influence on many Islamists’ conception of Freemasonry (I have seen two websites that claim to be based on his writing), though, as far as I can tell, he does not endorse terrorism.

 

It should be mentioned also that although professedly “anti-Zionist,” Oktar claims that he is opposed to anti-Semitism, which he regards as motivated by a Darwinian urge, rather than by Islam. He also warns Freemasonry’s opponents, in his Global Freemasonry, “not to adopt a blind anti-Masonic agenda, but to discern and show the invalidity of the perverse philosophy.” This, he believes, will mean that, “[…] the twentyfirst century will not be the century of ‘Global Freemasonry’ as the Masons had hoped, but the century of Islamic morality.”

 

According to The Telegraph, the two attackers of the Turkish Masonic Lodge entered its dining hall and sprayed it with bullets before detonating several explosives. The suicide bombing went wrong, however, injuring only six people and killing a waiter, with one of the bombers also dying in the attack. The second terrorist, Engin Vural, was seriously injured, but survived, and was put on trial on August 6.[xviii][xxi] According to Istanbul governor Muammer Guler, 18 suspects were later questioned, and that, at the time of his addressing a news conference about the attack, 10 had been formally charged. According to Guler the bombers had been trained in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and their network had planned further attacks on different kinds of targets.[xix][xxii]

 

Discussing the murder of a judge, and the wounding of four others, in a courtroom in Ankara by one Alparslan Arslan, Rusen Cakir stated that:

 

[…] another example that is very important and dangerous within the context of nonprofessional Islamist actors. This is the raid against the Masonic lodge in Istanbul the day before the bombing attack in Madrid in March 2004. One security guard and one attacker were killed, and another militant was injured in the attack. The two militants that executed the attack were copying al-Qaeda without being connected to it. The secular elites are having increasing difficulties in finding a group with which Alparslan Arslan is connected, so this third option is gaining popular credence in Turkey

 

On the first day after the attack, I wrote in a Vatan column that there might be some similarities between this attack and the attack on the Masonic lodge. By that, I meant that the attackers exhibited some Islamist motives and tendencies, but without a direct professional link to a parent Islamist group or organization.[xx][xxiii]

 

A wave of terrorist violence had shocked Turkey in November of 2003. At that time, the Anadolu Ajansi news agency received a phone call from a man, claiming that these bombings had been “the joint work of al-Qaida and IBDA-C [the Islamic Great Eastern Raiders' Front].” He is also supposed to have said that, “Our attacks on the centres of international freemasonry will continue,” despite the fact that the IBDA-C had attacked the British consulate and the Turkish headquarters of HSBC Bank, not Masonic Lodges.[xxi][xxiv]

 

On March 13, 2004, al-Jazeera published an English translation of a statement by the Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades, that had previously been published by the London based newspaper al-Quds al-Arabi, in Arabic. Al-Jazeera ran the statement under the heading ‘Purported al-Qaida statement,’ and noted that it was dated March 11 and signed “Abu Hafs al-Masri/al-Qaida.” In the statement, the group claimed responsibility for the Madrid bombings, and praised the bombing of the Turkish Masonic Lodge:

 

In a separate attack, Jund al-Quds (Soldiers of Jerusalem) targeted a Jewish Masonic lodge in Istanbul. Three top Masons were killed in the operation, and if it was not for technical failure all the masons would have been killed. Thanks to God anyway.[xxii][xxv]

 

Al-Quds al-Arabi also said that it had received a statement from Jund al-Quds, claiming responsibility for the attack.[xxiii][xxvi]

 

Cakir is no doubt correct to highlight the apparent independence of the terrorists that attacked the Turkish Masonic Lodge, no matter what connections have been claimed. Considering the propagation of the Zionist-Masonic myth on the internet, and its importance to Islamism, it is entirely possible that an individual or small group could carry out a similar attack elsewhere in the world, most likely Western Europe or the US. Germany, with its large Turkish community - with many of its members not integrated into German society - provides one possibility. The Grand Orient of France, or another French Grand Lodge, will no doubt sooner or later come into view of Islamist youth, who have been seen rioting in the last few years. Alarmingly, a Populus poll of Muslim opinion in Britain, conducted at the beginning of 2006, suggested that “46% [of British Muslims surveyed] thought that the Jewish community were in league with the freemasons to control the media and politics.”[xxiv][xxvii] And the US, with its dollar bill, and “Masonic presidents” such as George Washington, provides much grist for the conspiratorial mill.

 

Nevertheless, there is another concern. Considering that the Zionist-Masonic myth is Western in nature, referring to Freemasonry, the Rotary, Lions, banks, governments, etc., it is possible that it will provide politically-orientated non-Muslims an entranceway into Islamism itself. Notably, the Left in Britain, for example, has traditionally opposed Freemasonry as a “class enemy,” and now opposes “Zionists,” as well as the Israeli and US governments, the World Bank, etc., and as such has a mythology that mirrors the Islamist’s almost exactly. And this group has largely allied itself to the Islamist movement in recent years.

 

Nor should we underestimate the power of myth on the Western mind today, even among those who are neither especially religious, nor normally very political. Conspiracy theories quickly surfaced after the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, one of which held that the Jews were responsible, another of which blamed the US government itself. A successful attack on a Masonic Lodge in Western Europe or the US would undoubtedly cause conspiracy theories linking the Freemasons to the US government, Jews, etc., to rapidly circulate among non-Muslims in the West, especially via the internet, creating doubt in the minds of many about the nature of the war on terror.

 

It is striking that Freemasons themselves appear to be almost entirely ignorant[xxv][xxviii] of the threat Islamism poses to their safety and to the safety of their buildings, many of which are identified as Masonic Lodges in US cities. Grand Lodge building are soft targets in comparison to government and financial institutions, yet, as we have shown, have great symbolic importance for Islamists. Relatively few precautions would go along way to protecting against the possibility of a successful terrorist attack on a Masonic Lodge in the West, and a potentially very serious setback for Western democracies in the war of ideas against Islamism.

 

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