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THE KNIGHTS
TEMPLARS
HARUN
YAHYA
ISBN81-882-73-77-5
MILLAT
CENTRE
PB
In
the Name of God,
Most
Gracious, Most Merciful
First published in
Turkish in August 2002
Millad Book Center, July
2003
Distributed by
Millad Center
All translations from
the Qur'an are from
The Noble Qur'an: a New
Rendering of its Meaning in English
by Hajj Abdalhaqq and
Aisha Bewley, published by Bookwork, Norwich, UK. 1420 CE/1999 AH.
Website: http: //
www.harunyahya.com
E-mail:
info@harunyahya.com
Translated by:Yasar
Kutukcu
ISBN: 81-882-73-77-5
Printed in India
The Knights Templars
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
Chapter 1.
The Dark History of the
Templars
Barbarism of the
Crusaders
Founding of the Order of
the Knights Templar
The Order's Mission
The Development of the
Order
The Structure of the
Order
Admission to the Order
"Christian
Usurers"
The Enigma of the
Templars and Gothic Architecture
The Battle of Hattin
Cyprus: A Temporary Base
Decadence and Its
Unmasking
The Templars' True Face
Perversion in the
Templars' Faith and Practice
The Templars Go
Underground
Chapter 2.
From Templars to
Freemasonry
Templars' Confessions in
Masonic Sources
Origins of the Scottish
Rite
For Other Purposes: The
Rosicrucians
Chapter 3.
Templars, Revolutions,
Murders, and the Mafia
The Illuminati's Plans
for Revolution
The French Revolution
and Jacques de Molay's Revenge
An Inside Account of
Jack the Ripper
Propaganda Due (P-2)
The P-2's Secret Lodge
and Strange Rituals
P-2 and Mossad
After P-2 – P-3?
Chapter 4.
Freemasons (or Templars)
in Turkey
The Tanzimat Reforms,
Mustafa Reshid Pasha,
and August Comte
Young Turks, the
Committee of Union and Progress , and Freemasons
Abdullah Cevdet: An
Anti-Religious Mason of the Ottoman Era
Halkevi Community
Centers, Village Institutes, and the Imposition
of Masonic Teachings on
the Masses
The Masons' War Against
Religion
P-2's of Turkey: Secret
Lodges
Footage from the Lodge:
Templars' Secret Rites on the Screen
The Templars and the
Mafia
From the History of the
Templars
Chapter 5.
The Deception of
Evolution
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR
Now writing under the
pen-name of HARUN YAHYA, he was born in Ankara in 1956. Having completed his
primary and secondary education in Ankara, he studied arts at Istanbul's Mimar
Sinan University and philosophy at Istanbul University. Since the 1980s, he has
published many books on political, scientific, and faith-related issues. Harun
Yahya is well-known as the author of important works disclosing the imposture
of evolutionists, their invalid claims, and the dark liaisons between Darwinism
and such bloody ideologies as fascism and communism.
His pen-name is a
composite of the names Harun (Aaron) and Yahya (John), in memory
of the two esteemed Prophets who fought against their people's lack of faith.
The Prophet's seal on the his books' covers is symbolic and is linked to the
their contents. It represents the Qur'an (the final scripture) and the Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him), last of the prophets. Under the guidance of the
Qur'an and the Sunnah (teachings of the Prophet), the author makes it his
purpose to disprove each fundamental tenet of godless ideologies and to have the
"last word," so as to completely silence the objections raised
against religion. He uses the seal of the final Prophet, who attained ultimate
wisdom and moral perfection, as a sign of his intention to offer the last word.
All of Harun Yahya's
works share one single goal: to convey the Qur' an's message, encourage readers
to consider basic faith-related issues such as God's Existence and Unity and
the hereafter; and to expose godless systems' feeble foundations and perverted
ideologies.
Harun Yahya enjoys a
wide readership in many countries, from India to America, England to Indonesia,
Poland to Bosnia, and Spain to Brazil. Some of his books are available in
English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Urdu, Arabic, Albanian,
Russian, Serbo-Croat (Bosnian), Polish, Malay, Uygur Turkish, and Indonesian.
Greatly appreciated all
around the world, these works have been instrumental in many people recovering
faith in God and gaining deeper insights into their faith. His books' wisdom
and sincerity, together with a distinct style that's easy to understand,
directly affect anyone who reads them. Those who seriously consider these
books, can no longer advocate atheism or any other perverted ideology or
materialistic philosophy, since these books are characterized by rapid
effectiveness, definite results, and irrefutability. Even if they continue to
do so, it will be only a sentimental insistence, since these books refute such
ideologies from their very foundations. All contemporary movements of denial are
now ideologically defeated, thanks to the books written by Harun Yahya.
This is no doubt a
result of the Qur'an's wisdom and lucidity. The author modestly intends to
serve as a means in humanity's search for God's right path. No material gain is
sought in the publication of these works.
Those who encourage
others to read these books, to open their minds and hearts and guide them to
become more devoted servants of God, render an invaluable service.
Meanwhile, it would only
be a waste of time and energy to propagate other books that create confusion in
people's minds, lead them into ideological chaos, and that clearly have no
strong and precise effects in removing the doubts in people's hearts, as also
verified from previous experience. It is impossible for books devised to
emphasize the author's literary power rather than the noble goal of saving
people from loss of faith, to have such a great effect. Those who doubt this
can readily see that the sole aim of Harun Yahya's books is to overcome
disbelief and to disseminate the Qur'an's moral values. The success and impact
of this service are manifested in the readers' conviction.
One point should be kept
in mind: The main reason for the continuing cruelty, conflict, and other
ordeals endured by the vast majority of people is the ideological prevalence of
disbelief. This can be ended only with the ideological defeat of disbelief and
by conveying the wonders of creation and Qur'anic morality so that people can
live by it. Considering the state of the world today, leading into a downward
spiral of violence, corruption and conflict, clearly this service must be
provided speedily and effectively, or it may be too late.
In this effort, the
books of Harun Yahya assume a leading role. By the will of God, these books
will be a means through which people in the 21st century will attain the peace,
justice, and happiness promised in the Qur'an.
TO THE READER
A special chapter is
assigned to the collapse of the theory of evolution because this theory
constitutes the basis of all anti-spiritual philosophies. Since Darwinism
rejects the fact of creation—and therefore, God's Existence—over the last 140
years it has caused many people to abandon their faith or fall into doubt. It
is therefore an imperative service, a very important duty to show everyone that
this theory is a deception. Since some readers may find the chance to read only
one of our book, we think it appropriate to devote a chapter to summarize this
subject.
All the author's books
explain faith-related issues in light of Qur'anic verses, and invite readers to
learn God's words and to live by them. All the subjects concerning God's verses
are explained so as to leave no doubt or room for questions in the reader's
mind. The books' sincere, plain, and fluent style ensure that everyone of every
age and from every social group can easily understand them. Thanks to their
effective, lucid narrative, they can be read at a one sitting. Even those who
rigorously reject spirituality are influenced by the facts these books document
and cannot refute the truthfulness of their contents.
This and all the other
books by the author can be read individually, or discussed in a group. Readers
eager to profit from the books will find discussion very useful, letting them
relate their reflections and experiences to one another.
In addition, it will be
a great service to Islam to contribute to the publication and reading of these
books, written solely for the pleasure of God. The author's books are all
extremely convincing. For this reason, to communicate true religion to others,
one of the most effective methods is encouraging them to read these books.
We hope the reader will
look through the reviews of his other books at the back of this book. His rich
source material on faith-related issues is very useful, and a pleasure to read.
In these books, unlike
some other books, you will not find the author's personal views, explanations
based on dubious sources, styles that are unobservant of the respect and
reverence due to sacred subjects, nor hopeless, pessimistic arguments that
create doubts in the mind and deviations in the heart.
INTRODUCTION
The Order of the Knights Templars has its roots
in the crusades. To some extent, we had explored it in our previous works, The
New Masonic Order (1995) and Global Freemasonry (2002). This order
was originally founded to fight for Christianity, but over time—as the Templars
acquired immense power, adopted heretical teachings, and established a
capitalist system based on material gain, their order fell afoul of the Church.
Rumors circulating about the Templars led to years of
investigations, revealing that the order was blasphemous and that it performed
black magic rituals, similar to today's satanic sects. The order was
subsequently declared unlawful. The Knights' liquidation and arrest arose from
a joint decision by the French King and the Pope. Some historians regard the
Templars' trial and subsequent liquidation as one of the most significant
social events of the Middle Ages.
Ironically, the truly interesting part of the Knights
Templars Saga began only after the order was liquidated. According to the
generally accepted view, the order went underground, developing a deep
animosity for monotheistic religions and the Church in particular and, in the
long-term, transmuted into the organization known today as Freemasonry. The
Masons' antireligious philosophy and involvement in revolutions and political
movements is a consequence of their Templars ancestry.
In other words, the Knights Templars still survive in the
present, under the name of Freemasonry. Those who reach the highest degrees of
Masonry are granted Templar-inspired titles such as "Guardian of the
Temple." In the United States, some lodges that convene under the name of
the Knights Templar are affiliated with Masonry. Masonry, on the other hand,
continues the Templars' foremost tradition of opposing religion, as well as
being actively avaricious, now and again relying on extra-legal methods similar
to the Mafia's. Compelling examples—including the P2 Masonic lodge and murders
of Jack the Ripper—are scrutinized in this book's later chapters. We will also
investigate the Templar/Masons' Syndication's impact on Turkey's recent
history.
All this will demonstrate that accepted history facts, and
especially current developments, are not always what they appear to be; and
that behind processes and events thought to be developing naturally, shadowy
designs can be detected. As God reveals to us in the Qur'an (16: 45), those who
"organize and propagate evil" are closer than we
imagine—often, in fact, nearby.
CHAPTER I
THE
DARK HISTORY OF THE TEMPLARS
Although the crusaders are commonly thought to
have been motivated by their deep Christian faith, crusades were actually wars
inspired by avarice. At a time of utmost poverty and misery prevalent in the
West, the attractions of the East—in particular, the Muslim societies' wealth
and prosperity—played on the minds of Europeans, especially those in the
Church. These attractions, bolstered with Christian teachings, begot the
crusaders' mindset, seemly motivated by religion but actually motivated by
worldly designs. This is the reason why Christians, who had followed more or
less peaceful policies in the previous 1,000 years, suddenly began to display
an appetite for war—specifically, the "liberation" of the holy city
of Jerusalem and Palestine as a whole.
We can retrace the beginnings of the crusades to November
1095, when Pope Urban II gathered the Council of Clermont. Three hundred
members of the clergy convened under his chairmanship. The pacifist doctrines
that had dominated Christendom were abandoned, laying the foundations for the
conquest. At the close of the Council, Urban II announced this state of affairs
in his famous speech to a congregation that comprised all social classes,
demanding that Christians stop the infighting and warring among themselves. The
Pope called on them—whether rich or poor, aristocrat or peasant—to unite under
one banner and to free the holy land from the Muslims. To him, this was "a
holy war."
Historians describe Urban II as a good orator. He intended
to incite the Christians against Muslim Turks and Arabs, and succeeded by
alleging that the Muslim were assaulting pilgrims and that Christianity's
sacred places were being desecrated.1 Of course,
none of this was true.
As historians have confirmed, the Muslims were very tolerant
towards Christians and Jews, whom they permitted to pray and worship. All
minorities co-existing in the Holy Land benefited equally from this atmosphere
of tranquility, created by the moral code of Islam. But because means of
communication at the time were terribly primitive compared to today's, medieval
Europeans weren't aware of this. Owing allegiance to the Vatican in Rome and
conducting services in Latin, they knew little about the Eastern Orthodox
Church or the Greek-speaking Byzantium, and even less about Islam.
Since what the common people did know amounted to nothing
more than hearsay, the Pope found it easy to excite their emotions. Urban II
went on to proclaim as an encouragement that for those who participated in the
crusade, all sins would be forgiven. The exuberant crowd was distributed fabric
crosses to emblazon their garments, and they dispersed to spread the word of
the "holy war."
The overwhelming response to this call made history. In a
very short period of time, a massive "crusaders' army" was assembled,
consisting of not only professional warriors, but also ten thousands of
ordinary people.
Some historians suggest that the impoverished kings of
Christendom, eager to exploit the fabled riches of the East, pressurized the
Pope to call a "holy war." Others find an altogether different motive
for Pope Urban II, suggesting that he wished to gain power and prestige for
himself at the expense of a rival claiming to be pope. But in reality, all the
various kings, princes, aristocrats and others who obliged this call did so for
worldly purposes. As Donald Queller of the University of Illionois put it,
"the French knights wanted more land. Italian merchants hoped to expand
trade in Middle Eastern ports. . . Large numbers of poor people joined the expeditions
simply to escape the hardships of their normal lives."2
On the way, greedy hordes murdered countless Muslims and
Jews in the hope of finding gold and jewels. Among crusaders, it was common
practice to disembowel their victims in the hopes that they might have
swallowed their gold and jewels to hide them. In the Fourth Crusade, their
avarice reached the point where they looted Christian Constantinople,
scratching gold leaf off the frescos in the Cathedral of Hagia Sophia.
Barbarism of the
Crusaders
In the summer of 1096, this mob of self-appointed crusaders
set off in three separate groups, each taking a different route to
Constantinople, where they met up with one another. The Byzantine Emperor,
Alexius I, did what he could to aid this force, comprising 4,000 mounted
knights and 25,000 infantry troops.3 Raymond IV
of Saint-Gilles, Count of Toulouse;Bohemond, Duke of Taranto; Godfrey of
Bouillon;Hugh, Count of Vermandois;and Robert, Duke of Normandy commanded this
army. Bishop Adhemar of le Puy, the close friend of Urban II, was their
spiritual leader.4
After ransacking and setting fire to many settlements and
putting countless Muslims to the sword, eventually the crusaders reached
Jerusalem in 1099. After a siege of approximately five weeks, the city fell.
When the victors finally entered Jerusalem, according to one historian,
"They killed all the Saracens and the Turks they found... whether male of
female."5
Crusaders slaughtered everyone they met and looted
everything they could get their hands on. They murdered indiscriminately those
who had taken refuge in the mosques, whether young or old, and devastated the
Muslim and Jewish holy sites and places of worship setting the city's
synagogues aflame, burning alive Jews who had hidden inside. This slaughter
continued until no longer could they find anyone to kill.6
One of the crusaders, Raymond of Aguiles, boasts of this
incredible cruelty:
Wonderful sights were to
be seen. Some of our men (and this was more merciful) cut off the heads of
their enemies; others shot them with arrows, so that they fell from the towers;
others tortured them longer by casting them into flames. Piles of heads, hands
and feet were to be seen in the streets of the city. It was necessary to pick
one's way over the bodies of men and horses. But these were small matters
compared to what happened at the Temple of Solomon, a place where religious
services are normally chanted . . . in the temple and the porch of Solomon, men
rode in blood up to their knees and bridle reins.7
In The Monks of War, researcher Desmond Seward
narrates the events of these tragic days:
Jerusalem was stormed in
July 1099. The rabid ferocity of its sack showed just how little the Church had
succeeded in Christianising atavistic instincts. The entire population of the
Holy City was put to the sword, Jews as well as Moslems, 70,000 men, women and
children perished in a holocaust, which raged for three days. In places men
waded in blood up to their ankles and horsemen were splashed by it as they rode
through the streets.8
According to another historical source, the number of
Muslims pitilessly slaughtered was 40,000.9 Whatever the actual number of the dead, what
the crusaders committed in the Holy Land has gone down in history as an example
of matchless barbarism.
The first crusade ended with the fall of Jerusalem in 1099.
After 460 years of Muslim rule, the Holy Land came under Christian control. The
crusaders established a Latin kingdom that stretched from Palestine to Antioch
and made Jerusalem its capital city.
Thereafter, the crusaders began struggling to establish
themselves in the Middle East. But to sustain the state they had founded, they
needed to organize themselves—and to achieve his, they established
unprecedented military orders. Members of these orders had emigrated from
Europe and, in Palestine, lived a monastic life of sorts. At the same time,
they trained for war against the Muslims. One of these orders went down a
different route, undergoing a change that would significantly alter the course
of history in Europe and—eventually—the world: the Knights Templar.
Founding of the Knights
Templar
About 20 years after the conquest of Jerusalem and the
creation of a Latin Empire, the Templars first appeared on the scene of
history. Otherwise known as Templars or Knights Templar, the order's full and
proper name was Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Salomonis, or
"Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon." (A major
part of the information we have today on the Templars was recorded by the 12th century
historian Guillaume of Tyre.) The order was founded in 1118 by nine knights:
Hugues de Payens, Geoffrey de St. Omer, Rossal, Gondamer, Geoffrey Bisol, Payen
de Montdidier, Archambaud de St. Agnat, Andre de Montbard, and the Hugh Conte
de Champagne.
Thus was quietly born one of the most talked-about, effective
and powerful organizations of Medieval Europe. These nine knights presented
themselves to Baldwin II, the Emperor of Jerusalem, asking him to assign them
the responsibility of protecting the lives and property of the many Christian
pilgrims now flocking to Jerusalem from all over Europe. The Emperor knew
Hugues de Payens, the first Grand Master of the order, well enough to grant the
nine their request. Accordingly, the district where Solomon's Temple once stood
(and by then, included the site of the al-Aqsa Mosque, which survives to this
day), was allocated to the order of the Templars, giving the order its name.
The Temple Mount thus remained the order's headquarters for
the next 70 years until, following the battle of Hattin, the great Islamic commander
Saladin reconquered Jerusalem for the Muslims.
The Templars had established themselves there by choice,
because the site of the Temple represented the earthly power of the Prophet
Solomon; and the remnants of the temple contained big secrets. Protecting the
Holy Land and the Christian pilgrims was the official reason the nine founders
gave for joining forces and for creating the order in the first place. But the
true reason behind it all was altogether different.
The Order's Mission
At the time, there were a number of other orders of warrior
monks in Jerusalem, but all acting according to their charters. Besides
training as soldiers, the Knights of St. John—a large organization also known
as the Knights Hospitalers—took care of the sick and the poor and were
performing other good deeds in the Holy Land. The Templars, however, had taken
it upon themselves to protect the lands between Haifa and Jerusalem—a physical
impossibility for the nine knights to shoulder all by themselves. Even then, it
was now obvious that they sought political as well as economic gains, quite
aside from performing works of charity.
In Morals And Dogma, one of Freemasonry's most
popular books, Grand Master Albert Pike (1809–1891) reveals the Templars' true
purpose:
In 1118, nine Knights
Crusaders in the East, among whom were Geoffroi de Saint-Omer and Hughes de
Payens, consecrated themselves to religion, and took an oath between the hands
of the Patriarch of Constantinople, a See always secretly or openly hostile to
that of Rome from the time of Photius. The avowed object of the Templars was to
protect the Christians who came to visit the Holy Places: their secret object
was the rebuilding of the Temple of Solomon on the model prophesied by
Ezekiel...10
The Knights Templar, he continued, were from the very
beginning "devoted to . . . opposition
to the tiara of Rome and the crown of its Chiefs. . ." The object of the
Templars, he said, was to acquire influence and wealth, then to "intrigue
and at need fight to establish the Johannite or Gnostic and Kabbalistic dogma.
. ."
Adding to the information that Pike
provides, the English authors of The Hiram Key, Christopher Knight and
Robert Lomas—both Masons—write about the Templars' origin and purpose.
According to them, the Templars discovered "a secret" in the ruins of
the temple. This then changed their worldview; and from then on, they adopted
un-Christian teachings. Their "protection for pilgrims" became a
front behind which they hid their real intent and activities.
There
is no evidence that these founding Templars ever gave protection to pilgrims,
but on the other hand, we were soon to find that there is conclusive proof that
they did conduct extensive excavations under the ruins of Herod's Temple [as
Solomon's temple was called after Herod rebuilt it].11
The authors of The Hiram Key
are not the only researchers finding evidence for this. Writes the French
historian, Gaetan Delaforge:
The
real task of the nine knights was to carry out research in the area, in order
to obtain certain relics and manuscripts which contain the essence of the
secret traditions of Judaism and ancient Egypt…12
In The Hiram Key, Knight and
Lomas conclude that the Templars excavated items of such importance at the site
that they adopted a wholly new world view. Many other historians draw similar
conclusions. The order's founders and their successors were all of Christian
upbringing, yet their philosophy of life was not a Christian one.
At the end of the 19th century,
Charles Wilson of the Royal Engineers, began conducting archeological research
in Jerusalem. He concluded that the Templars had gone to Jerusalem to study the
temple's ruins and, from the evidence Wilson obtained there, that the Templars
had set themselves up in the vicinity of the temple to facilitate excavation
and research. The tools that the Templars left behind form part of the evidence
Wilson gathered, and are now in the private collection of the Scottish Robert
Brydon.13
According to the authors of The
Hiram Key, the Templars' search was not in vain. They made a discovery that
altered their perception of and outlook on the world entirely. Despite being
born and raised in a Christian society, they adopted wholly un-Christian
practices. Black magic rituals and rites and sermons of perverse content were
common practice. There is a general consensus among historians that these
practices were derived from on the Cabala.
Cabala literally means "oral
tradition." An esoteric branch of mystical Judaism, the Cabala is also a
school that researches the secret, hidden and meanings of the Torah (or first
five Books of Moses) and other Jewish writings. There's more to it, however. A
close examination of the Cabala reveals that it actually precedes the Torah. A
pagan teaching, it continued to exist after the revelation of the Torah and
lived on to spread amongst the followers of Judaism. (For further reading on
the subject, see Harun Yahya's Global Freemasonry, Global Publishing,
2002)
For thousands of years, the Cabala has
been a resource for sorcery and practitioners of black magic and now enjoys a
strong following all around the world, not only in the Jewish community. The
Templars were one such group, engaged in research into the Cabala with the goal
of acquiring supernatural powers. As the following chapters will examine in
detail, they were keen on establishing ongoing relationships with Cabalists in
Jerusalem as well as in Europe—a view widely accepted by researchers working on
the subject.14
The
Development of the Order
With new members joining their order,
the Templars soon entered a phase of rapid growth. In 1120, Foulgues d'Angers
became a Knight Templar and so did Hugo, Count of Champagne, in 1125. The
enigma surrounding the order and its mystic teachings drew the attention of
many European aristocrats. At the Council of Troyes in 1128, the Papacy
officially recognized the order of the Templars, which further aided their
growth.15
Rome's recognition of the Templars is
related in the Turkish Masonic journal, Mimar Sinan:
To
obtain the Papacy's approval of the order, Grand Master Hugues de Payens,
accompanied by five knights, paid a visit to Pope Honorius II. The Grand Master
submitted two letters—one from the patriarch of Jerusalem, the other from King
Baudoin II—setting forth the order's honorable mission, its services to
Christianity, and many another good deed. On the 13th of January, 1128, the
Council of Troyes convened. Present were many high-ranking officials of the
Church, including the Abbot of Citeaux, Etienne Harding, and Bernard, the Abbot
of Clairvaux. The Grand Master presented his case once more. It was agreed that
the Church would officially recognize the order under the name of Poor
Fellow-Soldiers of Christ. Bernard was commissioned to prepare a Rule for the
Templars. So, the order was officially founded.16
In the order's development and
progress, the single most important person is undoubtedly St. Bernard
(1090-1153). Becoming the Abbot of Clairvaux at the tender age of 25, he had
risen in the Catholic Church's hierarchy to become a respectable spokesman for
the Church, influential with the Pope as well as the French King. It must be
added that he was a cousin of Andre de Montbard, one of the founders of the
order. The Templars' Rule was written according the principles of the
Cistercian Order to which St. Bernard belonged—or short, the Templars adopted
the rules and organization of this monastic order. But most of their rule never
went any further than being written down and recognized: The Templars continued
in their un-Christian practices that the Church had strictly forbidden.
It's entirely possible that St. Bernard was duped, and that
he never knew the truth about the Templars who, taking advantage of his
trustworthiness and status in the Church and throughout Christian Europe, used
him for their own ends. He wrote a favorable appraisal of the order, "De
Laude Novae Militae" (In Praise of the New Knighthood) following Grand
Master Hugues de Payens's persistent requests for him to do so.17 Around that time, St. Bernard had become the
second most influential person in Christendom, after the Pope.
One source illustrates the importance of Bernard's support
of the Templars:
Bernard's document,
"De Laude Novae Militae", swept through Christendom like a
tornado, and in no time the number of Templar recruits increased. At the same
time donations, gifts and bequests, from Monarchs and Barons throughout Europe,
were arriving regularly on the Templar doorstep. With a staggering rapidity,
the fledgling little band of nine knights grew into what we refer to as
Templar, Inc.18
With this document, the Templars obtained unprecedented
privileges not granted to other orders and—according to Alan Butler and Stephen
Dafoe, known for their research is this field—became the most successful military,
commercial and financial organization in Medieval Europe. As their legend and
renown spread from mouth to mouth, they became a multinational company with
seemingly unlimited capital and financial resources and ten of thousands of
trained employees:
Recruits, and offers of
money and land came flowing in from far and wide. Soon, numerous presbyteries,
castles, farms and churches, were built and occupied by the Templar Knights and
their servants. The Templars fitted out ships, creating both a merchant and
fighting navy. In time, they became the most famous warriors, travellers,
bankers and financiers of their day.19
In short, the Templars were an
autonomous entity answerable only to the Pope, with no obligation to pay dues
to any king, ruler or diocese. Their wealth increased day by day. In the Holy
Lands, the order's power was legendary and continued until the fall of Acre
(1291). They controlled the shipping routes from Europe to Palestine used by
pilgrims, but all these constituted just a fraction of the Templars' overall
activities.
They had entered the scene as
"Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ," but no description could have been
less accurate. Amongst their ranks were to be found the wealthiest people of
Europe: leading bankers from London and Paris, among whose customers were
Blanche of Castile, Alphonso de Poitiers, and Robert of Artois. The finance
ministers of James I of Aragon, and Charles I of Naples and the chief advisor
of Louis VII of France were all Templars.20
By the year 1147, 700 knights and 2,400 servants of the
order were stationed in Jerusalem. Across the known world, 3,468 castles had
become the Templars' property. They had established trading posts and routes on
both land and sea, had won war booty and spoils from the wars they participated
in. Among Europe's states, they were a political power to be reckoned with,
often called in to arbitrate between rulers during times of conflict.
It is estimated that in the 13th century, the Templars
numbered 160,000, of whom 20,000 were knights—in those times, constituting an
undoubted superpower.
In The Temple and the Lodge, authors Michael Baigent
and Richard Leigh document the Templars' incredibly widespread influence
throughout Christian Europe. They were simply everywhere, even playing a role in
the signing of England's Magna Carta. Having amassed huge wealth, they were the
most powerful bankers of their time and also the largest fighting force in the
West. The Templars commissioned and financed cathedrals, mediated in
international transactions, and even supplied court chamberlains to the ruling
houses of Europe.
The Structure of the Order
One of the most interesting aspects of the Templars was
their emphasis on discretion. In the two hundred years between the order's
founding and its liquidation, they never compromised on secrecy. This, however,
is inexplicable by any standard of reason, logic, or common sense. If they were
truly devoted to the Catholic Church, there was no need for this secrecy: All
of Europe was under the sovereignty of the Papacy. If they were merely
following Christian teachings, then they had nothing to hide and there was no
need for secrecy. Why adopt secrecy as a fundamental principle if you are in
compliance with Church doctrine and your mission is to uphold and defend
Christianity—unless you are engaged in activities incompatible with the Church?
Discipline was so very strictly observed within the order's
hierarchy that it can only be described as a chain of command. According to the
Templar rule, obedience to the Grand Master and Masters of the order was
paramount:
... if anything be
commanded by the Master or by one to whom he has given his power, it should be
done without demur as if it were a command from God.21
The Templars were not allowed any personal possessions;
everything remained the property of their order. They also had their own unique
dress code. Over their armor, they wore a long white mantle emblazoned with a
red cross, so that they were recognized as Templars wherever they went. The Red
Cross symbol was assigned to the order by Pope Eugene III, who, incidentally,
had been tutored by St. Bernard.
There were three classes of Templars: Knights and warriors
of various ranks, men of religion, and finally servants. Other rules specific
to the order prohibited marriage, correspondence with relatives or a private
life.22 Meals were taken together en masse. As
portrayed on their seal—which depicted two knights on one single horse—they were
required to go about their business in pairs, share everything, and eat from
the same bowl. They addressed each other as "my brother," and each
Templar had the right to three horses and one servant. Breach or disrespect of
any of these rules was harshly punished.
Grooming and cleansing were considered an embarrassment, so
Templars rarely washed and went around filthy and stinking of sweat, from the
heat of wearing their armor. But according to history, the Templars were good
seafarers. From the surviving Jews and Arabs in the Holy Land, they had
acquired various maps and learned the sciences of geometry and mathematics,
enabling them to navigate not only along the shores of Europe and along the
African coast, but to explore lands and seas lying farther away.
Admission
to the Order
Before one could be
considered for admission into the order, he had to meet a number of
preconditions. Among them, a man had to be in good health, not married or
indebted, without any obligations and not bound by any other order, and willing
to accept becoming a slave and servant of the order.
The initiation ceremony
was held in a domed chamber resembling the Church of The Holy Sepulchre and was
to be conducted in absolute secrecy.23 Just as
in Freemasonry centuries later, esoteric rituals had to be performed during
this ceremony.
In his article titled
"Tampliyeler ve Hurmasonlar" (Templars and Freemasons) mason Teoman
Biyikoglu refers to the order's rule of 1128 about the initiation ceremony:
The
Master addresses the congregated brothers of the order: "Dear brothers,
some of you have proposed that Mr. X may be admitted to the order. If any of
you know of any reason to oppose his initiation, say so now."
If
no word of opposition is spoken, the candidate will be led to the adjoining
chamber of the temple. In this chamber, the candidate is visited by three of
the most senior brothers, told of the difficulties and hardship awaiting him if
he is admitted to the order, and then asked whether he still wishes to be
admitted. If his answer is affirmative, he is asked whether he is married or
engaged to be married, has links to other orders, is indebted to anyone, is of
good health, and whether or not he is a slave.
If
his answers to these questions comply with the requirements of the order, the
senior brothers will return to the temple and say, "We told the candidate
of all the hardships awaiting him and our conditions of admission, but he is
insistent on becoming a slave of the order." Before being readmitted into
the temple, the candidate is again asked whether he still insists on being
admitted. If he still answers yes, the Grand Master addresses the candidate:
"Brother, you are asking much of us. You have seen only the façade of the
order, and you hope to acquire pureblood horses, honorable neighbors, good food
and nice garments. But are you aware of how hard our conditions really
are?" Proceeding to list the difficulties awaiting the candidate, he
continues: "You must not seek admittance for wealth, nor for status."
If
the candidate agrees, he is again led out of the temple. The Grand Master then
asks the brothers whether they have anything to say about the candidate. If
there is nothing said against him, he is brought back, made to kneel down, and
given the Bible. He is asked if he is married. If he answers no, the oldest or
most senior in the congregation is asked, "Have any questions that need to
be asked been forgotten?" If the answer is no, the candidate is asked to
swear an oath that he will remain loyal to the order and his brothers until the
day he dies, and that he will not reveal to the outside world a word that is
spoken in the temple. After he has sworn the oath, the Grand Master kisses the
new brother on the lips [according to another source he is kissed on the belly
and neck]. He then is given a Templar mantle and a woven belt, which is never
to be taken off.24
"Christian
Usurers"
According to Alan Butler and Stephen Dafoe, "The
Templars were expert financiers, using trading techniques quite unknown in the
Europe of their day. They had clearly learned many of these skills from Jewish
sources, but would have much more freedom to extend their financial empire, in
a way that any Jewish financier of the period would have envied greatly."25
Even though usury was strictly forbidden, they weren't
afraid to lend money on interest. The Templars had acquired such wealth—and the
power that came with it—that nobody dared speak out against them or do anything
about it.26 This so went to their heads that they went out
of control. They were disobedient to kings and the Pope and in some cases, even challenged their authority. In
1303, for example, few years before their order was liquidated, they refused a
request for assistance from the French King Philip IV, as well as his later request
in 1306 for the Templars' order to merge with the Hospitalers.27
Travel could be a hazardous enterprise in the 12th century.
En route, wayfarers could be robbed by bandits anywhere and at anytime.
Transporting money, as well as other precious commodities essential for trade,
was particularly risky. Out of this situation, the Templars made a fortune by
means of a fairly simple system of banking. For example, if a tradesman wanted
to go from London to Paris, first he would go to the Templars' office in London
and hand over his money. In return, he was given a paper with an encoded
message written on it. On his arrival in Paris, he could hand in this note in
exchange for the money he'd paid in London, minus a fee and interest. Thus the
transaction was completed.
Along with traders, wealthy pilgrims too made use of this
system. "Checks" issued by Templars in Europe could be cashed in on
arrival in Palestine, minus a hefty interest charge for this service. In The
Temple and the Lodge, co-authors Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh explain
the Templars' economic dimension, recording that the beginnings of modern
banking can be traced back to them, and that no other organization contributed
as much as the Templars to the rise of capitalism.28 History records Florentine bankers as having
invented "checking accounts," yet the Templars were using this method
of money transfer long before. It is generally accepted that capitalism first
arose in the Jewish community of Amsterdam, but long before them, the Templars
had established their own medieval capitalism, including banking based on
interest. They lent money on interest rates of up to 60% and controlled a major
proportion of capital flow and liquidity in the economy of Europe.
Using methods much like those of a modern private bank, they
derived profits from both trade and banking, as well as from donations and
armed conflict. They became as rich as the multinational company that, in
effect, they were. At one time, the finances of the English and French
monarchies were controlled and run by the Templars' respective offices in Paris
and London, and both the French and English royal families owed the Templars
huge amounts of money.29 The kings of Europe were literally at their mercy, hoping to
borrow money, and most royal households had come to depend on the order. This
let them manipulate the kings and their national policies for their own
purposes.
The
Enigma of the Templars and Gothic Architecture
After Innocent II was
elected Pope with St. Bernard's backing, he granted the Templars the right to
build and run their own churches. This was a first in the history of the
Church, which ruled as an absolute power at the time. This privilege meant that
from now on, the Templars were answerable only to the Pope and beyond the reach
of other authorities, including kings and lesser rulers. It also reduced their
responsibilities to the Papacy, letting them hold court, impose their own taxes
and collect them. Thus they could realize their worldly ambitions free of any
pressure from the Church.
In the process of planning their churches, they developed
their own style of architecture, later to be known as "Gothic." In The
Sign and the Seal, Graham Hancock states that Gothic architecture was born
in 1134 with the construction of the north tower of Chartres Cathedral. The
person behind this work of architecture was St. Bernard, the Templars' mentor
and spiritual leader. He felt it important that this construction symbolize in
stone the cabbalistic approach and the esotericism that the Templars esteemed
so highly. As Graham Hancock wrote, St. Bernard, the patron of the Templars,
"played a formative role in the evolution and dissemination of the Gothic
architectural formula in its early days (he had been at the height of his powers
in 1134 when the soaring north tower of Chartres cathedral had been built, and
he had constantly stressed the principles of sacred geometry that had been put
into practice in that tower and throughout the whole wonderful building.)"
Elsewhere in the same book, the author writes:
The entire edifice had
been carefully and explicitly designed as a key to the deeper religious
mysteries. Thus, for example, the architects and masons had made use of
gematria (an ancient Hebrew cipher that substitutes numbers for the letters of
the alphabet) to "spell out" obscure liturgical phrases in many of
the key dimensions of the great building. Similarly the sculptors and
glaziers—working usually to the instructions of the higher clergy—had carefully
concealed complex messages about human nature, about the past, and about the
prophetic meaning of the Scriptures in the thousands of different devices and
designs that they had created.
(For example, a tableau
in the north porch depicts the removal, to some unstated destination, of the
Ark of the Covenant—which is shown loaded upon an ox-cart. The damaged and
eroded inscription, "HIC AMICITUR ARCHA CEDERIS," which could be
"Here is hidden the Ark of the Covenant."
Clearly he had regarded
the Templars' architectural skills as almost supernaturally advanced and had
been particularly impressed by the soaring roofs and arches that they had
built. . . Soaring roofs and arches had also been the distinguishing features
of the Gothic architectural formula as expressed at Chartres and other French
cathedrals in the twelfth century—cathedrals that . . . were regarded by some
observers as "scientifically... far beyond what can be allowed for in the
knowledge of the epoch."30
The Battle of Hattin
Following the death of the Latin King Baldwin I in 1186, Guy
de Lusignan—who was known to be close to the Templars—succeeded to the throne
in Palestine. Reynald de Chatillon, Prince of Antioch, became the new king's
closest aide. After fighting in the Second Crusade, Reynald had stayed behind
in Palestine, where he became good friends with the Templars.
Reynald's cruelty was well known in the Holy Land. On the
4th of July, 1187 the crusader armies fought their bloodiest battle at Hattin.
The army numbered 20,000 infantry and a thousand mounted knights. Assembling
this army stretched to the limit the resources of towns along the border,
leaving the others unprotected and vulnerable. The battle ended with the
virtual annihilation of the crusaders. Most lost their lives, and every
survivor was captured. Among the prisoners of war were King Guy himself and the
leading commanders of the Christian army.
According to the Templars' own records, Saladin, the great
commander of the Muslim forces, was fair. Despite all the cruelty inflicted on
Palestine's Muslim population over the previous 100 years of Christian rule,
the defeated forces were not ill-treated. While most Christians were pardoned,
the Templars had been responsible for the savage attacks carried out on the
Muslim population, and for this reason, Saladin had the Templars executed,
along with the Grand Master of the order and Reynald de Chatillon, both known
for their inhumane cruelty. King Guy was freed after only one year in captivity
in the town of Nablus.
After Saladin's victory at Hattin, he advanced with his army
and proceeded to free Jerusalem. Despite serious losses, the Templars survived
their defeat in Palestine and along with other Christians, withdrew to Europe.
Most headed for France where, thanks to their privileged status, they continued
to increase their power and wealth. In time, they became the "state within
the state" in many European countries.
Acre, the crusaders' last stronghold in Palestine, was
captured by the Muslim army in 1291. With this, the original justification for
the Templars' existence—the protection of pilgrims in the Holy Land—disappeared
as well.
Now the Templars could concentrate all their efforts on
Europe, but needed a little time to adapt to this new situation. During this
transitional period, they relied on the help of their friends in the royal
houses of Europe, of whom the best-known was Richard the Lion-Hearted. His
relationship with the Templars was such that he was regarded as an Honorary
Knight Templar.31
Furthermore, Richard had sold to the Templars the Island of
Cyprus, which was to become the temporary base of their order, while they
strengthened their position in Europe to counteract their losses in Palestine.
Cyprus: A Temporary Base
In order to understand the links between Cyprus and the
order, we need to examine the events that culminated in the 3rd Crusade. By
July 4, 1187, Jerusalem was conquered. Guy de Lusignan was taken prisoner the
same day to be freed a year later, after swearing an oath never to attack the
Muslims again.
Germany, France, and England made the joint decision to
launch the 3rd Crusade in order to retake Jerusalem. But before proceeding to
attack the Holy City, they considered it essential for their success to first
capture a harbor, where they could land troops and supplies. Acre was selected;
and King Philip of France and England's King Richard began their sea journey
After King Richard's naval forces took Cyprus, Templar
Master Robert de Sable entered the scene with a proposal to purchase Cyprus
from Richard the Lion-Hearted. A price was fixed at 100,000 bezants (then gold
currency of Byzantium), and de Sable made a down payment of 40,000 bezants.
This sum, available so soon after the defeat at Hattin, is enough to illustrate
the order's financial strength.
In 1291, Acre fell to the Muslim army. As the Christian
presence in Palestine came to an end, the Templars moved on. Some settled in
Cyprus, later to serve as their temporary base in the Mediterranean. The Templars
had been hoping to acquire a kingdom, such as the Teutonic Knights had won for
themselves in northern Europe, except they wanted theirs in center of
Europe-preferably in France.
In Europe, under the guidance of their Master based in
France, the rest of the Templars carried on their usual activities, with an
unequalled degree of freedom. The Grand Master enjoyed a status on a par with
kings; the Templars owned land in most countries of Christendom, from Denmark
to Italy. A massive warrior army formed the basis of their political power.
Because all the ruling houses of Europe were indebted to the Templars, they
feared that their future was threatened.
The throne of England was seriously indebted to the order.
King John had emptied the coffers of the treasury between 1260 and 1266 in
order to finance his military operations; and Henry III, likewise, borrowed
heavily from the Knights Templar.32
The situation in France was such that the Templars offices
in Paris housed their own treasury as well as the state's and the treasurer of
the order was also the treasurer of the King. The Royal household's finances
were thus under the control of the Templars and dependent on them.33
Decadence and Its Unmasking
After Christian presence in the Holy Land ended on June 16th, 1291, the
Templars returned to Europe. Even though their original purpose—protecting
European pilgrims—had ceased to exist, they kept on strengthening their power
base, increasing their number of soldiers and amassing ever greater fortunes.
But from this date onward, events began to turn against the Templars.
While their numbers and their wealth were on the rise, their
greed, arrogance and tyranny increased accordingly. By now, the Knights Templar
had grown apart from the Catholic Church's teachings, beliefs, and practices.
In general, no longer did any European have anything to say in their favor. In
France, expressions like "to drink like a Templar" were common and
widespread. In Germany, "Tempelhaus" meant whorehouse, and if anyone
acted in an unacceptably arrogant way, he was said "to be proud as a
Templar."34
The kingdoms of Europe, especially France, were angered by
the Templars' political intrigues and shadowy designs. After having plenty of
opportunity to get acquainted with them, people started to realize that their
order was not comprised of genuinely religious knights. Finally in 1307, Philip
the Fair, King of France, and Pope Clement V realized that the Templars were
seeking to change not only Europe's religious landscape, but its political
balance as well. In October 1307, they moved in on the Templars, with the view
of liquidating this decadent, treacherous order.35
The Templars' True Face
Modest missionaries, fighting for Christianity—this was how
the Templars presented themselves to the ordinary people. Undeservedly, they
were perceived to be saints of great virtue, mentors of Christianity, devoted
to aiding the poor and the needy. It's amazing that they managed to create such
a positive image while leading lives contrary to Christian teachings and, on
the way acquiring status and wealth through donations, trade, banking and even
looting. The few who discovered their true identity did not dare to speak out
against this powerful order. Philip, King of France, feared the dangers their financial
strength could create for him.
It was high time to unmask the Templars. As a Masonic writer
of the 18th century explains:
The war, which for the
greater number of warriors of good faith proved the source of weariness, of
losses and misfortunes, became for them [the Templars] only the opportunity for
booty and aggrandizement, and if they distinguished themselves by a few
brilliant actions, their motive soon ceased to be a matter of doubt when they
were seen to enrich themselves even with the spoils of the confederates, to
increase their credit by the extent of the new possessions they had acquired,
to carry arrogance to the point of rivalling crowned princes in pomp and
grandeur, to refuse their aid against the enemies of the faith... and finally to
ally themselves with that horrible and sanguinary prince named the Old Man of
the Mountain Prince of the Assassins.36
The Templars became increasingly confident and impertinent
in their practices and in disseminating their teachings, trusting in the unjustifiably
positive image they had managed to create throughout society. This in turn led
to an increase in the numbers who witnessed their perversion and began to
whisper about it.
Whatever might the Templars be doing behind the closed doors
of their palaces? The knights' avarice, inhumanity, greed and zeal, already
well known, awakened the curiosity of the locals, the clergy, and the monarchy.
The Papacy was almost certain that this group, which it could no longer
control, was living an irreligious life and abusing the privileges it had
granted them.
Rumors and complaints circulated about the Templars. There
were increasingly credible accusations that they engaged in forbidden practices
and other wrongdoing and that was why they operated under strict secrecy.
People had begun to whisper of secret rites performed in their palaces, rituals
of Satanist worship, and various immoral relationships.
All these rumors were combined with actual fact—what
servants in Templar palaces and the people living in the vicinity of them
witnessed and reported. The Papacy found itself in a predicament, not knowing
what to do. Clement V, elected Pope in 1305, was trying to calculate the damage
to Christianity—and therefore, to the Vatican—and how to minimize its effects.
At the same time, he had to put an end to constant pressure from regional
dioceses and the King of France. Meanwhile, in Cyprus, Jacques de Molay, leader
of the Templars, was making preparations for war, as the order had not given up
hope to go back in the Middle East. He was recalled to France and ordered by
the Pope to investigate these allegations.
All this, however, was unacceptable to the French King. He
quickly passed a new law, under which he had the Templars arrested. On October
13, 1309, they were accused in the courts with the following charges:
1. That during the
reception ceremony, new brothers were required to deny Christ, God, The Virgin
or the Saints on the command of those receiving them.
2. That the brothers
committed various sacrilegious acts either on the cross or on an image of
Christ.
3. That the receptors
practiced obscene kisses on new entrants, on the mouth, navel or buttocks.
4. That the priests of the
Order did not consecrate the host, and that the brothers did not believe in the
sacraments.
5. That the brothers practiced idol worship of a
cat or a head.
6. That the brothers encouraged and permitted
the practice of sodomy.
7. That the Grand Master, or other officials,
absolved fellow Templars from their sins.
8. That the Templars held
their reception ceremonies and chapter meetings in secret and at night.
9. That the Templars
abused the duties of charity and hospitality and used illegal means to acquire
property and increase their wealth.37
Perversion in the
Templars'
Faith
and Practice
The documents at hand, together with the allegation made
against the Templars, demonstrated that this was no ordinary order of knights.
It was a darker organization altogether: one of perverted faith, frightening
methods, and cunning strategies. It was well organized and well prepared,
always scheming, always ready and dangerous, and—unlike anything seen
before—forward thinking, with comprehensive plans for the future.
During their time in the Middle East,
the Templars had established and maintained contact with mystic sects belonging
to different religions and denominations, including sorcerers. They were known
to have close links to the hashashis (assassins) who, while influential,
were regarded as a perverted sect by the Muslim population. From them, the Templars
had learned some mystic teachings and barbaric strategies, as well as how to
organize a sect. As will be seen in the coming chapters, the order's higher
echelons in particular had also acquainted themselves with—and incorporated
into their practice—beliefs based on the mystic teachings of the Cabala, the
influence of the Bogomils, and Luciferians, thus leaving Christianity behind.
According to the Templars, Jesus was a god ruling in another world, with little
or no power in our present one. Satan was the lord of this material world of
ours.
Now the rumors were confirmed:
Candidates for the order were indeed required to deny God, Christ and the
Saints, committed sacrilegious acts, spit and urinate onto the holy Cross, be
kissed square on the mouth with the "Oscolum Infame" or
"The Kiss of Shame" on the navel and buttocks by the more senior Knights Templars, during
the initiation ceremony. That they freely practiced homosexuality and other
sexual perversions, that the Grand Master wielded total authority over
everything, that they practiced rituals of sorcery and used Cabalistic
symbolism was clear evidence that the order had had become a sect blasphemous
to Christianity. Their questioning revealed yet another of their unorthodox
practices: Without being specific, they had
admitted to idolatry, but during their ongoing interrogation, it gradually
emerged that without any doubt, they were worshipping Satan. The Templars
revered an idol of Baphomet; a demon with the head of a goat, whose image was
later to become the symbol of The Church of Satan. From Peter Underwood's Dictionary
of the Occult and Supernatural:
Baphomet
was the deity worshipped by the Knights Templar, and in Black Magic was the
source and creator of evil; the Satanic goat of the witches' Sabbath…38
During their trial, almost all
Templars mentioned having worshipped Baphomet. This idol they described as
having a scary human head, a long beard and frightening, shining eyes. They
also mentioned human skulls and idols of cats. The consensus among historians
is that all these figures are objects of Satanic worship. The demon Baphomet
has ever since been an object of Satanic veneration. Details about Baphomet
were later conveyed by Eliphas Levi; a 19th-century Cabalist and occultist,
whose drawings illustrate Baphomet as having a goat's head with two faces, and
a winged human body that is female above the waist and whose lower half is
male.
Most Templars confessed that they
didn't believe in Jesus because they held him to be "a false
prophet"; that they had committed acts of homosexuality during the
admission ceremony as well as afterwards, that they worshipped idols and
practiced Satanism. All these admissions entered the court records, and
following their trial, most of the Templars were imprisoned.
Much has been said about the Templars'
homosexual practices, and it has been suggested that their insignia—of two
riders on the back of one horse—represented this custom. In his novel Foucault's Pendulum, Umberto Eco
extensively touches upon this aspect of the Templars.39
After their confessions in the courts of the French King,
the Pope himself interrogated 72 of the Templars. They were asked to swear an
oath to tell the truth and then, proceed to confirm that their previ-
ous confessions were truthful: that they rejected belief in
Jesus, that they spat on the holy cross and committed all the other acts of
perversion they'd admitted to. They then knelt down and asked for forgiveness.
The interrogation of the Templars culminated in the
dissolution of their order. In 1314, Grand Master Jacques de Molay was burned
at the stake. Templars who had managed to escape arrest by fleeing to other
countries were pursued throughout the whole of Christendom. Other countries
including Italy and Germany followed suit, arresting and interrogating the
Templars they could apprehend. But for various reasons, some countries offered
the Templars refuge. On November 10, 1307, England's Edward II wrote the Pope
that he would not persecute the Templars and that in his country, they would
remain safe. But two years later, after interrogating the Templars, the Pope
issued a Papal Bull declaring that the Templars' "unspeakable wickednesses
and abominable crimes of notorious heresy" had now "come to the
knowledge of almost everyone." Upon reading it, King Edward agreed to
prosecute the Templars.
Finally, at the Council of Vienne in France in 1312, the
Order of the Knights Templar was officially declared illegal in all of Europe,
and captured Templars were punished. On March 22nd, Clement V issued a Papal
Bull under the name of Vox in Excelso (A Voice from on High), in which the
order was declared to be dissolved and—on paper, at least—its existence erased
from the official records:
... Hark, a voice of the
people from the city! a voice from the temple! the voice of the Lord rendering
recompense to his enemies. The prophet is compelled to exclaim: Give them,
Lord, a barren womb and dry breasts. Their worthlessness has been revealed
because of their malice. Throw them out of your house, and let their roots dry
up; let them not bear fruit, and let not this house be any more a stumbling
block of bitterness or a thorn to hurt.
. . . Indeed a little
while ago, about the time of our election as supreme pontiff before we came to
Lyons for our coronation, and afterwards, both there and elsewhere, we received
secret intimations against the master, preceptors and other brothers of the
order of Knights Templar of Jerusalem and also against the order itself.
.
. . [T]he holy Roman church honoured these brothers and the order with her
special support, armed them with the sign of the cross against Christ's
enemies, paid them the highest tributes of her respect, and strengthened them
with various exemptions and privileges; and they experienced in many and
various ways her help and that of all faithful Christians with repeated gifts
of property. Therefore it was against the lord Jesus Christ himself that they
fell into the sin of impious apostasy, the abominable vice of idolatry, the
deadly crime of the Sodomites, and various heresies.40
The Templars Go
Underground
Liquidating the order of the Templars proved harder than
anticipated. Even though Grand Master de Molay and many of his brothers had
been eliminated, the order survived, albeit by going underground. In France
alone, there were more than 9,000 representatives to be found and across the
countries of Europe, thousands of castles and other strongholds were still in
their possession. According to historical
sources of the time, the Inquisition had captured and punished only 620 out of
a total of 2,000 knights. It has since been estimated that the knights' actual
grand total was in the vicinity of 20,000, each of whom had a team of seven or
eight Templars of other professions at his service. A simple calculation based
on eight Templars per knight gives us a total number of 160,000 organizing and
carrying out the order's activities, including shipping and commerce. The Pope
and the French King couldn't possibly locate and confiscate all of their
property. This network of active members across Europe and along the
Mediterranean coast, 160,000 strong, was the largest logistical force of their
time. In terms of property, they could measure up to any king and this wealth
assured their protection and safety.
Despite the Papacy's claim that the Templars had been annihilated, not only did
they survive the Inquisition by going underground, but they kept on being
active, especially in England and in Northern Europe:
[I]n
the years following the loss of the Holy Land, the Templars had shown a
continuing desire to create a 'state' of their own. . . [W]e are now left in no
doubt that the Templars indeed manage, against all odds, to carve out their own
nation. It wasn't some Eldorado in the New World, nor a hidden kingdom of the
Prester John variety in darkest Africa. In fact the Templars remained
absolutely central to everything that was happening in Europe, and what is more
they were partly instrumental in the formation of the Western World as we know
it today. The Templar State was, and is, Switzerland.41
In order to carry on their
activities in safety, Templars escaping persecution and arrest in France and
some other countries of Europe needed to regroup somewhere. They chose the
confederation of cantons now known as Switzerland. The Templars' influence in
Switzerland's formation and traditional makeup can still be easily recognized
today. Alan Butler, a Mason and co-author of The Warriors and the Bankers
is an expert on the subject of Templars. In a discussion forum held in 1999, of
he said:
There
are a few important reasons why this [that the Knights Templar went to
Switzerland after their liquidation] is likely to have been the case. For
example:
1.
The founding of the embryonic Switzerland conforms exactly to the period when
the Templars were being
persecuted in France.
2. Switzerland is just
to the east of France and would have been particularly easy for fleeing Templar
brothers from the whole region of France to get to.
3. In the history of the
first Swiss Cantons, there are tales of white-coated knights mysteriously
appearing and helping the locals to gain their independence against foreign
domination.
4. The Templars were big
in banking, farming and engineering (of an early type). These same aspects can
be seen as inimical to the commencement and gradual evolution of the separate
states that would eventually be Switzerland.
5. The famous Templar
Cross is incorporated into the flags of many of the Swiss Cantons. As are other
emblems, such as keys and lambs, that were particularly important to the
Knights Templar.42
A significant number of Templars found refuge in Scotland,
the only monarchy in 14th century Europe that didn't recognize the authority of
the Catholic Church. Reorganizing under the protection of King Robert the
Bruce, they soon found the perfect camouflage to hide their existence in the
British Isles. Outside of the state and local governments, the Masons' Lodges
were the most powerful organizations of the time, and and the Templars first infiltrated them, then brought them under
control. Lodges that had been professional bodies were turned into ideological
and political organizations, which are now the Freemason Lodges of today. (This
is what Masons call "progress from operational to speculative
Masonry")
Another Masonic source estimates that
between 30,000 and 40,000 Templars escaped the Inquisition by wearing Masons'
cloth and mingling with them. So as to flee abroad, others obtained and used
the "Laissez passer" (free passage) given to Masons.
Some Templars escaped to
Spain and entered orders like the Caltrava, Alcantra, and Santiago del Espada,
while others moved on to Portugal and they renamed themselves the Order of
Christ. Still others fled to the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation and
joined the Teuton knights, while another large group of Templars is known to
have joined the Hospitalers. In England, the Templars were arrested and
interrogated, but quickly released again. In still other countries, the
Templars remained unmolested.
The Templars seemed to have disappeared from the history
until 1804; when Bernard-Raymond Fabré Palaprat became Grand Master. Truly
interesting is an accidental discovery he made in 1814… In one of the
bookstalls along the river Seine in Paris, he came upon a handwritten Bible of
the Yuhanna translation in the Greek language. The Bible's last two chapters
were missing; and in their place were notes divided by—and containing—numerous
triangles. Examining these notes a bit closer,
he realized that this was a document listing the Grand Masters of the Templars,
beginning with the fifth Grand Master, Bertrand de Blanchefort ( 1154), through
the 22nd, Jacques de Molay, the 23rd Larmenius of Jerusalem (1314) and
then on to Grand Master Claudio Mateo Radix de Chevillon (1792). This document
suggested that Jacques de Molay passed the title of Grand Master on to
Larmenius of Jerusalem. It could be concluded that the Templars never ceased to
exist. They live on today in the lodges of Freemasonry.
In Foucault's Pendulum, Umberto Eco writes:
After Beaujeu, the order
has never ceased to exist, not for a moment, and after Aumont we find an
uninterrupted sequence of Grand Masters of the Order down to our own time, and
if the name and seat of the true Grand Master and the true Seneschals who rule
the Order and guide its sublime labors remain a mystery today, an impenetrable
secret known only to the truly enlightened, it is because the hour of the Order
has not struck and the time is not ripe…43
Many sources suggest
that after the death of Jacques de Molay, survivors of the order planned a
conspiracy. Supposedly, the Templars sought to bring down not only the Papacy,
but the kingdoms that had declared them illegal and executed their Grand
Master. This secret mission was handed down through generations of members,
preserved and maintained by later organizations like the Illuminati and
Freemasons. It's widely accepted that the Masons played a major role in the
downfall of the French monarchy and the ensuing Revolution. When Louis XVI was
guillotined in a public square in Paris, one of the onlookers shouted,
"Jacques de Molay, you have been avenged!"
We'll examine these events in greater detail in the coming chapters.
CHAPTER II
FROM TEMPLARS TO
FREEMASONRY
Even a quick examination of the Templars' history
reveals the major transformations they underwent along the way. They first
appear under a Christian façade, but soon enter a darker phase in which
un-christian and perverse philosophies and teachings show through. This doesn't
happen all at once, however, and many events are responsible for the changes
that occurred.
These changes first came about during
the Templars' sojourn in the Holy Land: During this phase, they became
acquainted with the Cabala and learned the mysterious teachings of various
other Jewish sects. The Assassins' mysticism and perverse practices were also
incorporated into their system; and the emerging picture reveals that their
Christian faith had given way to secret occultist rituals and Black Magic
rites. Needless to say, their ideals and mission changed accordingly.
The second cause of their
transformation can be explained when we consider that the poor knights of the
Templar Order acquired incredible wealth over a relatively short period of
time. Given their hopes of attaining mystical powers over the material world
through their newly-acquired dark beliefs and practices, it's no surprise that
they began to set their sights on much grander goals.
It's important to keep in mind that at
that time, mystic and secretive beliefs played an important, even everyday,
role in people's lives. Many were convinced that in order to gain wealth or
power, one needed the help of dark powers, which could be compelled through
Black Magic. Using what they considered "scientific" methods, people
were investigating ways of contacting and controlling invisible powers-by means
of secret codes, magic signs and formulas, and incantations. Poisons were prepared, the elixir of life was sought in experiments, and
alchemists tried to create gold out of lesser metals. The Templars, seeking to
rule this world with the help of the invisible one, came to worship Satan and
called on him to dominate the powers of darkness.
Many years of investigations by the
courts of the King and the Pope documented the Templars' real ideals and proved
that they were hiding behind a Christian façade. The order had gathered
together the dark world's symbols, traditions and rituals, and founded a system
in castles built for that purpose, leading the way for many later secret
societies.
Templars' Confessions in Masonic Sources
As we saw in the last chapter, after
going underground to escape the Inquisition, the Templars infiltrated various
other sects and organizations. For their purposes, the masons' lodges were an
ideal choice. Very quickly, they infiltrated them, brought them under their own
control, adapted and altered them to accommodate the Templars' own philosophy,
beliefs, and rituals. Since they had long been trained in the arts of architecture
and masonry and had gained expertise in building castles and Gothic cathedrals,
it was easy enough for the Templars to infiltrate and control the professional
guilds of masons. Published reference works by Masons refer more often to the
symbolic features of their merger with the Templars, than to the darker aspects
the Masons inherited from them.
As one Turkish Masonic source writes:
The
Grand Master's abacus [staff of office] is evidence for the connection between
the Templars and Freemasons. This staff is a symbol representing Aaron's rod
[mentioned in the Bible—a walking stick that sprouted leaves]. Its head is in
the form of a temple, and along length of its body is carved measurements. This
staff is a symbol of masonry.
In
France as well as in Jerusalem, Templars and Freemasons existed side by side
and must have influenced each other's esoteric knowledge. An examination of
architecture when the Gothic style came to be adopted reveals that the first
European churches built deliberately in the new Gothic style began to be
constructed after Jerusalem's conquest by the crusaders.
With
the Templars' Grand Master being also the Freemasons', it can be observed that
the gradual progress from operational Masonry to speculative Masonry had
already begun. The Cistercian monks, dealing with construction planning, had
also been members of masons' lodges—an example to the clerical or monastic type
of mason;In Paris, where all other professions had their own lodges, the masons
shared quarters with the Templars, also showing the close relationship between
the two organizations.
The
Papal decree of 1312 that liquidated the Templars' order also ended the Masons'
right of free passage. Fearing even worse reversals, French Masons fled to
Germany where, from then on, Gothic architecture became suddenly dominant.
There, the Masons' lodges that received Templars escaping from France
experienced the same gradual transformation as the British ones had—from
operational to speculative Masonry.
The
first handwritten Masonic document of 1390 is titled Regius.
Evidentally, from its verse style and the fact that it speaks of Lords and
Ladies during lodge meetings, masonry had already become speculative at those
dates. It is also interesting that masonry, as old as human history, had no
recorded charter preceding the Regius of 1390. Architecture and
construction require advanced knowhow. Understandably, those who enjoyed this
expertise weren't eager to put their knowledge on paper, where undesirables
might obtain it. But another explanation for their having no written rules may
be that they existed within an order just as secretive as they were.
The
Masons survived with their secrets, safe within this order, until the Templars
were annihilated and abolished by the Inquisition. Then some of their secrets
began to emerge. The
Templars' rules were also the Masons' rules...
As stated above, Masons
and Templars shared quarters for two
hundred years and they must have influenced each other to some extent. Masonic
rituals are so similar that they must have been copied from the Templars. The
Masons identified themselves with the Templars to a great extent, and what is
viewed as original Masonic esotericism (secrecy) can be said to be a fairly
important inheritance from the Templars. As stated at the very beginning of
this research—and in a nutshell—the starting point of Freemasonry's royal art
and initiatic-esoteric line belonged to the Templars.44
Another Turkish Masonic source
examines various aspects of the Templar–Mason connection:
Le
Forestier was researching the same subject [the link between the Templars and
the Freemasons], and his conclusions seem undisputable today. The first
document in which the Templars appear to be the forefathers of the Masons is a
handwritten one from Strasbourg dated 1760 that makes no secret of their
inclination to mystical knowledge. This document includes the basis of the
myth: It defines how the order secrets have been handed down from Jacques de
Molay to contemporary Freemasonry. According to Le Forestier, the influence of
the German Rosicrucians is unquestionable, but "their only purpose was to
find a different interpretation by attributing to the masonic tradition and
enigma a secretiveness and a deliberate covertness." On the other hand,
the continuity of the temple had a certain logic: "This continuity also
brought the historical succession that it lacked and the established order that
it did not have until then."
As these examples show, the Templars
never ceased to exist. Instead, they infiltrated the lodges of the weak and
passive Masons, founded the Rosicrucians, organized and strengthened the order,
and turned it into an effective tool. The Templars are not a branch or aspect
of Masonry. Nor, as the Masons claim, are they "a little influenced by
them." Masonry, along with its symbols, history and ideals, has become a
den for the Templars, albeit under a different name. The Masons' history being
linked to the Temple of Solomon, their basic use of Hiram's name as a symbol
and the profession of stonemasonry, their use of mystic symbols from the
Cabbala, their adoption of the Templars' organizational structure, their
ceremonies, oath, dress and rules of promotion being prepared according to the
Templars' rule—all prove that the Templars and Freemasons are one and the same.
As mentioned the Templars encountered
no difficulties in penetrating the workers guilds and in Germany, England and
Portugal brought these lodges under their control and with this they had found
an ideal front and a new, strong organization suitable to be adapted to their
purposes.
Origins
of the Scottish Rite
The Scottish rite of Freemasonry,
oldest of the Masonic lodges employed to provide shelter for the Templars, was
established in the 14th century by Templars seeking refuge in Scotland. It
became an example for the rest to follow. The titles of the Scottish lodges'
highest ranks continue to be identical to those given to the Knights Templar
centuries before. Baron Karl von Hund, one of the most famous Masons of the
18th century who compiled research on the Templars, called the Scottish lodges
a "restoration" of the Templars. According to him, eight prominent
Templars fled first to Ireland and thence to Scotland, where they reorganized.
The Templars were soon active again in many other countries, but Scotland
became their new stronghold, where they based their operational headquarters.
Baron
Karl von Hund, the creator of the grade of Masonry known as the Rite of Strict
Observance [was responsible for adding the Templar legend to the Craft]. Von
Hund's Rite of Strict Observance spread throughout Europe including parts of
Switzerland and even as far as Russia. [T]here is no doubt that the Order of
the Temple, the highest of the Chivalric Orders in the York Rite, and the
Knight Kadosh grade of the Scottish Rite owe a great allegiance to the legend
first put forth in Von Hund's Rite of Strict Observance.45
In the following centuries, Masonic
Templarism branched out, expanding around the world to become a serious global
power, while always remaining true to its Templar ideology:
In
1717 "accepted Masons," working in operative lodges, decided to
create for themselves an organization to provide them tolerance and freedom of
thought within the religious, political and ideological environment of the 18th
century. This organization's signs, traditions and ceremonies were derived from
secret societies like Freemasonry, Templars and Rosicrucians. Its philosophy of
contemplation was inspired by the idea of free thought, originating in the 17th
century and just beginning to spread in England in the 18th.46
As the coming chapters will show, the
true ambition hidden in this plan was to weaken and destroy religion,
especially Christianity and Islam, by any means, creating a materialistic world
order opposed to religion and religious organizations, in line with the Masonic
ideals.
For
Other Purposes:The Rosicrucians
The Rosicrucians, founded by the
Templars as a sister organization to Freemasonry but serving a different
purpose, were darker and more secretive. Even today, it cannot be ascertained where and when this organization was founded. It has
circulated various documents and legends (such as the suggestion that their
order first arose in the Mystery Schools of ancient Egypt), most of which
contain little or no truth. The first authentic printed Rosicrucian documents,
"Confessio Rosae Crusis" and "Fama Fraternitatis," appeared
in Germany in 1614 and 1615, and contain important information about the order.
According to these and some later documents, the Rosicrucians are an
esoteric-secretive sect combining Egyptian Hermeticism, Gnosticism and
Cabalistic lore. According to the German documents, they were founded by a
German knight by the name of Christian Rosencreutz—though some experts suggest
that his name is either false or merely symbolic.
In this sect, the Templars felt more
at home than in the Freemasons' lodges. The Templars accepted non-Templars into
Masonic lodges, where they didn't practice the dark activities, like sorcery
and alchemy, that they did in the Rosicrucian organization.
Viewed from this perspective,
Rosicrucian centers were an obvious place for the Templars to obtain the
magical powers required to control material world. Therefore, these places
became the research centers for the Templars. Interestingly, both the
Freemasons and the Rosicrucians are of Templar descent and closely linked. In
the Scottish rite, the title of the 18th degree is Rosicrucian Knight:
The
Rosy Cross derived from the Red Cross of the Templars. Mirabeau, who as a
Freemason and an Illuminatus was in a position to discover many facts about the
secret societies of Germany during his stay in the country, definitely asserts
that "the Rose Croix Masons of the seventeenth century were only the
ancient Order of the Templars secretly perpetuated."47
Lecouteulx de Canteleu, an expert
in the subject, clarifies further:
In
France the Knights [Templar] who left the Order, henceforth hidden, and so to
speak unknown, formed the Order of the Flaming Star and of the Rose-Croix,
which in the fifteenth century spread itself in Bohemia and Silesia. Every
Grand officer of these Orders had all his life to wear the Red Cross and to
repeat every day the prayer of St. Bernard.48
Of all the Rosicrucian practitioners,
the most famous and fervent was a man who's often been surmised to be the true
author of Shakespeare's plays—Sir Francis Bacon, born in England in 1561. For
his services to science and philosophy, he was knighted 1st Baron of Verulam
and also Viscount of St Albans. He earned a reputation as Father of the
Positive sciences for his philosophical and scientific writings, although none
of them explains anything about his real identity. He was the Grand Master of
the English Templars and in this capacity, the most senior Rosicrucian. He was
an undisputed expert in the secret sciences, especially the Cabala, alchemy,
and sorcery. The so-called scientific research he undertook had little to do
with real science, but much with engaging mystic and supernatural forces to win
power over nature. Bacon's New Atlantis; his 1626 utopia of a heaven on
earth, is an adaptation of the Templars' ideal state. Bacon recounts the story
of an imaginary people on an imaginary island called Bensalem (which means
"New Jerusalem")—an entirely scientific society, full of inventions,
where the residents control even the winds. There's also the science house he
calls Solomon's house, which is the Templars' starting point as well as their
destination.
In short, we have three sister
organizations, operating under different names—Templars, Masons and
Rosicrucians—but with one single common aim. As the next chapter documents,
they continued to increase in power and influence and actively tried to alter
the face of the Earth to suit their purposes and still continue to do so, using
every means at their disposal.
CHAPTER
III
TEMPLARS,
REVOLUTIONS, MURDERS,
AND
THE MAFIA
Previous chapters have
examined the Templars' secret history and how they became Masons in turn. Not
that the Masons are identical copies of the Templars, but their intentions are
the same—to replace monotheistic religions like Christianity and Islam with pagan
belief systems and a materialistic worldview, aggressively targeting all
religious organizations.
This perverse teaching, painted in the colors of mysticism
and occultism, was inherited from the Templars and forms the central belief of
Masonry. It reveals itself in full to the upper echelons of the order,
increasing in transparency bit by bit as one advances up the ladder. Masonry's
global strategy is to impose this worldview on the masses by preparing the
ground in a nice sort of way—or, in some cases, by ruthlessly eliminating any
obstacles.
From the 18th century on, Freemasonry's global strategy can
be recognized behind the scenes of some ideological and political movements. In
The Occult Conspiracy, English historian Michael Howard explains the cooperation
of occultist secret societies like the Templars, Masons, Rosicrucians and
Illuminati, whose long, ongoing struggle is to return the West to a
pre-Christian paganism. The backcover of the book reads:
It is a little known
fact that for thousands of years secret societies and occult groups—guardians
of ancient esoteric wisdom—have exercised a
strong and often crucial influence on the destiny of nations. As Freemasons,
Knights Templar, and Rosicrucians they affected the course of the French and
American revolutions as well as the overthrow of the medieval order. . . The
Nazis, of course, but also the British security forces, the founding fathers of
America, and the Vatican have all had a part—for good or ill—in the occult
conspiracy.
As quote points out, the fight against
religion was not fought on one front only. It extended to a wide range of
neo-pagan philosophical or political movements, the Illuminati who paved the
way for the French Revolution, their Bavarian brothers who were trying to
realize a pan-European socialist revolution, even to the fascists who founded
the Nazi Party, and the Carbonari who prepared the ground for the Italian
National Front. These organizations and movements had significant ideological
differences, but they also shared common aims and methods, such as applying
pressure to religious organizations and ousting religion, replacing it with a
materialistic or naturalistic philosophy. To this end, Freemasonry has taken
different shapes ever since the 18th century, recruiting members from all
different political and philosophical movements and even penetrating the
Vatican, seeking to manipulate this most powerful Christian institution according to
Masonic ideologies.
Another remarkable aspect of Masonry is that it's
profit-orientated. Being a pagan (and therefore secular) organization, it's
natural for its members to seek worldly gains rather than idealist goals. For
this reason, while carrying out a seemingly philosophical struggle, Masonry has
been a focus for both political and economic interests, just like the
Templars—the most influential bankers of Europe while promoting the teachings
of paganism at the same time. Following chapters will examine more closely this
aspect of Masonry and the role it plays in the organization's links to the
Mafia.
It's impossible to state exactly all that the Masons have
done, for by their very nature, they are a secret society. The only way of
investigating their activities is to find the tip of the Masonic iceberg,
exploring as much and as deeply as possible and then guessing at the rest of
the picture. We'll begin this strategy by examining their impact on the past
two hundred years.
The Illuminati's Plans
for Revolution
The Templars' transformation into Masons also produced a
number of byproducts, the Rosicrucians being one of these. Another is the
Illuminati, one of the most talked about associations in the history of
occultism. Founded in Bavaria, in southern Germany, it was also known as the
Bavaria Illuminati, and its mission was to bring about a secular Masonic world
order by revolutionary means. Its founder was Adam Weishaupt, a professor of
law. Fiercely opposed to monarchies as well as to the Church, he listed the
society's goals:
1. Abolition of
monarchies and all ordered governments.
2. Abolition of private
property and inheritances.
3. Abolition of
patriotism and nationalism.
4. Abolition of family
life and the institution of marriage, and the establishment of communal
education of children.
5. Abolition of all
religion.49
The Encyclopedia of the Occult reveals that the
Illuminati society, increasingly powerful in Germany, was practicing all
Masonic rituals while preserving its own distinct identity. Weishaupt, the
"Grand Master," stamped his authority on the hundreds of intellectuals
who had joined the society, even though only a very few had access to Weishaupt
himself. In 1780, the German Baron von Knigge, a Grand Master Mason, joined the
society and increased the society's influence even further. Weishaupt and
Knigge began preparations for a revolution aimed at bringing down both Church
and Hapsburgs. In 1784, when the Bavarian government received intelligence
about the planned revolution, the two Grand Masters quickly dissolved the
Illuminati and joined ordinary Masonic lodges.
As occultist historians acknowledge, some of the players of
the French revolution like François-Noël Babeuf were of Illuminati origin.50
The Illuminati was renowned for its uncompromising hostility
towards religion. According to historian Michael Howard, Grand Master Weishaupt
felt a "pathological hatred" against religion51 that their planned revolution tried to
realize. It never happened, but their "brothers" in France
successfully carried out theirs—in the form of the French Revolution.
The
French Revolution and Jacques de Molay's Revenge
You'll recall that in France, by a joint operation of the
Catholic Church and the King, the Templars were arrested and their order
subsequently liquidated. No doubt, one of the surviving Templars-turned-Masons'
foremost ambitions was to weaken, even destroy, these two institutions. It is
therefore very significant that the Masons played such a role in the birth of
the French Revolution.
In The Occult Conspiracy, English historian Michael
Howard points to the role played by the Masonic lodges in the preparation of
the revolution. Its Grand Master, Savalette de Lage, founded one of these
lodges, Friends of Truth, whose political philosophy drew up the framework for
the social reforms that brought about the Revolution. Another important lodge
connected with Savalette de Lage was the Neuf Soeurs (Nine Sisters)—one,
which counted among its members names like Voltaire, Benjamin Franklin, John
Paul Jones and was busy formulating alternative, secular systems of education and
developing completely secular theories of history, literature, chemistry and
medicine in opposition to the Church's. During the Revolution, the College of
Apollo, founded by the lodge, was renamed the Lycée Republican.
Books written within the short period of the Revolution
testify to the important role Masonry had
played. According to a claim widely circulated, the uprising that ignited the
Revolution was planned at the Great Masonic Convention in Wilhelmsbad in 1782.
One participant of this convention was Comte de Mirabeau, a leader of the
revolutionaries. Upon returning to France, he immediately moved to implement in
the lodges of France the decisions taken at the convention.52
Behind the scenes, Comte Cagliostro
played a leading role in the Revolution. Born in Sicily, his real name was
Joseph Balsamo. A member of the Illuminati and of the classic Masonic lodges in
Germany, he was chosen to be one of the agents entrusted with the mission of
disseminating radical and revolutionary ideas across Europe, thus preparing the
ground for the eventual French Revolution. At the end of his tour he went to
France and became a Jacobin. At the Grand Masonic Congress in 1785, he received
new orders for preparing for the revolution. In the same year, Cagliostro was the
focal point of the Diamond Necklace Affair, making the Queen the victim of a
conspiracy devised to give the impression that she had a love affair with a
Cardinal. Among the people, this irreparably dented the reputations of both the
Church and the Monarchy. French novelist Alexandre Dumas confirmed that this
scandal was arranged by the Masons.53
In his capacity as the lodge's agent
provocateur, Cagliastro was at the center of many events leading up to the
Revolution. In a letter about the coming revolution that he wrote from London
to a friend in Paris in 1787, he spoke about how the Bastille would be stormed,
that the Church and monarchy would be abolished and replaced by a new religion
based on the principles of reason.54 Cagliastro was no fortune teller, so the
information contained in his letter more likely came from his superiors in the
lodge. As Michael Howard puts it, "From 1785 to 1789 several of the
Masonic lodges in France were working full time to undermine the monarchy and
the established government."55
To a great extent, the French
Revolution was the making of Freemasonry. The Masons saw the Revolution as a
major milestone on the way to their desired new social order, as well as an act
of revenge for what the French monarchy had done to the Templars. When an
agitated mob marched on the Bastille, Comte Mirabeau shouted, "The
idolatry of the monarchy has received a death blow from the sons and daughters
of the Order of Templars."56 The real aim of the storming of the Bastille
wasn't to free a handful of prisoners from this strategically unimportant
prison. It was made a symbol of the Revolution for a different reason: This was
where the Grand Master Jacques de Molay had been imprisoned for years before
his execution in 1314! If one purpose of the Revolution was to avenge de Molay,
then the Bastille was a priority target.57
The role played by the Masons—or to be
more precise, the neo-Templars—in realizing the Revolution was revealed in
1789, when the Inquisition arrested Cagliostro. He quickly confessed and told
all he knew, hoping to save his life. One of the first things he told the
Inquisition was that the Masons were planning revolutions right across Europe,
intending to finish off what the Templars had begun: namely, to either destroy
the Papacy or bring it under their control.
The methods used by the Masons and
Illuminati to advance the revolution were equally ruthless and merciless.
According to William T. Still in The New World Order:
In
the spring and summer of 1789, an artificial shortage of grain was created by
Illuminist manipulations of the grain market. This produced a famine so intense
that it brought the nation to the edge of revolt. One of the leading figures in
this scheme was the Duc d'Orleans, the Grand Master of the Grand Orient lodges.
The Illuminists claimed that their revolution would be "for the benefit of
the bourgeoisie with the people as instruments ..." But in reality the
conspirators held up the food supplies and blocked all reforms in the National
Assembly to exacerbate the situation, and the populace starved...
A
panic was created simultaneously around the nation. Horsemen rode from town to
town telling the citizens that "brigands" were approaching and that
everyone should take up arms. Citizens were instructed that the conspirators
were being harbored in the larger estates, the chateaux, and that by edict of
the King all should be torched. The people, obedient to their monarch,
complied. Soon, the flames of destruction were burning out of control. Anarchy
continued to grow as citizens began raiding and pillaging—and not only for
food.58
With the beginning of the Revolution,
the Jacobins, most of whom were also Masons, began a campaign of terror. Ten
thousand royalists and church members were sent to the guillotine, drowning
France in a sea of blood. The details of this time of terror and the Masonic
messages they contained gives food for thought:
Terror
was rampant in the streets of Paris… Not surprisingly, in November 1793 a
campaign against religion was inaugurated by a massacre of the priests all over
France. In the cemeteries the cherished motto of the Illuminati, "Death is
an eternal sleep," was posted by order of the Illuminatus "Anaxagoras"
Chaumette. In the churches of Paris, Feasts of Reason were celebrated where
women of easy morals were enthroned as goddesses. These were also known as
"Eroterion," and were modeled on Weishaupt's plan to honor the god of
Love…59
…
Toward the end of 1793, the new revolutionary Republic found itself faced with
hundreds of thousands of working men for whom it could not find employment. The
revolutionary leaders embarked upon a fearful new project that was to be copied
by tyrants ever after, called "depopulation." The idea was to reduce
France's population of twenty-five million down to either eight or sixteen
million, depending on which source you believe. Maximilien Robespierre believed
depopulation to be "indispensable." 60
In
France, members of the revolutionary committees in charge of the extermination
toiled day and night over maps, calculating just how many heads must be
sacrificed in each town. Fearful Revolutionary Tribunals tried to determine who
would be killed, and a never-ending stream of victims marched to a variety of
deaths. In Nantes, 500 children were killed in one butchery, and 144 poor women
who sewed shirts for the army were thrown into the river.61
This terror was the product of
hostility towards the monarchy and the church by the Masons and the Illuminati,
the Templars' successors.
In 1796, a book entitled The Tomb
of Jacques de Molay was published in France, stating that the Revolution
was realized by the Freemasons, whose origins are the Order of the Templars.
The following year, a Jesuit priest, Father Bamuel published his Memoires
pour servir de l'histoire du Jacobinisme (Memoirs toward a History of
Jacobinism), revealing that the Templars still lived on behind the front of
Freemasonry and that the Revolution was of their making. The English civil war,
he claims, was also a Templar conspiracy.62
In 1808, a public requiem was held in
the Church of St Paul in Paris for Jacques de Molay. The Masons attending this
service were dressed exactly like medieval Templars, performed some rituals
over de Molay's bones and personal belongings, then proceeded to march down the
streets of Paris carrying the piebald banner of the Templars.63 Five centuries after his execution by the King
and the church in Paris, de Molay was remembered in Paris with a great
ceremony. This time there was no king and no church, and blood was cheap.
An Inside Account of
Jack the Ripper
In researching the Masons' political activities, especially
their illegal ones, the infamous "Ripper" murders cannot be
overlooked. These serial murders were committed in London in 1888. Over a span
of nine weeks, five prostitutes were brutally murdered and their bodies
disembowled, sometimes dismembered. These murders were never actually solved,
and the murderer was never caught. Letters "signed" under the name of
Jack the Ripper sent to the police force, shortly after these murders were
committed, provided the murderer with his nickname. Who the person or people
responsible for the murders is or are is still unknown.
A number of people who have investigated this mystery
concluded that the murders were politically motivated and that evidence
suggests that Masons were to be found behind this conspiracy.
Shortly before the time of the murders, the British monarchy
was threatened with a great scandal. The eldest son of Queen Victoria, later
King Edward VII was the Grand Master of the English Freemasons. Theoretically,
his son, Eddy, would have become King if his grandmother and father had died
before him, but Eddy had a private life incompatible with palace discipline. He
was secretly visiting his painter friend Walter Sickert and his friends; and at
one of these visits he met and began an affair with Annie Crook, a Catholic
shop-girl of the lower classes. After some time she gave birth to his child,
and they were secretly married. Sickert hired a nanny for Eddy and Annie's baby
girl. Mary (or Marie) Kelly and Sickert were the witnesses at their secret
wedding.
At the time, Britain was in political turmoil. Had the public
learned of Eddy's marriage to a woman like Annie, it could have had
far-reaching repercussions, including the abolition of the monarchy. (It was
against British law for the monarch to marry a Catholic, not to mention the
problems posed by her working-class background.) Such a scandal was a serious
threat to anyone with an active interest in the Britain's political and social
systems, especially the Freemasons.
When word of all this got to Queen Victoria, she demanded
that, Lord Salisbury—her Prime Minister, and a renowned Mason—cover up this
affair. Salisbury had Annie admitted to an asylum, where she was to die 32
years later. Her daughter later became Sickert's mistress and bore him a son.
Marie Kelly, the witness at the marriage, became an alcoholic and prostitute
and later shared this secret with three of her prostitute friends.
When these women threatened to reveal Eddy's secret,
Salisbury decided that this threat had to be ended and enlisted the help of Sir
William Gull, physician to the Queen and a high-ranking Freemason; it was he
who had declared Annie insane and sent her to the asylum.
Considering his options, Gull concluded that these
prostitutes constituted an unacceptable threat to the monarchy and Freemasonry
and decided to kill them, one by one, according to Masonic ritual. This is how
the shocking "Ripper" murders came about. Prime Minister Salisbury,
the other members of government and the police force provided the cover-up, as
was expected of the Masonic brotherhood. They kept this secret and admired Gull
for his great sense of "responsibility." Gull sent his driver Netley
to persuade Sickert to help locate and identify the four prostitutes. They were
located, picked up, brutally murdered, and then their bodies mutilated and
dismembered as prescribed in Masonic rites and finally disposed of at the
chosen sites.
This is the tally of Gull's murders:
1) On August 31, 1888, Mary Ann (Polly) Nichols was murdered
by having her throat cut deeply, starting at one ear and circling her throat,
and her abdomen was cut open.
2) On September 8 of the same year, Annie Chapman was
murdered by having her throat cut. Her tongue protruded between her teeth and
was swollen. Her abdomen was entirely opened; her small intestines were removed
and placed above her right shoulder but still attached. Part of her stomach had
been cut out and placed above her left shoulder. Her womb and portion of her
vagina were removed. Her jewelry and coins were removed and two brass rings put
on her toes.
3) On September 30, Elizabeth (Liz) Stride was murdered by
having her throat cut, from one jaw to the other.
4) Also on September 30, Gull thought
that he was killing his last and most important victim, Marie Kelly. Instead,
by mistake he murdered Catherine (Kate) Eddowes, who went by the name of Mary
Ann Kelly. Eddowes was murdered by cutting her throat from ear to ear. Her nose
was completely cut off, part of her right ear was cut off, her face was
mutilated with deep triangular cuts, her abdomen was completely cut open, and
her intestines taken out and placed over her right shoulder. A two foot piece
was removed and placed between her left arm and her body, and her left kidney
and part of her womb removed and taken away.
The police found a piece of her cut
apron, soaked in blood, that fit the part still on her body. On the black wall
above Eddowes' body was written in white chalk,: "The Juwes are The men
That Will not be Blamed for nothing."
5) On November 9th, Gull and
his partners in crime corrected their earlier mistake by murdering Mary Kelly
in her flat. Her throat was cut with the tissue severed all around, whole
surface of abdomen and thighs removed and abdominal cavity emptied. Her breasts
were cut off, her arms mutilated and her face hacked to the extent that it
could no longer be recognized. Her womb, kidneys and one of her breasts were
placed under her head, the other breast by her right foot, liver between her
feet, intestines by her right side, and spleen by her left side. Skin removed
from her abdomen and thighs was on a bedside table. Part of one lung was
missing, as was her heart.
These events led researchers to the
reality behind the scenes: Had these murders not been premeditated, it would
have been risky to mutilate and dismember the victims' bodies. (Stride, the
third victim, refused the carriage ride, so she was murdered quickly then and
there, in the middle of the street.) The only explanation for these horrific
acts of slaughter is that they were ritualistic murders, committed according to
Masonic ritual. All of their aspects—cutting of the throats, removal of the
heart, removal of intestines, triangular cuts, cutting off part of the victim's
apron—can be found as prescribed punishments for traitors in the books read in
the lodges of Masonry.
The Ripper's next victim was dumped in
the district known as Mitre Square. The mitre is a Mason's tool, and the Mitre
Tavern is a well-known meeting point of the Masons.
What does "Juwes" mean? Some have suggested that
this is a spelling error for Jews—perhaps deliberate, intended to
deflect suspicion onto some illiterate bigot. Instead, the circumstances and
methods of the murders suggest that they were committed by an educated
individual who would hardly make such an ignorant spelling mistake. Others who
have researched these murders suggest that the word juwes stands for
Jubela, Jubelo and Jubelum, the three traitors who murdered Hiram Abiff, the
legendary founder of Masonry.
Another unexplained detail is that the writings on the wall
that the police found when they discovered the body were immediately washed
off, by the order of the head of the police, Sir Charles Warren, who had never
gone to a crime scene before. Incidentally, he was also a Mason.
All of this suggests that this
violence later to be called as the Jack the Ripper murders was actually part of
a political conspiracy and committed by Masons. There is evidence that the
Masons committed other murders including the famous murders of Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart and Captain William Morgan, both of whom were thought to have committed
treachery against the Freemasons. In 1890, news of the death of high-ranking
Mason and murder suspect Dr. Gull were circulated, but actually, he lived on
under the name of "Thomas Mason" as a patient in an insane asylum,
and died many years later.
Sickert the painter, who knew
everything, told the true story to his son Joseph. Three quarters of a century
later, Joseph related the events witnessed by his father to the journalist
Stephen Knight, an expert on Masonry, who then published Jack The Ripper:
The Final Solution in 1976. In the ensuing controversy surrounding the
book, the Freemasons vehemently denied these allegations, despite all the
evidence to the contrary.
The subject made headlines again in
2001 when the Hollywood blockbuster From Hell was released. In this
film, the Jack the Ripper murders are retold as a story based on historical
evidence, and the Masonic conspiracy behind these murders is revealed in
graphic detail.
This story is probably only the tip of
the iceberg. Masonry is a secret society and as such, never reveals its secrets
to outsiders. It is difficult to glimpse their real activities past the
smokescreens, behind which much worse is hidden. Leaks in the Jack the Ripper
case only illustrate what horrors this secret society is capable of.
Now we'll move on beyond the iceberg's
visible tip for a better idea about the whole.
Propaganda Due (P-2)
In March 1981, two Milanese prosecutors were investigating a
fake kidnapping incident from 1979, in which an international banker
disappeared. The Sicilian-born Michele Sindona was a financial adviser to the
Vatican and thought to have links to the Mafia. The prosecutors made an
interesting discovery: While on the run from the authorities and hiding in
Palermo, Sindona suddenly traveled to Arezzo, a town 600 miles north, where he
met with the textile manufacturer Licio Gelli.
If a personality like Sindona leaves the safety of his
hiding place to meet Licio Gelli, then this Gelli must be an important person
indeed. For this reason, prosecutors ordered the investigation of Gelli. On
March 17th, the investigating police officer searched this industrialist's office
and found a list containing the names of 962 people. No ordinary list, it gave
the names of the members of the Propaganda Due Masonic lodge—P2, for short—of
which Gelli was the Grand Master.
What was really surprising was, the list contained the names
of some of the most important persons in Italy: three ministers, 43 members of
parliament, 43 generals, eight admirals, secret service chiefs, hundreds of top
bureaucrats and diplomats, the police commanders of Italy's four largest
cities, industrialists and financiers, the editor and publisher of the
newspaper Corriere della Sera and 24 other journalists and TV
personalities. Michele Sindona was also listed. Another member of the lodge was
banker Roberto Calvi, later to be found hanged from the Blackfriars Bridge in
London, in the Masonic style of ritual execution, and only a few hundred yards
away from a church that in the Middle Ages had once belonged to the Templars.
As far as could be understood, every member of the P-2 had
sworn loyalty to Gelli and to do anything that he might ask of them. These 962
members were grouped into 17 cells, each with its own Master. Gelli ran the
lodge with such secrecy and professionalism that even the members themselves
knew no one outside their own cells; only the Grand Master of each cell knew
all its members.
But who was Licio Gelli, the Grand Master of the lodge? He
was a militant who had fought in the Spanish Civil War on the side of the
fascists, and had been a fervent supporter of Mussolini. Later, after the war,
when his involvement in the torture of Italian partisans was discovered, he was
forced to flee the country for Argentina, where he became a close friend of the
president Juan Perón. And now here he was, the Grand Master of the P-2 Masonic
lodge.
These revelations shook Italy to the core. The investigation
further revealed that the lodge was participating in the government affairs and
was central to Italy's endless corruption scandals. With the aid of their
Masonic cardinal brothers, the lodge had turned the Vatican into a
money-laundering institution and the lodge was also the strongest branch of the
legendary Italian Mafia. The P-2 was behind many assassinations, acts of terror
like bombings and was closely linked to the contra-guerilla cell Gladio.
For a long time the P-2 had been channeling CIA and Vatican
funds to fascist groups in Europe and Latin America. Lodge Member Michele
Sindona was later arrested on charges of the murder of an Italian lawyer, and
died in prison after drinking a cup of poisoned coffee. He was not only the
treasurer of the P-2, but also the investment advisor to the Vatican. Sindona
was responsible for selling the Vatican's Italian assets and investing the
proceeds in the US. He was working for the Mafia as well as the CIA and had previously
channeled funds to his Yugoslavian "friends" and to the Greek
military junta that came to power in 1967.
The parliamentary commission investigating this affair
discovered that the P-2 was an international organization influential in
everything from arms trading to crude oil prices. Ligio Gelli, the dark name of
banking scandals and the secret and illegal P-2 Lodge, received a prison
sentence of 12 years.
The P-2's Secret Lodge
and Strange Rituals
The P-2's political activities and murders make horrific
reading, but its organizational structure and ritualistic practices are equally
so. This far-from-ordinary lodge had been building in great secrecy and every
member was required to maintain this secrecy when coming or going. In his book St.
Peter's Banker, Italian journalist Luigi Difonzo explains the P2, based on
former members' confessions, with its activities of money laundering and links
to the Mafia. About the lodge's location, he has the following to say:
In interviews two former
members have described the oaths they took. They were taken to a compound, a
Villa hidden in the Apennines in the region of Tuscany. A 12-foot wall seals
the neatly manicured grounds from view. In the centre of the main courtyard
stands a fountain shaped like a tree trunk. The cobra-like sculpture, with its
inflated hood, watches over the compound in a protective posture, as if ready
to strike. The cobra's head is twice the size of a human skull. It has a single
eye, which is blue during daylight and red after nightfall, for inside the
cobra's hood and behind its eye there is a closed-circuit camera that follows a
visitor, invited or unwelcome, as the fountain rotates in the direction the
intruder moves. The fountain-camera is controlled from a room within the villa
where eight monitors, each with five stations, cover eight guest rooms, patio,
pool, dining room, sitting room, and party room. Approximately ten cameras,
including the one inside the cobra, have infrared lenses. All of the exterior
cameras are camouflaged by the landscaping. The Villa's interior is
magnificent. Every room has marble floors and is furnished with antiques.
Observing the high ceilings, the finely crafted gold-leaf moldings, the
portraits of Mussolini, Hitler, and Peron, the visitor experiences a feeling, a
sort of living, breathing odor of danger
and power that penetrates the soul and cell by cell contaminates the mind with
fear. The year is 1964.64
In this lodge were conducted hair-raising rituals:
In the meeting room,
twelve members of P-2, dressed in satin ceremonial robes and wearing black
hoods reminiscent of those worn by members of the Ku Klux Klan, sit in leather
chairs at a red marble conference table. They are the elite members of the Wolf
Pack, Gelli's disciples—some say his execution squad. None of the black-clad
disciples knows the identity of any of his eleven brothers. Grand Master Licio
Gelli is the only one who bares his face. Two Masons stand post at the entrance
to the meeting room. Their faces are also covered... They are ... personal
bodyguards, some say his death squad—former Mussolini Fascists whose job is to
protect the Grand Master and kill any of the twelve disciples who betray the
cause "Il Momento di Passare all"(The Time for Real Action)... Each
bodyguard carries an axe; they also bear automatic weapons.65
In the admission ceremonies for the initiates to the P-2,
which is organized like the Mafia, one could witness the lodge's merciless
methods and political ideals:
The ceremony begins.
There is an uneven series of knocks at the door. "Your Worshipful," a
disciple announces, "a pagan wishes to enter." The Grand Master
strikes the table with one blow with his axe. Immediately the oversized door
swings open and slams against the inner wall. Two guards escort the initiate to
the center of the room where he faces the twelve Masons with his back to the
grand master's throne. The Pagan, as he is called, is wearing a plain black
hood and a blindfold. His identity is known to Grand Master Licio Gelli, but to
no one else. He is asked one question by each of the disciples, but the Pagan
does not answer, instead, one of the guards speaks for him. Once all the ritual
questions about purpose and belief and reason for wanting to become a member of
Propaganda Due are answered, the Pagan is turned to face the Grand Master, who
asks, "Pagan, are you prepared to die in order to preserve the secrets of
Propaganda Due?" The initiate now answers for himself: "I am."
"Do you have the necessary quality of contempt for danger?" "I
do." "Do you have the necessary quality of courage?" "I am
courageous...". "And Pagan, are you prepared to fight and perhaps
face shame, even death, so that we who may become your Brothers may destroy
this Government and form a Presidency?" "I am." Then the
blindfold is removed. It takes a moment for the initiate's vision to clear,
because this is the first time since entering the compound that he has been
allowed to see light. The blindfold serves a purpose other than security. It
also represents the power of P-2: "Without membership one is blind; with
the help of the order, however, the way is clear."66
P-2 and Mossad
Along with the darker sides of the P-2, the lodge had also
an Israeli connection. The July 1981 issue of The Middle East International
Journal established that the P-2 had close links with Israel, especially
with Mossad, and that the Jewish community in Italy played an important role in
this connection. In later years, Carlo de Beneditti, the second richest man in
Italy, was discovered to have had a close relationship with the P-2 Lodge and
also very good contacts with the Jewish communities in Europe and the US. The
foremost names who had contact with the P-2 are Henry Kissinger, Edmond de
Rothschild, and David Rockefeller. The Italian journal Panorama wrote
that Ellie de Rothschild arranged the necessary amount of money for the Masonic
hanging of banker Roberto Calvi, who either had or was about to
"talk" against the P-2.67 Henry
Kissinger was directly involved at the top of the lodge. In Papa, Mafya,
Agca (The Pope, The Mafia and Agca), Ugur Mumcu, a prominent Turkish
journalist wrote, "Henry Kissinger is a member of the Monte Carlo lodge,
which is the P-2's 'board of directors,' also known as the Monte Carlo
Committee. All the members of this lodge are Grand Masters and Masons of the 33rd degree."68
The alliance between the P-2 and Israel or to be more
specific, with Mossad is illustrated by ex-Mossad agent Victor Ostrovsky in The
Other Side of Deception, published in 1994 after his other greatly
controversial book, By Way of Deception. Ostrovsky writes that Licio
Gelli, P-2's Grand Master, was the ally of Mossad in Italy and that Gelli also
had a close relationship with the Gladio contra-guerilla group, allied with
Mossad and that Mossad used this Gelli-Gladio alliances for its arms dealings
with Italy in the 1980s.69
After P-2 – P-3?
The P-2 scandal had educational value for Italy as well as
other countries. Now, there was no doubt that the Masons could become an
invisible government in any country and, like a Mafia organization, empty the
coffers of the state.
Quickly enough, Freemasonry lodges around the world were
distancing themselves from the P-2 by claiming, for example, that the P-2 Lodge
was an exception and not a true Freemason's lodge, that it had developed its
own organization independent of Masonry, and so forth. All these statements were just attempts at erecting smoke
screens around Masonry's true nature. English journalist and writer Martin
Short states that P-2 was a regular lodge, founded and run according to the
rules by which Masonic lodges abide. With plenty of details, he reveals the
close relationship between the P-2 and the English Grand Lodge. Short states
that P-2 was different from other lodges only in that it was to remain a secret
lodge. In 1977 Lino Salvini, Grand Master of the Italian Grand Lodge,
instructed Gelli to continue its work—albeit in secrecy and isolated from the
other Italian lodges.70
After the P-2 scandal exposing the
Masons' links to the Mafia, their relationship continued. A legendary politician
like Giulio Andreotti, often addressed as "the Godfather," had also
been exposed as a Mason. The list continues, with the Social Democrat Prime
Minister Bettino Craxi's connection to the Masons being revealed, along with
many more at lesser levels. All this was evidence enough that the P-2 was no
exception, and for this reason, the Italian media discussed whether there might
be a P-3. In the last days of 1993, the Italian police caught the Mafia's boss
of bosses, the legendary Salvatore Riina. He too was exposed as a Mason. The
newspaper La Stampa printed excerpts of Riina's confessions in which he
stated that many Italian Mafia bosses were Masons like him—but because many
judges were Masons too, the legal system didn't not prevent judges from aiding
their Mafia brothers instead of prosecuting them. After this revelation,
Italy's highest court ruled it illegal for judges or prosecutors to be—or
become—Masons.
After all these Mason-connected corruption scandals came an
attempt to clean up Italy's political and legal institutions—Operation Clean
Hands, which didn't go very far either: After this, media mogul Silvio
Berlusconi of his Forza Italia party was elected Prime Minister. He too had
been a P-2 member and had some interesting connections with Israel.71
In short, the P-2 is not an "exception" or
"accident" as the Masons say in an attempt to cover up the scandal.
On the contrary, they need these "secret and isolated lodges" to
accommodate the top government officials in a country. What is an
"exception" or "accident" is that the P-2 was exposed.
Evidence to this effect came also at the middle of 1990's
from England. Lord Nolan was appointed by the Prime Minister John Major in 1994
to lead a Committee on Standards in Public Life to investigate allegations of
corruption in British politics. Realizing that Masons were at the center of the
allegations, he decided to focus on their involvement in politics. The
newspaper Independent's 21st January 1995 issue gave it a headline
article, launching an inquiry into Freemasonry for the first time in British
history. It reported that the Masons were an organization 300,000 strong,
represented at the top of the police force, in the government, the House of
Lords, the high court, banking, the boardrooms of the largest companies and
every part of the establishment, even the Royal family!
Nolan's committee also established that, just as with the
P-2 in Italy, along with the ordinary English lodges there were more secretive
ones. Some were very selective about where they recruited their members. One of
these lodges, for example, was recruiting only from the Ministry of Defense,
among high-ranking officers, and the senior management of the arms industry.
A similar scandal hit the front pages in France. For years
the corruption of Roland Dumas, former French Foreign Minister and Mason, had
been covered up by other high-ranking government officials who were also
Masons. Le Point, the French weekly magazine, exposed other cases of
corruption, revealing how the Masons covered up for each other in their illegal
activities.
Clearly, the P-2 scandal in Italy wasn't a series of
coincidences. Considering other scandals in Britain and France, it can safely
be said that these weren't isolated cases. This leads to the question of
whether every country has its own P-2s.
CHAPTER
IV
FREEMASONS
(OR TEMPLARS) IN TURKEY
The roots of Turkish
Masonry go back to the middle of the 19th century. Sources on the subject speak
of five phases of Masonry in Turkey, the first of these being the period before
1909. A number of lodges were founded during the Ottoman Empire, but could not
get properly organized, since Sultan Abdulhamid systematically prevented this.
At this stage, the lodges depended on lodges outside of the Empire, who also
provided their management.
The second period, between 1909 and 1935, began with the
March 31 uprising (April 13, 1909 corresponds to March 31, 1325 in the Muslim
calendar) that removed Abdulhamid from the throne and let the Masons become the
ruling political power. To reduce opposition from the people, the local lodges,
hitherto run from abroad, took on a national identity for the first time in
Masonic history. At the beginning of this period, the Committee of Union and
Progress (Ittihat ve Terakki Cemiyeti) controlled by Masons came to the
forefront.
The third period runs between 1935 and 1948. In 1935,
president Ataturk ordered the closure of the lodges, on the grounds that they
were destructive institutions run from abroad, and so Masonry entered a period
of hibernation. But during these 13 years of "sleep," the Masons
continued with their activities in the Halkevi Community Centers.
In the years between 1948 and 1966, Masonic activities
intensified, but in two distinct branches: the Scottish and the French rites.
The final period began in 1966 and leads up to the present day, wherein the two
branches are increasingly more active and better organized.
The Tanzimat Reforms,
Mustafa Reshid Pasha,
and August Comte
The Masons' first real impact in the Ottoman Empire was felt
in 1839, during the Tanzimat ("reorganization" in Turkish) era
(1839-1876). Although there had been lodges founded well before that, they were
neither effective nor well organized. All this changed, however, with Mustafa
Reshid Pasha, Masonry's shining star and known as the architect of the Reform
Edict (Tanzimat Fermani).
According to Masonic sources, Mustafa Reshid Pasha made
first contact with Masonry in London and was admitted into the order in the
1830s, though which lodge actually admitted him is not known. Of Mustafa Reshid
Pasha, the Turkish Masonic journal Mimar Sinan has this to say:
"If, on your path,
you have to fight forces more powerful than yourself, you must fight their
thoughts relentlessly. If you are positive that your path is the true one, you
must proceed, even if you are alone. Never hide your deeds." Was this piece
of ritual advice not the Great Mustafa Reshid Pasha's and other brothers'
leading principle? Did he not heed this advice, when he took the appeal for his
own execution to the Sultan or when he read out the Imperial Edict (Hatti
Humayun), standing bolt upright, self-confident and self-conscious, knowing
what he was doing and wanted to do and prepared to die for this if necessary?
We bow before the memory of the Great Mustafa Pasha, who had been the leading
light for the people, and in remembrance of his courageous reading of the Hatti
Humayun, 135 years ago in the Gulhane Square.72
In another issue of the journal:
Great Mustafa
Pasha, shaped by Masonry, is a monument of love of country and people. He rests
in the loyal bosom of history, content in having received the light of the
temple and having lit the way for his homeland.73
But what are the meaning and the consequence of the
Reform Edict, of which Mustafa Reshid Pasha was the architect?
Its positive as well as negative consequences have been
argued over for more than 150 years. True, the Reform Edict's starting point
was the Ottoman Empire's desperate need for reform, since in terms of
development it had fallen way behind the Western world. The Reform Edict didn't
only kick-start the process of reform, but also imported the materialistic
world view then dominant in Europe.
When this subject is examined closely, we see that the European
Masons, via the lodge, were bombarding Mustafa Reshid Pasha and other leaders
of the Tanzimat movement with propaganda for the materialistic philosophy. In
this respect, the famous atheist philosopher August Comte, who was close to
Mustafa Reshid Pasha, played an important role. Comte tried to influence the
Pasha with his anti-religious positivism and wrote him countless letters filled
with atheist, anti-religious content. At one point, the Sultan sacked Mustafa
Reshid Pasha as chief minister because of the relationship between the two. One
of Comte's letters reads as follows:
Since you have
been removed from the office you held so successfully, the free time you now have on hand gives rise to my hope that
you will invest time into considering my positivist philosophy, which I present
to you in general terms, and the universal positivist political system it will
create…
For
many hundreds of years the West as well as the East have searched for a
universal, unifying religion. Faith in one religion engages the human emotions
and gets a hold on them, whereas experience and reason prove that such hope is
unfounded. While progressing from Islam to Positivism, without any need for a
metaphysical transformation period, Muslims will soon understand the real maintainers
of such elevated thoughts as peculiar to their great Prophet who will
systematize religious faith and humanitarian understanding with universal
victory.
If
the Muslims could be distanced from such an unnecessary sense of political
unity, they won't feel sad about the Ottoman Empire's inevitable collapse. On
the contrary, they will see that their temporary rule actually limited their
society's social development. As for the Ottoman chiefs still engaged with the
occupation of their lands by lesser nations and the like—once the inevitable
takes place, their imaginary fears will disappear and the people will be freed.
The political implication of accepting humanitarianism instead of a universally
believed God will bring a sense of unity among the people, which Islam's core
philosophy so desires. Once the Ottomans replace their faith in God with
Humanism, this goal will quickly be attained.74
In his letters to Mustafa Reshid
Pasha, Comte recommended that the Ottomans should replace their Islamic
religion with the "religion" of positivism and drop their dream of
political unity with other Muslim peoples. Comte also recommends replacing God
with Humanism—in reality, the same as the Masonic ideology of secular humanism.
(For detailed information about secular humanism, see Global Freemasonry
by Harun Yahya, Global Publishing, Istanbul, 2003)
It's easy to recognize the
irrationality of Comte's advice. God created all people and therefore, they are
answerable to Him. The suggestion to drop the Creator in favor of Humanism
suggests that people adopt one another as their life purpose. Throughout
history, the prophets have fought misleading, misguided philosophies like this.
Shu‘ayb (peace be upon him) said to his nation (Qur'an, 11: 92): "…
My people! Do you esteem my clan more than you do God? You have made Him into
something to cast disdainfully behind your backs! But my Lord encompasses
everything that you do!"
In reality, Comte and all other
leading 19th-century atheists (Darwin, Marx, Freud, Durkheim, etc.) did nothing
more than rework old, mistaken beliefs and ideas and present them as new and
progressive. To a great extent, Masonry is responsible for the dissemination
and acceptance of these beliefs and ideas across Europe and from there, around
the globe. Freemasonry has adopted positivism like a religion along with other
materialistic philosophies and begun a systematic campaign to impose them first
on the intellectual élite, then on the masses in general.
Masonry's activities in the Ottoman
Empire and later in Turkey must be considered from this perspective. The lodge
acted like a propaganda machine, making the fight against religion its mission.
When different phases of Masonry's history in Turkey are examined, an
interesting picture emerges.
Young
Turks, the Committee of Union and Progress,
and
Freemasons
After the Tanzimat period came the
first Constitutional Period (I. Mesrutiyet) (1876-1878). On February 14,
1878, Abdulhamid sacked
the Constitutional government and ruled the nation directly until the second constitutional government was declared in 1908.
Some historians have therefore chosen to portray this era as a dictatorship.
The truth is different, however.
Sultan Abdulhamid inherited an Empire
at the verge of collapse. With skill and balanced diplomacy, he not only kept
the Empire alive, but prevented warfare and bloodshed between 1876 and 1909. He
reformed many areas of the Ottoman government, including the institutions of
justice, education, and the military. During his reign, the Dar-ul-Funun (The
House of Sciences) was established and later became the University of Istanbul.
His government built the foundations of the railway system and the
infrastructure of telegraphy. The generation that was to establish the Republic
of Turkey, including Ataturk, received its education in the modern schools
Abdulhamid had built. Claims that his regime was "bloody" are
baseless and unfair, considering that not even his fiercest enemies were
sentenced to death, but instead were exiled.
The real reason for the hostile
propaganda against him was that he was a devout Muslim, ruling his Empire
according to Islamic morality.
The opposition facing him during the
40-odd years of his rule was the Young Turks. Theirs was not a united front
with a common ideology—some of them actually held religious values. Most Young
Turks believed that the way forward for the Ottoman Empire was to adopt Western
philosophies and systems. Most were well-meaning and hoped to save the Empire
but history was to prove their ideology faulty soon enough. The Young Turks did
succeed in bringing down Abdulhamid's government, but their own lasted only ten
years, during which time the Empire disintegrated. One fraction within this
movement was the Union and Progress Party. They were in charge from 1910
onwards and became the Empire's ruling party in 1913. But simply opposing
Abdulhamid was not sufficient to improve the situation in the Empire.
Masonic elements within the Young
Turks' movement and the Union party were responsible for their wholesale
adoption of Western philosophies, ideologies and systems. An article in the
Paris daily Le Temps on August 20, 1908, based on an interview with Mr.
Refik and Colonel Niyazi—two Union party members in Thessalonica—reveals the extent
of the Masons' influence on the movement:
The
journalist conducting the interview asked the extent of the aid received from
Masonry between 1905 and 1908. Their answer to this question is interesting.
"Masonry, especially Italian Masonry, supported us. Many lodges in
Thessalonica were active. In practice, the Italian lodges helped the Committee
of Union and Progress and protected us. Because most of us were Masons, we met
in the lodges, and this was where we were trying to recruit. Istanbul became suspicious
and managed to introduce a few agents into the lodges."75
After the declaration of the second Mesrutiyet
(Parliamentary Monarchy), a British MP and the founder of the Balkans
Committee, Roden Buxton visited Istanbul and recorded that the initiation
ceremony of the committee of Union and Progress was an identical copy of the
Freemasons':
Candidates
who wanted to be admitted to the Committee of Union and Progress were informed
that they were about to be told a great secret. After their trustworthiness was
established, they were made to swear an oath. Then the initiation stage began.
The candidates were blindfolded and taken to another chamber, where the
blindfolds were removed. The candidates found themselves in semi-darkness,
facing three hooded strangers. Here they were required to put their hand on a
sword and swear an oath of absolute secrecy and to kill anyone who committed
treachery against the party, even if it were a friend or relative.76
Prominent Turkish journalist Ilhami
Soysal writes about the relationship between Masonry and the Committee of Union
and Progress:
The
Macedonia Rizorta lodge and the Veritas [Latin for "Truth"] lodge in
Thessalonica where the Turks were a minority to begin with, gradually became
the meeting and recruiting center of the Committee of Union and Progress, then
eventually came under their control. The leaders of the Committee of Union and
Progress—Talat Pasha, Mithat Sukru Bleda, Kazim Pasha, Manyasizade Refik, Kazim
Nami Duru, Colonel (later MP for Mus) Naki, Drama Gendarmerie Commander Huseyin
Muhittin, Financial Controller Ferit Aseo—belonged to the Macedonian Rizorta
lodge. Emmanuel Karasu, Cemal Pasha, Faik Suleyman Pasha, Ismail Canbolat,
Hodja Fehmi Efendi, Mustafa Dogan, Mustafa Necip (later shot dead during the
raid on the Babiali), were all illuminated at the Veritas lodge. Talat Pasha,
who was to become Prime Minister, and Colonel Naki were active in both the
Veritas and Macedonian Rizorta lodges.77
While these activities in Thessalonica
continued, Abdulhamid was anticipating great danger from the Masons and tried
to contain the Masonic lodges. He had organized a network of informers to
report the activities taking place in the lodges. Grand Master Kemalettin Apak
relates the events of that period, from his perspective:
Sultan
Abdulhamid II was afraid of the Masons. He systematically persecuted and tried
to contain the Freemasons, nor was he wrong in being afraid of Masonry.
Honorary Mason Sultan Murad V passed away in 1904, relieving Abdulhamid of one
of his nightmares. A few years later a new movement, in which the Rumelia
Masons played an important part, brought freedom and light to the nation's
firmament. Those who forced Abdulhamid to accept and declare the Second
Parliamentary Monarchy in 1908 were all Masons ...
Abdulhamid
wasn't persecuting Masonry in Istanbul and leaving us alone here [in
Thessalonica]. His agents were at work here [Rumelia] too. Especially in
Thessalonica, the undercover officers were watching the lodges and recording
the people's comings and goings. But his influence and might weren't the same
here as in Istanbul, because Thessalonica, Kosovo and Manastir were under the
foreigners' control.78
In short, Masonry played an active
role in the last half century of the Ottoman Empire and the conflict between
Abdulhamid and the Young Turks. The Masons, siding with the Young Turks, became
powerful within the movement. Masonry was a serious influence in politics and,
to the detriment of Turkish people, they imposed their European brothers' materialistic
philosophies as a lasting influence.
We will examine one example to see the
extent of Masonry's materialistic philosophy.
Abdullah
Cevdet: An Anti-Religious Mason of the Ottoman Era
Abdullah Cevdet, one of the founders of the Committee of
Union and Progress, was an early leader of Turkey's anti-religion movement. He
had formulated a worldview that he hoped would break the link between society
and religion. According to him, any modern society should be founded on an
anti-religious culture. Since Islam was preventing progress, it should be
excluded from social life.
Abdullah Cevdet made his name in the founding of the Union
and Progress Committee. He had been greatly influenced by the views of Mason
Ibrahim Temo, a fellow founder of the Committee and took his first steps
towards materialism by reading the books that Temo gave him: Felix Isnard's Spiritualism
and Materialism and Louis Büchner's Force et Matiére (Force and
Matter). Later he confronted strong opposition from religious circles for his
article on biological materialism.79
Darwin's theory of evolution also made a great impact on
Cevdet, and he was also influenced by eugenics, popular with European racists
of the time. The Tanzimat'tan Cumhuriyet'e Turkiye Ansiklopedisi
(Turkish Encyclopedia from the Reform Edict Period to the Republic) writes the
following about Cevdet's views:
Another aspect of
Abdullah Cevdet's biological materialism is its theoretical clarity in the
creation of a social élite. Ernest Haeckel's theory on inequality in the
evolutionary process and Darwin's natural selection theory, made Abdullah
Cevdet believe it was possible for some men to develop to a higher level of
intellect by means of education, and that social progress can be achieved only
under the leadership of such an élite.80
In 1903, Cevdet began Ictihat magazine,
in which he published articles against Islam and the Prophet Mohammed (may God
bless him and grant him peace). In February 1909, with the aid of Masonry, he
established the Ictihat Evi Publishing House. But the books Cevdet published
were received by the public with such hostility that first the publishing
house, then the magazine Ictihat were forced to close down. His
subsequent prosecution and sentencing made the newspapers with words like
these: "A warning to the transgressors of our religion:For denigrating the
religion of Mohammed in one of his articles, Abdullah Cevdet has been sentenced
to two years' imprisonment."81
Soon after the closure of Ictihat, he began to
publish the Istihat, Ishad and Cehd magazines and also
worked as the editor of the Hak and Ikdam newspapers. On numerous
occasions, he received warnings from the Sheikh ul-Islam, the the Ottoman
Empire's highest religious authority, for his anti-Islamic articles.
He aided the process in which Abdulhamid was removed from
the throne but, fearing for his safety, didn't return to Turkey for many years.
When he finally did, he was appointed to the office of Director for General
Health. But here too, his views managed to offend. When he began to issue
certificates permitting prostitution, members of society protested, and he had
to be relieved of his post.
Abdullah Cevdet has written and translated 70 books. His
strongest anti-religion propaganda is contained in one he translated from the
French, full of 19th-century atheist theories and titled Akli Selim
(Common Sense). In the foreword to this book, Abdullah Cevdet worships humanist
"idols" like freedom and virtue, writing that:
Akli
Selim (common sense) is a holy rebellion, and the flames of its love are
burning in our hearts and can never be extinguished. Prometheus is not on the
mountains of the Caucasus, but in our hearts, and his chains are broken. Our
god is virtue, but virtue is not possible without freedom. The most valued
freedoms are the freedoms of thought and faith. The subject of this translation
is service and worship-service and worship to the god of freedom.82
Abdullah Cevdet was studying the French materialists and was
greatly influenced by Gustave Le Bon. In line with his master's theories, he
developed a project titled "Project to the effect of improving the Turkish
race by use of breeding males."
It is interesting to observe that Cevdet, who came from a
devoutly religious family, spent his life fighting religion. He was the most
radical representative of a generation poisoned with Masonic teachings and upon
his death, he didn't receive the traditional Islamic funeral ceremony.
Historian Konyali Ibrahim Hakki recounts Cevdet's funeral:
Abdullah Cevdet said
that he did not believe in God. He was strongly opposed to the Islamic-Arabic
letters [and] was continually writing or speaking against Islamic values. His
coffin was brought to the Hagia Sophia Mosque, where the Imams refused to give
him an Islamic funeral. Eventually, his coffin was removed by the borough
council.83
Halkevi Community
Centers, Village Institutes, and
the Imposition of
Masonic Teachings on the Masses
After the founding of the Turkish Republic, the Masons
penetrated the CHP (Republican People's Party) and began to get organized
within. In 1935 Ataturk was informed of these activities and ordered the
closure of the lodges, but the Masons moved into organizations like the Halkevi
Community Centers and the Village Institutes. And their philosophy lived on.
The establishment of the Halkevi Community Centers was trusted
to Dr. Resit Galip, the Mason chief judge of the Ankara Istiklal Court that had
sent many innocent men to the gallows. In one of his speeches before the
Turkish parliament (TBMM) about the launching of Halkevi Community Centers, he
claimed that Islam could not be the guiding principle for Turkey. As Dr. Anil
Cecen, the owner of the Halkevleri journal relates:
Dr.Resid Galip said that
the national goal of the Turkish nation had now changed, Islamism and
Ottomanism would no longer be the national goals, the Turkish nation's new goal
was to take the place it deserved towards being a part of the modern
civilization; that after the drought in Middle Asia, Turks in all parts of the
world were seeking to attain civilization; and that in certain periods of history,
the Turks had established the highest levels of science and civilization...84
Another immediately recognizable name involved with the
Halkevi Centers is Sukru Kaya, a Mason and Minister of the Interior at the
time. In the foreword to Behcet Kemal Caglar's book 1935 Halkevi, Kaya
wrote:
To understand the
Halkevi Centers' cultural, social and economic benefits in such a short time,
it is enough to study the statistics recorded in this book. The Halkevi Centers
cater to the educational, social developmental and entertainment needs of
society. Every citizen there teaches what he knows and learns what he doesn't.
Every Turkish intellectual owes his knowledge to the nation's rather than his
own effort. No office, no achievement, and no civil servant can fully repay his
debt to the nation.85
By 1934, the number of Halkevi Centers had reached 103, and
their village subsidiaries (called Halkodalari) 4,322. The members numbered
55,000 and by that time, more than two million had been "educated" in
Masonic ideals.
In 1935, when Ataturk closed down the lodges, the Masons
didn't seem to be too bothered about it. Interior Minister Sukru Kaya, one of
the most senior Masons of the era, told members of the press that since the
Halkevi Centers were fulfilling the functions of the lodges anyway, he didn't
mind this development.
In his book Turkiye'de Masonluk Tarihi (Masonic
History in Turkey), Grand Master Kemalettin Apak phrases it like this:
In the meeting of 33rd
degree Masons, Brother Sukru Kaya stated that the Halkevi and Halkodasi Centers
have practically been carrying out Masonry's social and cultural activities for
a long time. The party considered it necessary for the lodges to rest these
activities, and the government had to oblige and put this decision into effect.86
In other words, according to Sukru Kaya, the lodges and the
Halkevis were representatives of the same philosophy.
Over the years, the Halkevi project was developed further
with the introduction of the Village Institute, which covered a wider spectrum
of activities. Formed by Education Minister and Mason Hasan Ali Yucel, the
Village Institute was disseminating the Masonic philosophy among the population
just like the Halkevi.
This philosophy's real core message became apparent in 1945
when the Hasanoglu Village Institute in Ankara began to publish the magazine Koy
Enstituleri, which openly attacked the religion of Islam and its values, as
well as with "between the lines" articles. In one issue of the
magazine, Ismail Hakki Tonguc, an author with Marxist sympathies, writes:
Let's hope that
tomorrow's world won't have a faith looking to heaven for salvation and living
off metaphysical ideas. If we want this new world to rest upon solid
foundations, we must give the people a new, comprehensive religion of a
humanist, realist and rational nature, free of greed and lies… The Village
Institute has tried to save from scholastic dogma the children it has educated.87
Hollow terms like humanist, rational, realist, and new are
the same ones used by the Masonic philosophy of secular humanism.
Among the Village Institute's publications were poems by
Nazim Hikmet that defend materialist philosophy and consist of lines intended
to lead students to deny God; also stories in which religion and its values
were mocked. They even relied on the views of Ethem Nejat and Mustafa Suphi,
members of the first steering committee of the secret Communist Party.
Peyami Safa, a leading author of the time, wrote an article
about the Village Institute's Marxist propaganda:
Not one Turkish
intellectual isn't aware that the Village Institutes are Communist propaganda
centers where children learn the poems of Nazim Hikmet, where Marxist
conferences are given, and where Marxist articles are published. Radio Moscow
regularly praises graduates of the Village Institute. Only recently, the high
school teacher sentenced to imprisonment for being caught in the act of Marxist
propaganda in the school, was not a graduate of Philology—as he had stated on
his application form—but was from the Village Institute. If closing the Village
Institutes is the victory of the dark forces, does it follow that these
institutes, likened to the 30th August victory, were representing the victory
of the Red forces? Does it follow that if it's not Red, it must be dark? Are
the free nations ... also the dark nations? According to this false logic and
the voices from Moscow, the new teacher schools that have replaced the Village
Institute are also "dark" teacher schools, because Marx is not
praised here, Moscow's agent Nazim Hikmet's records are not played and his
poems not read. Villagers who have the same rights and responsibilities as the
townspeople are not considered a separate class, and the national unity is not
split and rearranged into social classes.88
When this systematic Marxist propaganda from the Village
Institutes hit the news, the public put great pressure on the TBMM. Criticism
could be heard even from the members of the CHP. Education Minister Hasan Ali
Yucel was sacked and replaced by R. Semsettin Sirer, who ordered an
investigation into this affair. Here are some excerpts from the report his
assistants prepared, which became a source of embarrassment:
Document 1 – 12: In the years between
the founding of the institute and 1947, girls were frequently harassed by their
teachers. This document, signed by ministry inspector Ziya Karamuk, disciplines
committee members and head teachers, further establishing that girls were
forcefully kissed, fondled, molested and in some cases, forced into sexual
intercourse. Some teachers had to marry these girls by the force of law.
Document 2 – 13: On a number of
occasions, boys and girls were caught in the act in the dormitories or on the
nearby Kalayci area.
Document 3 – 14: A village
schoolteacher, himself a graduate from the Village Institute, molested and then
raped a girl from his class ... it is proven that students who witness the
practices of their teachers, adopt the same unethical practices after their
graduation.
This report offers still more examples of unacceptable
practices. Besides the harassment of girls under the name of sexual freedom,
all-night drinking sessions between teachers and students are recorded.
Document 47 states that "filthy" propaganda was endemic in word and
print, and that The Village Institute Magazine encouraged these
unethical sexual practices which in some cases, even led to incest.
Ministry of Education chief investigator Fethi
Isfendiyaroglu states that:
Village Institutes were
built in remote areas, away from towns and villages. This separated students
and their parents created an environment well suited for the unethical
suggestions and practices of teachers devoid of morals and patriotism. More
than 40,000 villagers were being conditioned and exposed to left–wing
propaganda and suggestions of sexual freedom. Consequently, some of the weaker
students were poisoned with this filth. Fortunately, most village students were
of solid character and thus endured the Village Institute practices without
coming to harm, left with their decency and morality intact, and developed
hostility towards the these institutions' practices and propaganda.89
Moral degeneration of the people by the atheist,
materialistic propaganda was part of the Masons' strategy. For years, Masonic
writers and journalists kept protesting the closure of these Village Institutes
by writing articles in their support and demanding they be reinstituted. An
article in the Mason Dergisi (Mason Magazine) praises the Village
Institute:
The education policies
required that the curriculum be of a universal, humanist, secular and of
positivist nature. Religious education had been abolished. The rural
population's education was one of the biggest policy problems facing the
Republic of Turkey. There was urgent need to create an effective education
system to train sufficient numbers of teachers aware of the need for
development and progress within the village population, for methods and
practical solutions to achieve the goals of educating the huge rural
population, and also to implant a sense of belonging and patriotism among the
rural community. The Village Institute was founded for this purpose and, in my
opinion, became the grandest education project in the history of Turkey.90
The same article refers to the Halkevis as "the product
of a missionary mentality." This "mission" was obviously victory
in the ongoing Masonic war against religion since the times of the Templars.
The Masons' War Against
Religion
As the preceding chapters established, Masonry has
traditionally represented the anti-religious front. The Templars, having left
Christianity and adopted deranged teachings, then engaged in their historic war
against Christianity. Over the centuries, the war against religion in Europe
has been fought under the leadership of Freemasonry, heir to the Templars,
operating in Turkey and actively trying to impose positivist and materialistic
philosophies on the masses to encourage anti-religious sentiments.
We can read the Masons' antagonistic views on religion,
including their recommended action plan, in articles printed in their own
publications. For instance, one says, "For as long as the Madrasahs
[religious schools] and the Minarets are not destroyed and the scholastic ideas
and dogmatic beliefs not eliminated, the captivity of thought and suffering in
the conscience will continue."91 From the
words of Grand Master Haydar Ali Kermen, Masonry's dislike of religious
institutions becomes obvious::
The totally improper
screeching calls to prayer from mosques in the vicinity of the Parliament, are
nothing but a scream saying, "I'm not dead and I'm not going to die."
They should be understood as a wake-up call to all intellectuals of this nation
and a call to duty.92
The Islamic call to prayer is a "screeching"
reminder to the Masons, calling them to duty. To silence the religion that's
declaring "I'm not dead" is their greatest duty.
In their fight against religion and religious morality,
Masons have used a number of different strategies. The Halkevi and the Village
Institute were two of these. Yet others were Mason-controlled media and book
publishing. Beginning with Abdullah Cevdet, the Masons have continued this
tradition in the Republican period with authors like Cemil Sena Ongun and Orhan
Hancerlioglu, both master Masons of the highest degree. In Hz. Muhammed'in
Felsefesi (Prophet Mohammed's Philosophy), Cemil Sena Ongun
writes—indirectly but very insistently—that the Prophet Mohammed (may God bless
him and grant him peace) invented Islam. (We absolve Islam of such allegations)
In books like Toplumbilim Sozlugu (Dictionary of Social Sciences) and Islam
Inanclari Sozlugu (Dictionary of Islamic Beliefs), both used as
references at universities, Grand Master Orhan Hancerlioglu slanders religious
authorities and makes unfounded allegations against people of religious
importance in his quest to further his atheist and anti-religious views. As a
result of all these Masonic theories and propaganda, whole generations of
atheist intellectuals have arisen. Because they adopt a materialistic and
anti-religionist world view and believe in Darwin's theory of evolution like a
religion, they believe themselves to be progressive and science-oriented. But
in reality they live in ignorance, and arrogance is their trademark.
The Masons' activities to separate the Turkish people from
their religion has another dimension: oppression. A little booklet by the lodge
says that "Hidden cultural elements of Islamic origin in our society wish
to reintroduce Islamic culture. Their existence must be denied, but we must
find methods to crush them."93
Such Masonic "methods" can be found behind
the persecution of great Islamic thinkers like Sehbenderzade Filibeli Ahmed
Hamdi, Iskilipli Atif Hoca, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi and Suleyman Hilmi Tunahan
in the last century. In various parts of his book Risale-i Nur,
Bediuzzaman Said Nursi refers to the forces opposing Islam:
... the greatest
damage to the nation and to Islam has been done by Masonry, Communism and
atheism.94
... Masonry, Communism
and atheism create anarchy, and the only thing that can stop these forces is
Islamic unity and the guidance of the Qur'an.95
On another occasion,
Bediuzzaman says about the Masons' animosity to religion:
A certain group, intent
on severing the 1,000-year-old link of the Muslim Turks to their religious
values, says; "We no longer believe in God as the purpose. We have created
our own purpose. Our purpose is not God, but Mankind."96
This quote of Bediuzzaman's can be traced to an article
printed in Mesriki Azam Ictimai Zabitlari (Grand Lodge Inner
Proceedings) in 1923. The "certain group" Bediuzzaman referred to is
undoubtedly the Masons, with their belief in secular humanism.
In Risale-i Nur, this great thinker mentions the
personal enmity, injustices and oppression the Masons subjected him to:
The sufferings I have to endure here
in one day are more than what was done to me in one month while I was in
Eskisehir. They have sent a callous Mason who does his best to get me to the
point where I can't endure the torture any longer and I say,
"Enough," so they can then justify their lies.97
In Bediuzzaman's Son Sahitler (Last Witnesses) he
explains that he was imprisoned unlawfully because of the Masons and tells of
the hardship and sufferings they made him endure. In Fourteenth Ray, he
refutes the allegations made against him by the hostile Masons. The court did
not accept the view that Bediuzzaman had secret enemies, but he replied that
the court was wrong and that Masons and Communists regarded him as their sworn
enemy. He went on to say that his mission in the Risale-i Nur Collection had
been only to prove the existence of God and to protect Islamic faith against
the anti-religion movement.
From closer inspection of a letter he wrote, it is evident
that the forces behind the campaign against him were Masons and
Communists:
I took a look at
politics three times in recent times. As I said in my defense, two-faced
elements in the pay of the Masons and the Communists used bribery and pressure
to mete out torture on me in order to crush my resistance. But now I'm feeling
a new breeze in society, though I couldn't look any closer, for my profession
forbids this.98
Bediuzzaman was explaining that his specific mission was to
save faith, to fight against Masonry, irreligion, and the anti-religion lobby.
With these famous words, he advised his pupils to be positive, because their
struggle would be rewarded with success and Islam would be the strongest voice
in the land: "Yes, be hopeful! The loudest and strongest voice in the
coming upheavals and changes will be that of Islam!" 99
Since Bediuzzaman's era, the Masons, fearing that Islam
would again be "the loudest and strongest voice in the land," have
continued their war of propaganda against religion. This war actually began in
the 14th century with the Templars in Europe, and the Masonic organization
continues to fight it with oppressive policies around the globe, as well as in
Turkey.
As examined in previous chapters, the Templar-Masonry organization
engages in illegal activities for political and economical gain, and Turkish
Masons operate along the same lines as their foreign brothers.
P-2s of Turkey:Secret
Lodges
One of Masonry's unchanged, fundamental principles is
secrecy, concealing their activities since the times of the Templars, who
successfully hid their real activities behind the façade of a religious
Christian order, while worshipping an idol named Baphomet;having left
Christianity for a self-made faith of a perverse nature, engaging in abnormal
sexual practices, and managing to keep secret that they were de facto enemies
of Christ. Masonry inherited their tradition of secrecy and created the image
of a charitable cultural and ethical organization with no political interests.
But the importance Masonry attaches to secrecy contradicts this. Why would an
innocent charitable foundation have such a strict policy of secrecy?
In an article in Mimar Sinan, Mason Uner Birkan
writes that, "Masonry too can take an interest in social affairs, thereby
presenting itself as a charitable organization."100
To some extent, the methods of secrecy Masonry employs to
cover up its real activities are explained in Masonic publishing. For example
the Anderson's Constitutions (sort of a constitution of Freemasonry), under the
subsection "Of Behavior," reads as follows:
You shall be cautious in
your Words and Carriage, that the most penetrating Stranger shall not be able
to discover or find out what is not proper to be intimated.101
The Masonic journal Sakul Gibi (Like a Plummet) explains
this rule:
Bees cannot work unless
in darkness…Your left hand must not know what your right hand does. Symbols are
effective in the countless purposes of secrecy, and also in greater things.102
The Mason Dergisi (Masonic Magazine) for March 1993
states, "it is strictly forbidden to talk about ritualistic activities
outside the lodge." In Issue 11 of Buyuk Sark (Grand Orient),
another Masonic publicaton, it says, "It is wholly unethical to reveal the
symbols and things done and discussed in the lodge; it is treachery against the
cause and oath of Freemasonry." The Masons' "secrecy oath"
proves the importance of absolute discretion within the organization. The
second-degree apprentice rite goes like this:
Ipromise and swear that
I will always hele, ever conceal, and never reveal any of the secret arts,
parts or points of the hidden mysteries of Freemasonry, which may have been
heretofore, shall be at this time, or any future period communicated to me as
such, to any person or persons whomsoever, except it be to a true and lawful
brother Mason, or within a regularly constituted Lodge of such, and not unto
him or them, until by strict trial, due examination, or legal information,
Ishall have found him or them as lawfully entitled to the same as I am myself.
I furthermore promise
and swear that I will not write, print, paint, stamp, stain, cut, carve, mark
or engrave them, or cause the same to be done, upon anything movable or
immovable, capable of receiving the least impression of a word, syllable,
letter or character, which may become legible or intelligible to any person
under the canopy of heaven, and the secrets of Freemasonry thereby unlawfully
obtained through my unworthiness.103
What secret are the Masons are so sensitive about? The
answer to this question was revealed by the P-2 Lodge in Italy. Behind a front
of a charitable and ethical organization, they
were engaged in illegal activities for political and economical gain.
But other lodges doing so are not
visible. Again, lodges are separated into two categories: known lodges and the
secret ones like the P-2. Unlike the usual lodges, these have no known
addresses, and are disguised so that you can't see their existence. For this purpose,
the P-2 occupied part of Licio Gelli's villa, which was located in a remote
area. Italy's famous politicians, bureaucrats, businessmen and media bosses
couldn't have attended the P-2's lodge meetings without secrecy, for otherwise,
the organization would soon have been discovered.
The secret of Turkey's P-2 lies hidden
in this fact: Only a small part of the Freemasonry's activities are known
officially and in the public domain. There are a number of officially
well-known lodges in Istanbul's Nuru Ziya street and in Tepebasi, but the
organizational brain lies hidden in the secret lodges, hidden away where no one
would suspect them—in the cellars of mansions belonging to the Grand Masters,
in secret bunkers under factories and the headquarters of large holding
companies, accessed through entrances concealed behind mirrored glass and
wardrobe doors. The secret members of these lodges can thus look as if they
were attending a business meeting or simple social gathering among friends
without drawing attention. The highest-ranking Turkish Masons belong to these
lodges and frequently receive their fellow brothers from Tel-Aviv, Chicago, or
Paris to share decisions taken by the international lodges and coordinate
future actions with their local brothers in Turkey. If these lodges were
investigated, a number of documents would be found confirming their connections
and illegal activities.
Recently, some of the strange rites taking place in these
lodges caught the attention of the media. These rites prove that the forbidden
Templars live on in Turkey today and practice the same perverted rituals as
they did six centuries ago.
Footage
from the Lodge: Templars' Secret Rites on the Screen
1997 was a hard year for the Masons.
Footage filmed inside two separate lodges by hidden cameras was shown on
Channel 7 of Turkey repeatedly for days. The scenes captured shocked the
Turkish people as well as the Grand Masters of Freemasonry. Some footage
recorded the Satan-worshipping rite that can be practiced only at the 33rd degree
Grand Master level. The Grand Master conducting the ritual was drinking the
blood of a goat killed in the middle of the lodge, and ending the ceremony by
offering
prayers in Hebrew to Satan. In another scene, as part of a Masonic ritual, two
new Masons had swords pushed against their chests and were threatened with
death. In yet another scene filmed in the same lodge, a Masonic "marriage ceremony" was being conducted—something
that Freemasonry had always denied as non-existent.
After the airing of this footage, Freemasonry made the
center of the news for days. Some newspapers and magazines had also obtained
relevant material. Some of the media coverage read:
The 7th of January, Monday. It's the 1900 hours news on Channel 7. The main news stories of the day are
listed, one after the other, and then the bomb is dropped: footage of rites
showing Masons of the 33rd degree. What the Masons are, who they serve, and
what kind of activities they engage in, is known but, because of their policy
of total secrecy, cannot be exposed. But that's exactly what is being done on
the screen! Shocking scenes of a lodge that only the highest-ranking
bureaucrats and other select personalities can attend. Music playing, Satan
worship, white robes, swords, a six-pointed star and a slaughtered goat. The
blood of the goat fills a bowl; its head is burned on a spit, to the Hebrew
prayers of the Grand Master. These strange scenes took place in the middle of
Turkey, in Istanbul. Oaths of a strange and confusing content: "Honorable
Kadosh Knights, if you break your oath, may your body be torn to pieces by wild
horses [and] turned to ashes, the ashes blown away by winds blowing from the
four directions…"
Channel
7 had penetrated the most secret of secret societies and, presumably, were
expecting to get the credit for achieving this "world's first." But
they were stunned at the silence of the mainstream Turkish media. Instead of
basking in the glory of this incredible journalistic achievement, they were
perplexed by the silence that greeted it. No other channel aired the footage;
no newspaper gave it any columns. Total silence. With the practice of getting
married by the Imam in the current headlines, the Masonic marriage ritual
should have been of interest.
The
footage shot by Channel 7 with a hidden camera actually explains the reason for
this silence: Freemasonry's initiation ceremony is almost like a religious
ritual. Candidates are made to wait in a chamber that the camera could not
enter, and then have to bend down so as to pass under a bar. While blindfolded,
they feel a sword thrust against their chest and are asked to touch it.
"If you reveal what you have learned here, you will bear the
consequences." The message is clear. When the blindfold is removed, before
they do or say anything, all the brothers facing them make the cut-throat sign.104
For
days now, Channel 7 is airing footage of Freemasonry. This is a journalistic
first... Via the secret camera, footage of a Masonic lodge's initiation ritual
is made public. The Masonic front, despite being asked to respond by the media,
keeps total silence. Though scenes from inside the oldest and most secretive
sect in European history are being aired by Channel 7, no other TV channel
takes up the subject. Despite the incredible scenes in the footage, no
reaction, no response, nothing. The media ignores the whole thing… Could the
oath of secrecy taken by the new recruits on acceptance into the lodge—who go
on to become influential and important personalities—be playing a role in this
media blackout?105
After the Masons' spectacular TV
debut, two former Masons who had left the lodge years ago—Mumin Kilic and Onder
Aktac—went in front of the cameras to make statements about the dirty practices
of Masonry. This issue was also discussed in the Turkish Parliament. Tokat MP
Ahmet Fevzi Inceoz requested that the Interior Ministry begin an inquiry into
Masonic lodges. Based on the footage shown on TV he reasoned:
As
seen in the footage, the Masonic Society threatens national security and
interests. In these lodges, citizens are threatened, illegal marriage
ceremonies are conducted, and monies are collected and spent, and unlicensed
weapons kept. They operate outside the control and regulations of the security
forces, maintain their operational headquarters outside the country, clearly
represent a threat to the state—and must therefore be closed down.
But to no avail. The Masons didn't
respond in any way, and the media they control kept quiet about the affair.
Thus the media moved on to other themes and subjects. Today's Templars, still
addressing each other as "Kadosh Knights" managed once more to remain
underground as they had for centuries.
The
Templars and the Mafia
To understand the Masonic activities
in one country, one can take a look at another and draw comparisons. Since
Masonry is an international organization operating everywhere under the same
rules and principles, scandals in one country can provide insights into what
might be going on in another.
One enlightening example shows the close
relationship between the Italian Masons and the Mafia. The P-2 investigation
revealed that
the two are very much interlinked, and the Italian prosecutors' "Clean
Hands" operation of the 1990s, while managing to clear up the Mafia to
some extent, proved the links between it and Masonry. The parliamentary
commission in charge of the Mafia investigation (Commissione Parlamentare
Antimafia) said in its report:
The fundamental terrain
on which the link between Cosa Nostra [Mafia] with public officials and private
professions was created and reinforced is the Massoneria [Freemasonry]. The
Massoneria bond serves to keep the relationship continuous and organic. The
admission of members of Cosa Nostra, even at high levels, in Massoneria is not
an occasional or episodical one, but a strategic choice. . . Massoneria
associations offer the mafia a formidable instrument to extend their own power,
to obtain favors and priveleges in every field:both for the conclusion of big
business and "fixing trials", as many collaborators of justice have
revealed.106
So what is the situation like in Turkey, a country with
cultural, historical and sociological similarities to Italy? Is the
relationship between Mafia and Masonry the same as in Italy? In recent years,
Turkish government officials have given some answers to this question while
investigating the Susurluk Case, which revealed the country's
politician-Mafia-police relationship. After a traffic accident, it was discovered
that a deputy, Istanbul's police chief, and a man implicated in various
terrorist attacks and sought by the local police and the Interpol for more than
a decade were travelling in the same car. Based on the yields of the Turkish
Parliament Susurluk Commission's inquiry, MP Hayrettin Dilekcan made this
statement:
In Italy, they had the
P-2 Lodge. We can now say that something similar to the P-2 exists in Turkey
... To call the present case a Mafia scandal would not do it justice. You
cannot call the P-2 case a simple Mafia affair. The lodges are ruling in
Turkey. If some people want to take a serious position, the decisions about it
are made in the lodges. For as long as these lodges cannot be overcome, Turkey
will not progress easily… In the P-2 case, the lodge was in effect
"appointing" the Prime Minister and the ministers… In Turkey, they
have reached the level of power and influence where they determine the leaders
of political parties. The rest I leave to your imaginations.107
MP and spokesman of the Susurluk
Commission, Bedri Incetahtaci:
We
now have in Turkey something we cannot ascribe a name to. But the Gladio affair
in Italy—where there was a state within the state and behind that, there was
the lodge—will help us find a name for what we have in our own country. We know
that this organization exists, and we also know the things they have done.
There are similarities between theirs and ours…108
In short, the investigating commission found strong evidence
that the lodge was the organizing force behind these cases and reported this in
their conclusive papers.
Behind the corruption, injustices and persecution of
innocent people in Turkey are the modern day Knights Templars or, if you
prefer, the Masons. They are manipulating the country for their political and
economical purposes, and in order to achieve their goals they never hesitate to
adopt dark and dirty methods. And all the religious voices who oppose Masonry
and their philosophy are targeted, slandered, pressurized and persecuted.
For this reason, everyone who believes in the moral values
of Islam must make a stand against the activities of the modern Templars. This
anti-religion and gain-orientated organization must be combated by the use of
the law, and also on an ideological and philosophical platform. We must be
aware of their propaganda.
We believe that this ideological struggle will be won and
that Turkey will be a strong and modern state in the 21st century with her
moral values.
CHAPTER V
THE DECEPTION OF EVOLUTION
Darwinism, in other words the theory of
evolution, was put forward with the aim of denying the fact of creation, but is
in truth nothing but failed, unscientific nonsense. This theory, which claims
that life emerged by chance from inanimate matter, was invalidated by the scientific
evidence of clear "design" in the universe and in living things. In
this way, science confirmed the fact that God created the universe and the
living things in it. The propaganda carried out today in order to keep the
theory of evolution alive is based solely on the distortion of the scientific
facts, biased interpretation, and lies and falsehoods disguised as science.
Yet this propaganda cannot conceal the truth. The fact that
the theory of evolution is the greatest deception in the history of science has
been expressed more and more in the scientific world over the last 20-30 years.
Research carried out after the 1980s in particular has revealed that the claims
of Darwinism are totally unfounded, something that has been stated by a large
number of scientists. In the United States in particular, many scientists from
such different fields as biology, biochemistry and paleontology recognize the
invalidity of Darwinism and employ the concept of intelligent design to account
for the origin of life. This "intelligent design" is a scientific
expression of the fact that God created all living things.
We have examined the collapse of the theory of evolution and
the proofs of creation in great scientific detail in many of our works, and are
still continuing to do so. Given the enormous importance of this subject, it
will be of great benefit to summarize it here.
The Scientific Collapse
of Darwinism
Although this doctrine goes back as far as ancient Greece,
the theory of evolution was advanced extensively in the nineteenth century. The
most important development that made it the top topic of the world of science
was Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species, published in 1859. In this
book, he denied that God created different living species on Earth separately,
for he claimed that all living beings had a common ancestor and had diversified
over time through small changes. Darwin's theory was not based on any concrete
scientific finding; as he also accepted, it was just an "assumption."
Moreover, as Darwin confessed in the long chapter of his book titled
"Difficulties of the Theory," the theory failed in the face of many
critical questions.
Darwin invested all of his hopes in new scientific
discoveries, which he expected to solve these difficulties. However, contrary
to his expectations, scientific findings expanded the dimensions of these
difficulties. The defeat of Darwinism in the face of science can be reviewed
under three basic topics:
1) The theory cannot explain how life originated on Earth.
2) No scientific finding shows that the "evolutionary
mechanisms" proposed by the theory have any evolutionary power at all.
3) The fossil record proves the exact opposite of what the
theory suggests.
In this section, we will examine these three basic points in
general outlines:
The First Insurmountable
Step: The Origin of Life
The theory of evolution posits that all living species
evolved from a single living cell that emerged on the primitive Earth 3.8
billion years ago. How a single cell could generate millions of complex living
species and, if such an evolution really occurred, why traces of it cannot be
observed in the fossil record are some of the questions that the theory cannot
answer. However, first and foremost, we need to ask: How did this "first
cell" originate?
Since the theory of evolution denies creation and any kind
of supernatural intervention, it maintains that the "first cell"
originated coincidentally within the laws of nature, without any design, plan
or arrangement. According to the theory, inanimate matter must have produced a
living cell as a result of coincidences. Such a claim, however, is inconsistent
with the most unassailable rules of biology.
"Life Comes from
Life"
In his book, Darwin never referred to the origin of life.
The primitive understanding of science in his time rested on the assumption
that living beings had a very simple structure. Since medieval times,
spontaneous generation, which asserts that non-living materials came together
to form living organisms, had been widely accepted. It was commonly believed
that insects came into being from food leftovers, and mice from wheat.
Interesting experiments were conducted to prove this theory. Some wheat was
placed on a dirty piece of cloth, and it was believed that mice would originate
from it after a while.
Similarly, maggots developing in rotting meat was assumed to
be evidence of spontaneous generation. However, it was later understood that
worms did not appear on meat spontaneously, but were carried there by flies in
the form of larvae, invisible to the naked eye.
Even when Darwin wrote The Origin of Species, the
belief that bacteria could come into existence from non-living matter was
widely accepted in the world of science.
However, five years after the publication of Darwin's book,
Louis Pasteur announced his results after long studies and experiments, that
disproved spontaneous generation, a cornerstone of Darwin's theory. In his
triumphal lecture at the Sorbonne in 1864, Pasteur said: "Never will the
doctrine of spontaneous generation recover from the mortal blow struck by this
simple experiment."109
For a long time, advocates of the theory of evolution
resisted these findings. However, as the development of science unraveled the
complex structure of the cell of a living being, the idea that life could come
into being coincidentally faced an even greater impasse.
Inconclusive Efforts in
the Twentieth Century
The first evolutionist who took up the subject of the origin
of life in the twentieth century was the renowned Russian biologist Alexander
Oparin. With various theses he advanced in the 1930s, he tried to prove that a
living cell could originate by coincidence. These studies, however, were doomed
to failure, and Oparin had to make the following confession:
Unfortunately, however,
the problem of the origin of the cell is perhaps the most obscure point in the
whole study of the evolution of organisms.110
Evolutionist followers of Oparin tried to carry out experiments
to solve this problem. The best known experiment was carried out by the
American chemist Stanley Miller in 1953. Combining the gases he alleged to have
existed in the primordial Earth's atmosphere in an experiment set-up, and
adding energy to the mixture, Miller synthesized several organic molecules
(amino acids) present in the structure of proteins.
Barely a few years had passed before it was revealed that
this experiment, which was then presented as an important step in the name of
evolution, was invalid, for the atmosphere used in the experiment was very
different from the real Earth conditions.111
After a long silence, Miller confessed that the atmosphere
medium he used was unrealistic.112
All the evolutionists' efforts throughout the twentieth century
to explain the origin of life ended in failure. The geochemist Jeffrey Bada,
from the San Diego Scripps Institute accepts this fact in an article published
in Earth magazine in 1998:
Today as we leave the
twentieth century, we still face the biggest unsolved problem that we had when
we entered the twentieth century: How did life originate on Earth?113
The Complex Structure of
Life
The primary reason why the theory of evolution ended up in
such a great impasse regarding the origin of life is that even those living
organisms deemed to be the simplest have incredibly complex structures. The
cell of a living thing is more complex than all of our man-made technological
products. Today, even in the most developed laboratories of the world, a living
cell cannot be produced by bringing organic chemicals together.
The conditions required for the formation of a cell are too
great in quantity to be explained away by coincidences. The probability of
proteins, the building blocks of a cell, being synthesized coincidentally, is 1
in 10950 for an average protein made up of 500 amino
acids. In mathematics, a probability smaller than 1 over 1050 is considered to be impossible in practical
terms.
The DNA molecule, which is located in the nucleus of a cell
and which stores genetic information, is an incredible databank. If the
information coded in DNA were written down, it would make a giant library
consisting of an estimated 900 volumes of encyclopedias consisting of 500 pages
each.
A very interesting dilemma emerges at this point: DNA can
replicate itself only with the help of some specialized proteins (enzymes).
However, the synthesis of these enzymes can be realized only by the information
coded in DNA. As they both depend on each other, they have to exist at the same
time for replication. This brings the scenario that life originated by itself
to a deadlock. Prof. Leslie Orgel, an evolutionist of repute from the
University of San Diego, California, confesses this fact in the September 1994
issue of the Scientific American magazine:
It is extremely
improbable that proteins and nucleic acids, both of which are structurally
complex, arose spontaneously in the same place at the same time. Yet it also
seems impossible to have one without the other. And so, at first glance, one
might have to conclude that life could never, in fact, have originated by
chemical means.114
No doubt, if it is
impossible for life to have originated from natural causes, then it has to be
accepted that life was "created" in a supernatural way. This fact
explicitly invalidates the theory of evolution, whose main purpose is to deny
creation.
Imaginary Mechanisms of
Evolution
The second important point that negates Darwin's theory is
that both concepts put forward by the theory as "evolutionary
mechanisms" were understood to have, in reality, no evolutionary power.
Darwin based his evolution allegation entirely on the
mechanism of "natural selection." The importance he placed on this
mechanism was evident in the name of his book: The Origin of Species, By
Means of Natural Selection…
Natural selection holds that those living things that are
stronger and more suited to the natural conditions of their habitats will
survive in the struggle for life. For example, in a deer herd under the threat
of attack by wild animals, those that can run faster will survive. Therefore,
the deer herd will be comprised of faster and stronger individuals. However,
unquestionably, this mechanism will not cause deer to evolve and transform themselves
into another living species, for instance, horses.
Therefore, the mechanism of natural selection has no
evolutionary power. Darwin was also aware of this fact and had to state this in
his book The Origin of Species:
Natural selection can do
nothing until favourable individual differences or variations occur.115
Lamarck's Impact
So, how could these "favorable variations" occur?
Darwin tried to answer this question from the standpoint of the primitive
understanding of science at that time. According to the French biologist
Chevalier de Lamarck (1744-1829), who lived before Darwin, living creatures
passed on the traits they acquired during their lifetime to the next
generation. He asserted that these traits, which accumulated from one
generation to another, caused new species to be formed. For instance, he
claimed that giraffes evolved from antelopes; as they struggled to eat the
leaves of high trees, their necks were extended from generation to generation.
Darwin also gave similar examples. In his book The Origin
of Species, for instance, he said that some bears going into water to find
food transformed themselves into whales over time.116
However, the laws of inheritance discovered by Gregor Mendel
(1822-84) and verified by the science of genetics, which flourished in the
twentieth century, utterly demolished the legend that acquired traits were
passed on to subsequent generations. Thus, natural selection fell out of favor
as an evolutionary mechanism.
Neo-Darwinism and Mutations
In order to find a solution, Darwinists advanced the
"Modern Synthetic Theory," or as it is more commonly known,
Neo-Darwinism, at the end of the 1930's. Neo-Darwinism added mutations, which
are distortions formed in the genes of living beings due to such external
factors as radiation or replication errors, as the "cause of favorable
variations" in addition to natural mutation.
Today, the model that stands for
evolution in the world is Neo-Darwinism. The theory maintains that millions of
living beings formed as a result of a process whereby numerous complex organs
of these organisms (e.g., ears, eyes, lungs, and wings) underwent
"mutations," that is, genetic disorders. Yet, there is an outright
scientific fact that totally undermines this theory: Mutations do not cause
living beings to develop; on the contrary, they are always harmful.
The reason for this is very simple:
DNA has a very complex structure, and random effects can only harm it. The
American geneticist B.G. Ranganathan explains this as follows:
First,
genuine mutations are very rare in nature. Secondly, most mutations are harmful
since they are random, rather than orderly changes in the structure of genes;
any random change in a highly ordered system will be for the worse, not for the
better. For example, if an earthquake were to shake a highly ordered structure
such as a building, there would be a random
change in the framework of the building which, in all probability, would not be
an improvement.117
Not surprisingly, no mutation example,
which is useful, that is, which is observed to develop the genetic code, has
been observed so far. All mutations have proved to be harmful. It was
understood that mutation, which is presented as an "evolutionary
mechanism," is actually a genetic occurrence that harms living things, and
leaves them disabled. (The most common effect of mutation on human beings is
cancer.) Of course, a destructive mechanism cannot be an "evolutionary
mechanism." Natural selection, on the other hand, "can do nothing by
itself," as Darwin also accepted. This fact shows us that there is no
"evolutionary mechanism" in nature. Since no evolutionary mechanism
exists, no such any imaginary process called "evolution" could have
taken place.
The Fossil Record:
No Sign of Intermediate
Forms
The clearest evidence that the
scenario suggested by the theory of evolution did not take place is the fossil
record.
According to this theory, every living
species has sprung from a predecessor. A previously existing species turned
into something else over time and all species have come into being in this way.
In other words, this transformation proceeds gradually over millions of years.
Had this been the case, numerous
intermediary species should have existed and lived within this long transformation
period.
For instance, some
half-fish/half-reptiles should have lived in the past which had acquired some
reptilian traits in addition to the fish traits they already had. Or there
should have existed some reptile-birds, which acquired some bird traits in
addition to the reptilian traits they already had. Since these would be in a
transitional phase, they should be disabled, defective, crippled living beings.
Evolutionists refer to these imaginary creatures, which they believe to have
lived in the past, as "transitional forms."
If such animals ever really existed,
there should be millions and even billions of them in number and variety. More
importantly, the remains of these strange creatures should be present in the
fossil record. In The Origin of Species, Darwin explained:
If
my theory be true, numberless intermediate varieties, linking most closely all
of the species of the same group together must assuredly have existed....
Consequently, evidence of their former existence could be found only amongst
fossil remains.118
Darwin's Hopes Shattered
However, although evolutionists have been making strenuous
efforts to find fossils since the middle of the nineteenth century all over the
world, no transitional forms have yet been uncovered. All of the fossils,
contrary to the evolutionists' expectations, show that life appeared on Earth
all of a sudden and fully-formed.
One famous British paleontologist, Derek V. Ager, admits
this fact, even though he is an evolutionist:
The point emerges that
if we examine the fossil record in detail, whether at the level of orders or of
species, we find – over and over again – not gradual evolution, but the sudden
explosion of one group at the expense of another.119
This means that in the fossil record, all living species
suddenly emerge as fully formed, without any intermediate forms in between.
This is just the opposite of Darwin's assumptions. Also, this is very strong
evidence that all living things are created. The only explanation of a living
species emerging suddenly and complete in every detail without any evolutionary
ancestor is that it was created. This fact is admitted also by the widely known
evolutionist biologist Douglas Futuyma:
Creation and evolution,
between them, exhaust the possible explanations for the origin of living
things. Organisms either appeared on the earth fully developed or they did not.
If they did not, they must have developed from pre-existing species by some
process of modification. If they did appear in a fully developed state, they
must indeed have been created by some omnipotent intelligence.120
Fossils show that living beings emerged fully developed and
in a perfect state on the earth. That means that "the origin of
species," contrary to Darwin's supposition, is not evolution, but
creation.
The
Tale of Human Evolution
The subject most often brought up by advocates of the theory
of evolution is the subject of the origin of man. The Darwinist claim holds
that modern man evolved from ape-like creatures. During this alleged
evolutionary process, which is supposed to have started 4-5 million years ago,
some "transitional forms" between modern man and his ancestors are supposed
to have existed. According to this completely imaginary scenario, four basic
"categories" are listed:
1. Australopithecus
2. Homo habilis
3. Homo erectus
4. Homo sapiens
Evolutionists call man's so-called first ape-like ancestors Australopithecus,
which means "South African ape." These living beings are actually
nothing but an old ape species that has become extinct. Extensive research done
on various Australopithecus specimens by two world famous anatomists
from England and the USA, namely, Lord Solly Zuckerman and Prof. Charles
Oxnard, shows that these apes belonged to an ordinary ape species that became
extinct and bore no resemblance to humans.121
Evolutionists classify the next stage of human evolution as
"homo," that is "man." According to their claim, the
living beings in the Homo series are more developed than Australopithecus.
Evolutionists devise a fanciful evolution scheme by arranging different fossils
of these creatures in a particular order. This scheme is imaginary because it
has never been proved that there is an evolutionary relation between these
different classes. Ernst Mayr, one of the twentieth century's most important
evolutionists, contends in his book One Long Argument that
"particularly historical [puzzles] such as the origin of life or of Homo
sapiens, are extremely difficult and may even resist a final, satisfying
explanation."122
By outlining the link chain as Australopithecus > Homo
habilis > Homo erectus > Homo sapiens, evolutionists
imply that each of these species is one another's ancestor. However, recent
findings of paleoanthropologists have revealed that Australopithecus, Homo
habilis, and Homo erectus lived at different parts of the world at
the same time.123
Moreover, a certain segment of humans classified as Homo
erectus have lived up until very modern times. Homo sapiens
neandarthalensis and Homo sapiens sapiens (modern man) co-existed in
the same region.124
This situation apparently indicates the invalidity of the
claim that they are ancestors of one another. A paleontologist from Harvard
University, Stephen Jay Gould, explains this deadlock of the theory of
evolution, although he is an evolutionist himself:
What has become of our
ladder if there are three coexisting lineages of hominids (A. africanus, the
robust australopithecines, and H. habilis), none clearly derived from another?
Moreover, none of the three display any evolutionary trends during their tenure
on earth.125
Put briefly, the scenario of human evolution, which is
"upheld" with the help of various drawings of some "half ape,
half human" creatures appearing in the media and course books, that is,
frankly, by means of propaganda, is nothing but a tale with no scientific
foundation.
Lord Solly Zuckerman, one of the most famous and respected
scientists in the U.K., who carried out research on this subject for years and
studied Australopithecus fossils for 15 years, finally concluded,
despite being an evolutionist himself, that there is, in fact, no such family
tree branching out from ape-like creatures to man.
Zuckerman also made an interesting
"spectrum of science" ranging from those he considered scientific to
those he considered unscientific. According to Zuckerman's spectrum, the most
"scientific"—that is, depending on concrete data—fields of science are
chemistry and physics. After them come the biological sciences and then the
social sciences. At the far end of the spectrum, which is the part considered
to be most "unscientific," are "extra-sensory
perception"—concepts such as telepathy and sixth sense—and finally
"human evolution." Zuckerman explains his reasoning:
We
then move right off the register of objective truth into those fields of
presumed biological science, like extrasensory perception or the interpretation
of man's fossil history, where to the faithful [evolutionist] anything is
possible – and where the ardent believer [in evolution] is sometimes able to
believe several contradictory things at the same time.126
The tale of human evolution boils down
to nothing but the prejudiced interpretations of some fossils unearthed by
certain people, who blindly adhere to their theory.
Technology
in the Eye and the Ear
Another subject that remains
unanswered by evolutionary theory is the excellent quality of perception in the
eye and the ear.
Before passing on to the subject of
the eye, let us briefly answer the question of how we see. Light rays coming
from an object fall oppositely on the eye's retina. Here, these light rays are
transmitted into electric signals by cells and reach a tiny spot at the back of
the brain, the "center of vision." These electric signals are
perceived in this center as an image after a series of processes. With this
technical background, let us do some thinking.
The brain is insulated from light.
That means that its inside is completely dark, and that no light reaches the
place where it is located. Thus, the "center of vision" is never
touched by light and may even be the darkest place you have ever known.
However, you observe a luminous, bright world in this pitch darkness.
The image formed in the eye is so
sharp and distinct that even the technology of the twentieth century has not
been able to attain it. For instance, look at the book you are reading, your
hands with which you are holding it, and then lift your head and look around
you. Have you ever seen such a sharp and distinct image as this one at any
other place? Even the most developed television screen produced by the greatest
television producer in the world cannot provide such a sharp image for you.
This is a three-dimensional, colored, and extremely sharp image. For more than
100 years, thousands of engineers have been trying to achieve this sharpness.
Factories, huge premises were established, much research has been done, plans
and designs have been made for this purpose. Again, look at a TV screen and the
book you hold in your hands. You will see that there is a big difference in sharpness
and distinction. Moreover, the TV screen shows you a two-dimensional image,
whereas with your eyes, you watch a three-dimensional perspective with depth.
For many years, tens of thousands of
engineers have tried to make a three-dimensional TV and achieve the vision
quality of the eye. Yes, they have made a three-dimensional television system,
but it is not possible to watch it without putting on special 3-D glasses;
moreover, it is only an artificial three-dimension. The background is more
blurred, the foreground appears like a paper setting. Never has it been
possible to produce a sharp and distinct vision like that of the eye. In both
the camera and the television, there is a loss of image quality.
Evolutionists claim that the mechanism
producing this sharp and distinct image has been formed by chance. Now, if
somebody told you that the television in your room was formed as a result of
chance, that all of its atoms just happened to come together and make up this
device that produces an image, what would you think? How can atoms do what
thousands of people cannot?
If a device producing a more primitive
image than the eye could not have been formed by chance, then it is very
evident that the eye and the image seen by the eye could not have been formed
by chance. The same situation applies to the ear. The outer ear picks up the
available sounds by the auricle and directs them to the middle ear, the middle
ear transmits the sound vibrations by intensifying them, and the inner ear
sends these vibrations to the brain by translating them into electric signals.
Just as with the eye, the act of hearing finalizes in the center of hearing in
the brain.
The situation in the eye is also true
for the ear. That is, the brain is insulated from sound just as it is from
light. It does not let any sound in. Therefore, no matter how noisy is the
outside, the inside of the brain is completely silent. Nevertheless, the
sharpest sounds are perceived in the brain. In your completely silent brain,
you listen to symphonies, and hear all of the noises in a crowded place.
However, were the sound level in your brain was measured by a precise device at
that moment, complete silence would be found to be prevailing there.
As is the case with imagery, decades
of effort have been spent in trying to generate and reproduce sound that is
faithful to the original. The results of these efforts are sound recorders,
high-fidelity systems, and systems for sensing sound. Despite all of this
technology and the thousands of engineers and experts who have been working on
this endeavor, no sound has yet been obtained that has the same sharpness and
clarity as the sound perceived by the ear. Think of the highest-quality hi-fi
systems produced by the largest company in the music industry. Even in these
devices, when sound is recorded some of it is lost; or when you turn on a hi-fi
you always hear a hissing sound before the music starts. However, the sounds
that are the products of the human body's technology are extremely sharp and
clear. A human ear never perceives a sound accompanied by a hissing sound or
with atmospherics as does a hi-fi; rather, it perceives sound exactly as it is,
sharp and clear. This is the way it has been since the creation of man.
So far, no man-made visual or
recording apparatus has been as sensitive and successful in perceiving sensory
data as are
the eye and the ear. However, as far as seeing and hearing are concerned, a far
greater truth lies beyond all this.
To Whom Does the
Consciousness That Sees and
Hears within the Brain
Belong?
Who watches an alluring world in the brain, listens to
symphonies and the twittering of birds, and smells the rose?
The stimulations coming from a person's eyes, ears, and nose
travel to the brain as electro-chemical nerve impulses. In biology, physiology,
and biochemistry books, you can find many details about how this image forms in
the brain. However, you will never come across the most important fact: Who
perceives these electro-chemical nerve impulses as images, sounds, odors, and
sensory events in the brain? There is a consciousness in the brain that
perceives all this without feeling any need for an eye, an ear, and a nose. To
whom does this consciousness belong? Of course it does not belong to the
nerves, the fat layer, and neurons comprising the brain. This is why
Darwinist-materialists, who believe that everything is comprised of matter,
cannot answer these questions.
For this consciousness is the spirit God created, which
needs neither the eye to watch the images nor the ear to hear the sounds.
Furthermore, it does not need the brain to think.
Everyone who reads this explicit and scientific fact should
ponder on Almighty God, and fear and seek refuge in Him, for He squeezes the
entire universe in a pitch-dark place of a few cubic centimeters in a
three-dimensional, colored, shadowy, and luminous form.
A Materialist Faith
The information we have
presented so far shows us that the theory of evolution is a incompatible with
scientific findings. The theory's claim regarding the origin of life is
inconsistent with science, the evolutionary mechanisms it proposes have no
evolutionary power, and fossils demonstrate that the required intermediate
forms have never existed. So, it certainly follows that the theory of evolution
should be pushed aside as an unscientific idea. This is how many ideas, such as
the Earth-centered universe model, have been taken out of the agenda of science
throughout history.
However, the theory of evolution is
kept on the agenda of science. Some people even try to represent criticisms
directed against it as an "attack on science." Why?
The reason is that this theory is an
indispensable dogmatic belief for some circles. These circles are blindly
devoted to materialist philosophy and adopt Darwinism because it is the only
materialist explanation that can be put forward to explain the workings of
nature.
Interestingly enough, they also
confess this fact from time to time. A well-known geneticist and an outspoken evolutionist,
Richard C. Lewontin from Harvard University, confesses that he is "first
and foremost a materialist and then a scientist":
It
is not that the methods and institutions of science somehow compel us accept a
material explanation of the phenomenal world, but, on the contrary, that we are
forced by our a priori adherence to material causes to create an apparatus of
investigation and a set of concepts that produce material explanations, no
matter how counter-intuitive, no matter how mystifying to the uninitiated.
Moreover, that materialism is absolute, so we cannot allow a Divine Foot in the
door.127
These are explicit statements that
Darwinism is a dogma kept alive just for the sake of adherence to materialism.
This dogma maintains that there is no being save matter. Therefore, it argues
that inanimate, unconscious matter created life. It insists that millions of
different living species (e.g., birds, fish, giraffes, tigers, insects, trees,
flowers, whales, and human beings) originated as a result of the interactions
between matter such as pouring rain, lightning flashes, and so on, out of
inanimate matter. This is a precept contrary both to reason and science. Yet
Darwinists continue to defend it just so as "not to allow a Divine Foot in
the door."
Anyone who does not look at the origin
of living beings with a materialist prejudice will see this evident truth: All
living beings are works of a Creator, Who is All-Powerful, All-Wise, and
All-Knowing. This Creator is God, Who created the whole universe from non-existence,
designed it in the most perfect form, and fashioned all living beings.
The Theory of Evolution
is the Most Potent Spell in the World
Anyone free of prejudice and the influence of any particular
ideology, who uses only his or her reason and logic, will clearly understand
that belief in the theory of evolution, which brings to mind the superstitions
of societies with no knowledge of science or civilization, is quite impossible.
As explained above, those who believe in the theory of
evolution think that a few atoms and molecules thrown into a huge vat could
produce thinking, reasoning professors and university students; such scientists
as Einstein and Galileo; such artists as Humphrey Bogart, Frank Sinatra and
Luciano Pavarotti; as well as antelopes, lemon trees, and carnations. Moreover,
as the scientists and professors who believe in this nonsense are educated
people, it is quite justifiable to speak of this theory as "the most
potent spell in history." Never before has any other belief or idea so
taken away peoples' powers of reason, refused to allow them to think
intelligently and logically and hidden the truth from them as if they had been
blindfolded. This is an even worse and unbelievable blindness than the
Egyptians worshipping the Sun God Ra, totem worship in some parts of Africa,
the people of Saba worshipping the Sun, the tribe of Prophet Abraham (peace be
upon him) worshipping idols they had made with their own hands, or the people
of the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) worshipping the Golden Calf.
In fact, God has pointed to this lack of reason in the
Qur'an. In many verse, He reveals in many verses that some peoples' minds will
be closed and that they will be powerless to see the truth. Some of these
verses are as follows:
As
for those who do not believe, it makes no difference to them whether you warn
them or do not warn them, they will not believe. God has sealed up their hearts
and hearing and over their eyes is a blindfold. They will have a terrible
punishment. (Qur'an, 2: 6-7)
… They have hearts with which they do not understand.
They have eyes with which they do not see. They have ears with which they do
not hear. Such people are like cattle. No, they are even further astray! They
are the unaware. (Qur'an, 7: 179)
Even if We opened up to them a door into heaven, and
they spent the day ascending through it, they would only say: "Our
eyesight is befuddled! Or rather we have been put under a spell!" (Qur'an,
15: 14-15)
Words cannot express just how
astonishing it is that this spell should hold such a wide community in thrall,
keep people from the truth, and not be broken for 150 years. It is
understandable that one or a few people might believe in impossible scenarios
and claims full of stupidity and illogicality. However, "magic" is
the only possible explanation for people from all over the world believing that
unconscious and lifeless atoms suddenly decided to come together and form a
universe that functions with a flawless system of organization, discipline,
reason, and consciousness; a planet named Earth with all of its features so
perfectly suited to life; and living things full of countless complex systems.
In fact, the Qur'an relates the
incident of Prophet Moses and Pharaoh to show that some people who support atheistic
philosophies actually influence others by magic. When Pharaoh was told about
the true religion, he told Prophet Moses to meet with his own magicians. When
Moses did so, he told them to demonstrate their abilities first. The verses
continue:
He said: "You
throw." And when they threw, they cast a spell on the people's eyes and
caused them to feel great fear of them. They produced an extremely powerful
magic. (Qur'an, 7: 116)
As we have seen, Pharaoh's magicians
were able to deceive everyone, apart from Moses and those who believed in him.
However, his evidence broke the spell, or "swallowed up what they had
forged," as the verse puts it.
We revealed to
Moses, "Throw down your staff." And it immediately swallowed up what
they had forged. So the Truth took place and what they did was shown to be
false. (Qur'an, 7: 117-119)
As we can see, when people realized
that a spell had been cast upon them and that what they saw was just an
illusion, Pharaoh's magicians lost all credibility. In the present day too,
unless those who, under the influence of a similar spell, believe in these
ridiculous claims under their scientific disguise and spend their lives
defending them, abandon their superstitious beliefs, they also will be
humiliated when the full truth emerges and the spell is broken. In fact,
Malcolm Muggeridge, an atheist philosopher and supporter of evolution, admitted
he was worried by just that prospect:
I
myself am convinced that the theory of evolution, especially the extent to
which it's been applied, will be one of the great jokes in the history books in
the future. Posterity will marvel that so very flimsy and dubious an hypothesis
could be accepted with the incredible credulity that it has.128
That future is not far off: On the
contrary, people will soon see that "chance" is not a deity, and will
look back on the theory of evolution as the worst deceit and the most terrible
spell in the world. That spell is already rapidly beginning to be lifted from
the shoulders of people all over the world. Many people who see its true face
are wondering with amazement how they could ever have been taken in by it.
They said, "Glory be to You!
We have no knowledge except
what You have taught us.
You are the All-Knowing, the
All-Wise."
(Qur'an, 2: 32)
NOTES
1 Encyclopedia Britannica 2001 Deluxe Edition CD,
"Crusade, The Council of Clermont."
2 World Book Encyclopedia, "Crusades,"
Contributor: Donald E. Queller, Ph.D., Prof. of History, Univ. of Illinois,
Urbana-Champaign, World Book Inc., 1998.
3 Encyclopedia Britannica 2001 Deluxe Edition CD,
"Crusade, Preparations for the Crusade."
4 Dr. Tom J. Rees, "The Story of the First
Crusade," 1999, http://www.brighton73.freeserve.co.uk/
firstcrusade/Overview/Overview.htm
5 Geste Francorum, or The Deeds of the Franks and
the Other Pilgrims to Jerusalem, trans. Rosalind Hill, London, 1962, p. 91.
6 Dr. E.L. Skip Knox, "Fall of Jerusalem," 2001,
http://crusades.boisestate.edu/1st/28.htm.
7 August C. Krey, The First Crusade: The Accounts of
Eye-Witnesses and Participants, Princeton & London, 1921, p. 261.
8 Desmond Seward, The Monks of War, Penguin Books,
London, 1972.
9 August C. Krey, The First Crusade: The Accounts of
Eye-Witnesses and Participants, p. 262.
10 Albert Pike, Morals and Dogma, The Roberts
Publishing Co., Washington, 1871.
11 Christopher Knight, Robert Lomas, The Hiram Key,
Arrow Books, 1997, p. 37.
12 G. Delafore, The Templar Tradition in the Age of
Aquarius; Christopher Knight, Robert Lomas, The Hiram Key, p. 37.
13 C. Wilson, The Excavation of Jerusalem;
Christopher Knight, Robert Lomas, The Hiram Key, p. 38.
14 Alan Butler, Stephen Dafoe, The Templar Continuum,
Templar Books, Belleville-Ontario, 1999, p. 70.
15 Finke, Papsttum und Untergang des Tempelordens;
Henry D. Funk, "The Trial Of The Knights Templar," The Builder,
1916.
16 Teoman Biyikoglu, "Tampliyeler ve Hurmasonlar"
(Templars and Freemasons), Mimar Sinan, 1997, no. 106.
17 Alan Butler, Stephen Dafoe, The Templar Continuum,
p. 55.
18 Ibid., p. 55.
19 Ibid., p. 9.
20 Gmelin, Die Tempelherren; Henry D. Funk, "The
Trial Of The Knights Templar," The Builder, 1916.
21 The Rule of the Templars, as recorded by scribe John
Michael at the Council of Troyes, 1128.
22 John J. Robinson, Born in Blood: The Lost Secrets of
Freemasonry, New York, M. Evans & Company, 1989, pp. 70-71.
23 Ian Wilson, The Shroud of Turin - The Burial Cloth of
Jesus Christ?
24 Teoman Biyikoglu, "Tampliyeler ve Hurmasonlar"
(Templars And Freemasons), Mimar Sinan, 1997, no. 106.
25 Alan Butler, Stephen Dafoe, The Templar Continuum,
Templar Books, p. 70.
26 Ibid., p. 73.
27 Langlois, in Deux Mondes, vol. 103; Henry D. Funk,
"The Trial Of The Knights Templar," The Builder, 1916.
28 Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, The Temple and the
Lodge, London: Corgi Books, 1990, p. 81.
29 Ibid., pp. 78-80.
30 Louis Charpentier, The Mysteries of Chartres Cathedral,
cited in Graham Hancock, "The Sign and the Seal,"
http://templarium.tripod.com/archskill.htm
31 Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, The Temple and the
Lodge, p. 65.
32 Eleanor Ferris, The Financial Relations of the Knights
Templars to the English Crown, p. 10.
33 Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, The Temple and the
Lodge, p. 69.
34 Henry D. Funk, "The Trial Of The Knights
Templar," The Builder, 1916.
35 Genealogy Data, www.gillean.com/Roots/db/dat98.htm
36 Développement des abus introduits dans la
Franc-maçonnerie, p.56 (1780).
37 Stephen Dafoe, Unholy Worship? The Myth of the
Baphomet, Templar, Freemason Connection, pp. 33-34.
38 Peter Underwood, Dictionary Of The Occult And
Supernatural; wintersteel.homestead.com/files/
JamesArticles/The_Templars_and_the_myth_of_Baphomet.htm
39 Umberto Eco, Foucault's Pendulum, A Helen and Kurt
Wolff Book, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Publishers, 1989, p.83.
40 Vox in excelso, March 22, 1312;
http://www.templar-knights.net/vox_in_excelso_march_22.htm
41 Alan Butler, Stephen Dafoe, The Warriors and the
Bankers, p. 84.
42 Did The Templars Form Switzerland? An Interview With Alan
Butler conducted December 28th, 1999 by Bonnie Dinelle;
http://www.geocities.com/st_stephens_145/kt12.html
43 Manuscript of 1760, in G. A. Schiffmann, Die
Entstehung der Rittergrade in der Freimauerei um die Mitte des XVIII
Jahrhunderts, Leipzig, Zechel, 1882, pp. 178-190; Umberto Eco, Foucault's
Pendulum, p. 132.
44 Teoman Biyikoglu, "Tampliyeler ve Hurmasonlar"
(Templars And Freemasons), Mimar Sinan, 1997, no. 106., p. 19.
45 Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, The Temple and the
Lodge; http://mailbox.univie.ac.at/ ~muehleb9/stinvention.html
46 Hikmet Murat, "Turkiye'de Masonlugun Kurulusu"
(The Foundation of Freemasonry in Turkey), Mimar Sinan, year 4 (1974),
no. 14, p. 25.
47 Mirabeau, Histoire de la Monarchie Prussienne, V.
76, quoted in Secret Societies, Nesta H. Webster, Boswell Publishing Co., Ltd.,
London, 1924.
48 Lecouteulx, de Canteleu, Les Sectes et Sociétés
Secrètes, p. 97, quoted in Nesta H. Webster, Secret Societies,
Boswell Publishing Co., Ltd., London, 1924.
49 Eustace Mullins, The World Order: Our Secret Rulers,
p. 5.
50 Lewis Spence, The Encyclopedia of the Occult, p.
223.
51 Michael Howard, The Occult Conspiracy, The
Secret History of Mystics, Templars, Masons and Occult Societies, 1st ed.,
London: Rider, 1989, p. 63.
52 Ibid., p. 64.
53 Umberto Eco, Foucault's Pendulum, p. 403.
54 Michael Howard, The Occult Conspiracy, p. 66.
55 Ibid., p. 67.
56 Ibid., p. 68.
57 Ibid., p. 69.
58 William T. Still, New World Order, Vital Issues
Pr, 1990, pp. 85-86.
59 Ibid., pp. 86-87.
60 Ibid., p. 89.
61 Ibid., p. 89.
62 Michael Howard, The Occult Conspiracy, p. 70.
63 Ibid., pp. 70-71.
64 Luigi DiFonzo, St. Peter's Banker, Franklin Watts
Ltd.,1983; www.freemasonwatch.freepress-freespeech.com/P2.html.
65 Ibid.
66 Ibid.
67 Panorama (A Turkish Magazine), January 3, 1993.
68 Ugur Mumcu, Papa Mafya Agca (Pope Mafia Agca),
4.ed., Istanbul: Tekin Publishing, 1987, p. 246
69 Victor Ostrovsky, The Other Side of Deception: A Rogue
Agent Exposes the Mossad's Secret Agenda, New York: Harper Collins
Publishers, 1994, p. 226.
70 Martin Short, Inside the Brotherhood: Further Secrets
of the Freemasons, London: Grafton Books, 1989, pp. 116-118.
71 Werner Raith, Das Neue Mafia-Kartell (New Mafia
Cartel).
72 Mimar Sinan (A Turkish Mason Magazine), no. 15 pp.
105-106.
73 Mimar Sinan, no. 5, p. 94.
74 From the original text of the book Tanzimat
Edebiyatina Fransiz Edebiyati Tesiri (The Effect of French Literature on
Tanzimat Literature) by Cevdet Perin
75 Resat Atabek, Mimar Sinan, no. 60 p. 9.
76 Buxton, Turkey in Revolution, London 1909; Mustafa
Yalcin, Jon Turklerin Seruveni (The Adventure of Young Turks), Ilke
Publishing, 1994, Istanbul, p. 123.
77 Ilhami Soysal, Dunyada ve Turkiye'de Masonluk ve
Masonlar (Freemasonry and Freemasons in Turkey and in the World), Der
Publications, Istanbul, 1980, 3rd. ed., pp. 235-236.
78 Turkiyede'ki Masonluk Tarihi (The History of
Freemasonry in Turkey), Kemalettin Apak pp. 34-35.
79 Sukru Hanioglu, Dr. Abdullah Cevdet ve Donemi,
(Dr. Abdullah Cevdet and His Period), p. 21.
80 Tanzimattan Cumhuriyete Turkiye Ansiklopedisi, (Encyclopedia
of Turkey from the Tanzimat Period to the Republican Period), v. 2, p. 368.
81 Tevhid-i Efkar (A Turkish Journal), April 21,
1922.
82 Abdullah Cevdet, Akli Selim (A Turkish Journal).
83 Yeni Nesil (A Turkish Journal), November 15, 1983.
84 Doc. Dr. Anil Cecen, Halkevleri, p. 115.
85 Behcet Kemal Caglar, Halkevleri, 1935, p. 1.
86 Kemalettin Apak, Turkiye'de Masonluk Tarihi (The
History of Freemasonry in Turkey).
87 Mehmet Basaran, Koy Enstituleri (Village Institutes), p.
32.
88 Tercuman (A Turkish Daily), April 23, 1960.
89 Havadis (A Turkish Daily), July 23, 1960.
90 Mason Dergisi (Masonic Journal), January 1995, no.
93, p. 30.
91 Ulku Muht. Mahfili 1952-1953, Suha Selcuk Printing House.
92 Buyuk Ustad Haydar Ali Kermen Hatirasi Brosuru (A
Turkish Booklet), Birlik Tek:. Muh:. Mahfili Publications, no. 1, p. 10.
93 Bilgi Locasi Nesriyati (A Publication of the Bilgi
Lodge), no.1, Kurtuncu Printing House, Ankara, p. 74.
94 Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Risale-i Nur Collection, Beyanat
ve Tenvirler (Declarations and Illuminations), p. 77.
95 Ibid., p. 21.
96 Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Risale-i Nur Collection, Son
Sahitler (Last Witnesses), p. 272.
97 Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Risale-i Nur Collection, Rays,
14th Ray.
98 Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Risale-i Nur Collection, Emirdag
Lahikasi (Emirdag Letters), p. 15.
99 Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Risale-i Nur Collection, Sunuhat,
47;
http://www.sozler.com.tr/symposium/3/symp3_adavudoglu.htm.
100 Uner Birkan, Mimar Sinan, no. 104, 1997, p. 63.
101 Phoenixmasonry Masonic Museum, 1769 Edition of
Anderson's Book of Constitutions,
www.phoenixmasonry.org/masonicmuseum/1769_andersons_constitutions.htm
102 Sakul Gibi (A Turkish Masonic Journal), 3/25, p.
20.
103 The Three Degrees of Freemasonry, Entered Apprentice
Degree, First Section with Oath,
www.scripturecatholic.com/apprentice_first_section.html
104 Fehmi Koru, Zaman (A Turkish Daily), January 18,
1997.
105 Sukru Kanber, Milli Gazete (A Turkish Daily),
January 17, 1997.
106 Commissione Parlamentare d'inchiesta sul fenomeno della
Mafia e sulle altre associazioni criminali similari, Relazione sui Rapporti tra
Mafia e Politica, Roma, 1993, p. 59.
107 Selam (A Turkish Daily), Gundem "Susurlukta
ikinci bolum" (2nd. Chapter in Susurluk), Cevdet Kiliclar, August 30 –
September 5, 1998.
108 Milli gazete, Mustafa
Yilmaz, September 24, 1997.
109
Sidney Fox, Klaus Dose, Molecular Evolution and The Origin of Life, W.H.
Freeman and Company, San Francisco, 1972, p. 4.
110
Alexander I. Oparin, Origin of Life, Dover Publications, NewYork, 1936,
1953 (reprint), p. 196.
111
"New Evidence on Evolution of Early Atmosphere and Life", Bulletin
of the American Meteorological Society, v. 63, November 1982, pp.
1328-1330.
112
Stanley Miller, Molecular Evolution of Life: Current Status of the Prebiotic
Synthesis of Small Molecules, 1986, p. 7.
113
Jeffrey Bada, Earth, February 1998, p. 40
114
Leslie E. Orgel, "The Origin of Life on Earth", Scientific
American, v. 271, October 1994, p. 78.
115
Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, The
Modern Library, New York, p. 127.
116
Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species: A Facsimile of the First Edition,
Harvard University Press, 1964, p. 184.
117
B. G. Ranganathan, Origins?, Pennsylvania: The Banner Of Truth Trust,
1988, p. 7.
118
Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species: A Facsimile of the
First Edition, Harvard University Press, 1964, p. 179.
119
Derek A. Ager, "The Nature of the Fossil Record", Proceedings of
the British Geological Association, v. 87, 1976, p. 133.
120
Douglas J. Futuyma, Science on Trial, Pantheon Books, New York, 1983. p.
197.
121
Solly Zuckerman, Beyond The Ivory Tower, Toplinger Publications, New
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HARUN YAHYA
ON THE INTERNET
YOU CAN FIND ALL THE
WORKS OF HARUN YAHYA ON THE INTERNET
• Scientific refutation
of Darwinism, the greatest deception of our age.
• Dozens of books
including hundreds of pages of information about the signs of God's creation.
• Extremely valuable
works that will guide you to think on the real aspects of life by reading the
morals of the Qur'an.
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www.harunyahya.com
e-mail: info@harunyahya.com
COVER
The Templars were a
shadowy medieval cult proscribed by a joint decision of the King of France and
the Pope. It was originally founded to fight for Christianity, but over time_as
the Templars acquired immense power, adopted heretical teachings, and
established a capitalist system based on material gain, their order fell afoul
of the Church. After being dispersed, the cult survived underground. The
Templars developed a fierce opposition to the Church and the divine religions
in general, and eventually turned into the organization we know as the
Freemasons. The Masons’ antireligious philosophy and involvement in revolutions
and political movements is a consequence of their Templars ancestry. This book
examines the secret history of this Templar/Masonic organization and some of
its influences on recent world and Turkish history.
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR
The author, who writes
under the pen-name Harun Yahya, was born in Ankara in 1956. He studied arts at
Istanbul's Mimar Sinan University, and philosophy at Istanbul University. Since
the 1980s, the author has published many books on political, faith-related and
scientific issues. His main focus has been the refutation of Darwinism and
materialism, two modern myths presented under a scientific guise. Harun Yahya's
books appeal to all kinds of readers, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, regardless
of their age, race, or nationality, for they focus on one objective: to broaden
the readers’ perspective by encouraging them to think about a number of
critical issues, such as the existence of God and His unity, and to display the
decrepit foundations and perverted works of godless systems.
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