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Saturday, January 29, 2011

Freemasonry in Egypt

A Cairo Masonic lodge in the 1940s, under a portrait of King Farouk

With the turmoil currently raging in Egypt, Masons may be interested in the history of Freemasonry in that country over the years.

After French troops brought Masonry to Egypt with Napoleon's invasion in 1798, the fraternity expanded there. Lodges were chartered by French and German grand lodges, and by the 1860s, there were Italian, English and Scottish lodges at work, as well. Turkish Masons also influenced the Craft there. Naturally, with that many foreign lodges in the country, schisms arose, and several competing grand lodges were formed at various times in Egypt. So called "higher" degrees brought by different rites and supreme councils created further chaos. The dominant grand lodge that seemed to survive the longest was the National Grand Orient of Egypt, and its lodges worked in Arabic, Hebrew, Greek, French, Italian and German.

Egypt's kings, from Isma'il Pasha the Magnificent in the 1860s up through King Farouk in the 1950s, were made honorary grand masters in the National Grand Orient of Egypt, although none are believed to have been actually initiated into lodges. Masonry was an important link between Egypt and Western thought

After the end of WWII and Egypt's humiliating losses in Palestine to the brand new state of Israel in 1948, Freemasonry was branded as a Zionist organization (along with the B'nai B'rith, which was patterned after Masonry, and had lodges in Cairo and Alexandria). The revolution that pitched Farouk out of the country helped to raise distrust of Masonry, as both a perceived Jewish organization, as well as being a haven for entrenched government and business fat cats.

Freemasonry was under great pressure to close in Egypt by 1954 under the Nationalist Movement and Gamal Abdel Nasser became Prime Minister and the British gave up control of the Suez Canal. It was officially outlawed in 1964. Masonry still gets trotted out as a boogyman periodically in Egypt, as in other Muslim countries. Rotary Clubs frequently come under fire as being nothing more than Masonry in sheep's clothing.

The Islamic Jurisdictional College of El-Azhar University in Cairo is one of the most influential Sunni organizations for interpreting Islamic law. In 1978, it issued an opinion concerning the "Freemasons' Organization."

* Freemasonry is a clandestine organization, which conceals or reveals its system, depending on the circumstances. Its actual principles are hidden from members, except for chosen members of its higher degrees.

* The members of the organization, worldwide, are drawn from men without preference for their religion, faith, or sect.

* The organization attracts members on the basis of providing personal benefits. It traps men into being politically active, and its aims are unjust.

* New members participate in ceremonies of different names and symbols, and are too frightened to disobey its regulations and orders.

* Members are free to practice their religion, but only members who are atheists are promoted to its higher degrees, based on how much they’re willing to serve its dangerous principles and plans.

* It is a political organization. It has served all revolutions, as well as military and political transformations. In all dangerous changes, a relation to this organization appears either exposed or veiled.

* It is a Jewish organization in its roots. Its secret higher international administrative board is made up of Jews, and it promotes Zionist (pro-Israel) activities.

* Its primary objectives are the distraction of all religions, and it distracts Muslims from Islam.

* It tries to recruit influential financial, political, social, or scientific people to utilize them. It does not consider applicants it cannot utilize. It recruits kings, prime ministers, high government officials, and similar individuals.

* It has branches under different names as a camouflage, so people cannot trace its activities, especially if the name of Freemasonry has opposition. These hidden branches are known as Lions, Rotary, and others. They have wicked principles that completely contradict the rules of Islam.

* There is a clear relationship between Freemasonry, Judaism, and international Zionism. It has controlled the activities of high Arab officials in the Palestinian conflict.

* Any Muslim who affiliates with it, knowing the truth of its objectives, is an infidel to Islam.


That's what the fraternity is up against in Egypt today, and why Masonry must remain underground in devoutly Islamic countries. According to Kent Henderson and Tony Pope's long out of print Freemasonry Universal, rumors have persisted that a Grand Orient of Egypt still survives secretly (or did as late as 1999), working in Egypt's biggest cities.

Bulwer Lodge of Cairo, No. 1068 was the first lodge chartered by the United Grand Lodge of England in Egypt, in 1865. It moved its charter to England after being supressed in Egypt, and has an extensive history on its website.

For a detailed account of the history, from a non-Masonic point of view, see "Freemasonry in Egypt: Is It Still Around?" by Samir Raafat in Insight Magazine, March 1, 1999.

Matthew Scanlan wrote "Freemasonry Serving Egypt"for Freemasonry Today in 2003.

Also if you have access to a Jstore account, see "Freemasonry in Egypt 1798-1921: A Study in Cultural and Political Encounters" by Karim Wissa.

And there is an excellent series of articles about the history of Egyptian Masonry in Ars Quatuor Coronatorum Volumes 81 and 82, 1969 and 1970 by W. Bro. F. D. Stevenson Drane.

“There is a link death cannot sever, Love and remembrance last for ever.”
Freemason James Grant (1865-1928) headstone erected in Cairo's War Memorial Cemetery
by Rising Sun Lodge of Cairo No 91.
From the Masonic Traveler blog by Ken Dennis.

18 comments:

  1. When I was in Egypt in 1976 for 6 weeks as part of a visiting group of teachers from Iowa I asked one of our hosts in Alexandria about why there were no Masons in Egypt. His response was to give me the pass grip of a Master Mason and say "Actually, I am one of those." He went on to tell me that because of the British affiliation Nasser had outlawed Freemasonry and had the Brothers followed to make sure they no longer met. I was under the impression that there were still Masonic Temples around some places but no one used them.

    The Egyptian people are a warm, loving and friendly people who accepted us into their hearts and homes and we felt honored to be there.

    On a side note I went to Greece following the trip and was the guest of the Secretary of the (newly formed) York Rite in Athens and met many of the Brothers there. It was a wonderful experience in both countries.

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  2. I have been very curious about the situation of Masonry in Egypt, given developments there over the last week, as I'm sure many brothers are. Thank you for telling us about this.

    Would you have a source to share for the 1978 opinion on Freemasonry issued by the Islamic Jurisdictional College of El-Azhar University in Cairo? Thanks.

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  3. Mark,
    Here is an English summary from "Freemasonry in the Islamic World" by Celil Layiktez.

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  4. If it's outlawed by the state, how can anyone who is sitting Master be installed according to the Ancient Charges - which say, in part "You agree to be a peaceable citizen, and cheerfully to conform to the laws of the country in which you reside."

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  5. I suspect Grand Orient-derived Freemasonry lacks that "Ancient Charge," as they frequently take political stands.

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  6. If America outlawed Freemasonry, I can't honestly say I would quit.

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  7. Freemasonry is nothing but a psychological and maybe even spiritual awakening. To what ? That's what they hide from you. In other words , it's like being taken hostage into a very deep south place. Everything makes sense, but not the core of it.
    Being outside of it is learning how to be human. Being in it is learning to be an alien

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    Replies
    1. No.

      Religion, personal faith, introspective meditation — those are spiritual awakenings with psychological results. Freemasonry is not a religion or faith (although there have been members who have attempted to use it as a substitute).

      Freemasonry is a system of MORALITY told through ritual, allegory, and symbolism.

      You say, "Being outside of it is learning how to be human."Okay. But being inside of it is learning to be a BETTER human, as a fellow citizen in the wider world. By that I mean its system teaches its members to be kinder, gentler, more charitable, more tolerant, more understanding, less doctrinaire, and most of all, more honorable. That said, Masonry is a human construct and subject to the same faults and failures that any human-run organization is susceptible.

      You say, "That's what they hide from you. In other words , it's like being taken hostage into a very deep south place." Really? Are you a Mason? If so, you know what you allege is simply not true. Nothing is "hidden" from a Master Mason. If you are NOT a Mason, then you are clearly someone who simply doesn't know what he is talking about. And if you once WERE a Freemason and feel like something was missing or kept from you, so you left in disappointment, I would say that you joined under a misconception to begin with.

      Delete
  8. They stole my ancestors books and learned masonry from our black culture and now claiming they started it wow the truth is coming out

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    Replies
    1. Er, no. Don't fall for fantasies and phantasmagorical myth-making.

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    2. More fantasy. More social media echo chamber nonsense. It has been proven that the people of Egypt today, are the same people of the ancient days. Egypt was also a vast culture that spanned many different races. It was a hub of civilization, and the knowledge was known to all initiates who joined. Nothing from there was stolen from you.

      STOLEN is a really steep accusation too. This knowledge was taught to many people of that area, and it splintered off in to many different secret societies all over that area. From Greece, Isreal, Rome, and so on.

      This notion that it was stolen from you is ridiculous, and I dare you go to Egypt and tell the people there that the land belongs to you. Good luck.

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  9. Thank you for this reply. Comments of this nature are extremely frustrating and it does nothing but spread more confusion and negative speculation. P.P

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  10. Did Egyptian Freemasonry get reinstated? I found this website that shows it was reestablished and seems to indicate it's regular freemasonry based on it being men-only and the initiate needing to have a belief in a Supreme Being: https://www.sgle.org/

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    Replies
    1. I'm not finding anything to support the contention that the SGLE is a "resurrection" of the old National GL, or even if it exists beyond a website. It's certainly not recognized by UGLE or other regular jurisdictions.

      Delete
  11. My name is Bro. Ryan, and I belong to a lodge in NC.

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  12. This by far an ignorant post full of lies and untruths.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If so, feel free to correct it. This is, after all, a twelve and a half year old post, so new information may be available. But to call it "ignorant," "full of lies and untruths," is a useless comment. If your complaint is with Freemasonry itself, you've come to the wrong place.

      Delete
  13. Im a memeber of the order from Mexico, im visiting Cairo in a few days and there is no trace of any active lodges in Egypt, there is a web page but there is no adress whatsoever. Is it still outlawed? Its good to know before walking around with a pin on my backpack or my ring 😐

    ReplyDelete

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